Mowing is the practice of cutting grass manually to keep it in a manageable state and maintain the beauty of the grass. In earlier times, workers cut the grass by walking through the pastures with small sharp scythes. It was a very tiring process and a very slow at that. This worked well only when the grass was wet.
Now days, mechanical devices are used to shave the surface of the grass by using rapidly rotating blade or blades. Power movers are very popular these days.
Mowing the golf course involves a wide range of practices. This allows grass to be mowed at heights lower than the average person could achieve. The height of the grass should be conductive for a good game of golf. For this, the cutting of the grass on golf should be done so that the golfer can hit the golf ball off the grass. Only some specific types of grasses on golf course can sustain such type of mowing. Hence such grasses which can withstand low mowing are used fir golf courses. When significant amount of leaves are cut, it puts a lot of pressure on the grass. The grass may be subjected to diseases, pests, weed invasions and wilting. Hence, care is taken to have grasses that can sustain such pressures. Also, some care is to be taken while mowing the golf course grass.
Steps to mow the golf grass
- Measure the height of reel mowers current cut. Different sites of the course need different heights of grass. Adjust the blades accordingly as this may also prevent scalping.
- While mowing in the mornings, clearing the dew is essential. Pull the dew drag across with a cart. This will allow less clumping when fairways are mown.
- Mow some rings around and outside the area that you wish to mow. This will help you to create a buffer zone and give you time to lift the reels at each end.
- Begin mowing the course in any pattern you wish. Going back and forth will define strips. These are formed by reflecting light off the leaf blades due to difference in the directions the leaf blades are laid. Mowing in the patterns repeatedly will achieve higher levels of color difference. You can also start at the middle and mow half the fairway going outward with each pass in the opposite direction. This will give you the Scottish style links course look.
- To break up any clumps of grass, you need to run the dew drag over the fairways. This will make the fairway look crisp and clean.
- Cleaning the mower after every use is highly recommended. You may use water to wash the grass and dirt off it. This will increase the quality of the cut for the next time you use the mower. This will also increase the life of the machine.
Tips for mowing golf grass
Basic tips for mowing the golf grass include the use of basket when you are mowing small areas. The mower basket catches all the grass and will not allow it to remain in the fairway to clump up. This will eliminate the use of a second drag on the fairway. Another point to be kept in mind is while working on concrete floor, never engage the blades of your mower. In case the reels hit them, they get damaged permanently.
So if the given points are given due consideration, more than the expected results can be seen on after the mowing of the golf grass. Do you still have points to consider before mowing your golf grass properly?
