10 Steps for perfect mowing greens

Green is the most important place on a golf course. If your greens are in good shape, Golfers forgive you others shortcommings. That’s why on each golf course super intendents takes care to greens. That’s why on each golf course super intendents takes care to greens.

From this article you’ll know:

• Why greens are so important on golf course
• How to mow greens on rider mower and walking behind mower
• What is the right way to mow greens on the golf course
• What is direction of cut ?
• What mistakes you should avoid during mowing greens on the golf course.

If you’re allowed to mowing greens, it means you have gained trust and knowledge what to do. Green ought to be mowed every day ! Below I wrote 10 advices if you want to lead mowing greens to perfection.

1. Sharp units.
2. Single or triplex mower.
3. Look for some small sticks or cones lying on green.
4. Take off the dew.
5. Go for pin flag before you start mow.
6. Important first wide stripe.
7. Overlap.
8. Watch out on clean lap (last lap).
9. Don’t stop on middle of the green with running reels.
10. Change direction of cut.

You won’t be able to influence some of these steps, but it’s good to know.

1. Sharp units.

This is the one of the step probably you won’t be able to influence, but you can observe is mower unit sharp or not. Sharpening reels is task for mechanic on golf course, and in his competence is to checking it. Reels need to be cleaned every time you used it. If you want to check is reel sharp, you can try cut piece of paper. Put piece of paper between reel and bedknife. Move the reel by hand. Remeber never do that when engine is on !

2. Single or triplex mower.

There are two types of green mower. Single mower and triplex mower. What kinds of mower you will use depends from head greenkeeper on your golf course. On most prestigious golf courses prefers single mowers but it needs more people working on golf course. Mowing by single mower is more difficult than triplex and tiring as you have to walk behind the mower. I think you need more practice to mow green by single than triplex but real greenkeeper doesn’t affraid single mower ! On triplex mower or rider mower you sit on it and you’re keeping the steering wheel. Mowing by triplex is faster and save some human power.

3. Look for some small sticks or cones lying on green.

I think it’s very important. I remember when I was team leader on one of the golf course, one guy was in hurry and he started mow green and small cone stuck on bedknife and damage green, a long scratch formed along the entire length of the green – it looked awful and took long time before was invisible.

Small sticks, pine cones can make damage green and reel. Blowing wind can brings some unexpected things, shouldn’t be on the green. Before you start mowing green look is it clean. You can do this when you walk for pin flag.

4. Take off the dew.

You don’t have to do this every time becuse it depends on the weather. Not every day is dew, but when it is you should take the dew first. The dew causes some sickness of the grass like fungus disease. Moisture turf is not good for reels, can blunt the knives more quickly. On spring and autumn when days are warm and cold nights the taking off the dew is one of morning tasks.

5. Go for pin flag before you start mow.

I know lots of some experienced greenkeepers do this during mowing, on rider mower of course. They seat on mower and one hand take the pin flag. Probably this safe time. I think this causes sometimes not perfect straight stripe and if you do this during your first stripe, this is a disaster ! For me it doesn’t take so much time because when you’re walking for pin flag you can also check is some sticks, cones are lying on green, or look for any diseases or damages.

6. Important first wide stripe.

First stripe is very important. You have to be focus and try to do accurately. Before you start mow, find a point of your horizon and look on them and start mowing like you would like to go to this point. The point on your horizon it coluld be tree, pin (but not a pin flag), stone, bench. You have to find something. Each subsequent stripe will be reflected the first one because you will be looking on stripe’s border.

7. Overlap

For beginners is better to overlap more. One or two stripe more is better than missed some place. Experience will comes after some time and than you don’t need to have a lot of space to overlap. Find markings on the basket and keep edge of them. Please remeber:

Missing a small strip of grass becuse of insufficient overlap is a cardinal sin against good greenkeeping.

Practical Golf Course Maintenance: The Magic of Greenkeeping Michael Bavier, Gordon Witteveen

8. Watch out on clean lap (last lap).

Finishing mowing green is last lap also known as a clean lap. This is outer edge of the green. Focus on it like with the first stripe. If you cut into foregreen or apron will result brown streak. It looks ugly. The same is when you uncut this result ugly edge. How to mow nice good looking clean lap ? Slow down mower and concentrate on the edge. Here also helpfully are markings on the basket. Keep the line with outer mark on basket.

9. Don’t stop on middle of the green with running reels.

If you need to stop the mower first turn off the reels, and than stop mower – never opposite. If you stop and reels will running, green will have light yellow and green place it looks ugly and grass could be sick. It’s very often when greenkeepers picking the pin flag during mowing. They drive very slowly and when is some problem to pick the pin flag up the suddenly stop for a moment.

10. Direction of cut.

Mowing greens is almost the same like mowing other places on golf courses (tees, fairways). We mow with stripes. When you look on the golf course you’ll see one stripe is dark one stripe is light. This is because during mowing grass is lying on one side and is good for grass when you change lying from one side to another. When you want to change it it mean you change direction of cut. It causes very nice good looking patterns on greens or fairways. About direction of cut and patterns I think I can write a separate article. I worked on one golf course where can’t change direction of cut yourself . We mow everything diagonally and you have to mow greens diagonally also, but you can change direction of cut also. Next time you start mow on dark stripe.

Of course I can write a book about perfect mowing green but I’ll hope remember this 10 steps can lead you to perfection in mowing green. There is also one more very important point. This is practice, practice, practice. If you do something wrong think about it. Make conclusions and next time will better, because you will know what was wrong.