[Joel_Stewart]

I played a course the other day that the member said they changed the time of mowing the fairways from the morning to the afternoon and it made a big difference.  I guess I'm such a novice that I don't understand how or why this would make a difference in the condition of the fairways?  Anyone care to explain or give examples of why this is the case.  

[patrick_burton]

Could be a lot of things. If it's wet from overnight irrigation, and/or there's a lot of dew on the grass -- mowing tends to leave clumps of grass clippings, and sometimes the fairways aren't cut as nicely.

turf health wise - it probably makes no difference on the mowing times.

maybe a super out there has a better explanation.

-jj

[Mike Benham]

My assumption is that the grass will be dry in the afternoon while in the morning the turf is still damp and wet.  Damp grass will laydown more while the dry stuff will stand up and be easier to cut, or at least be cut more evenly.

I would also think that cutting dry grass would give a more even distribution of the "cut grass' and not leave lumps of cut wet grass.

I would also expect less damage to the ground by the mower if the ground was excessively damp in the morning.

On the other hand, I might expect the Worker Comp claims to be higher with a afternoon mowing schedule  

[Anthony_Nysse]

Here at  Long Cove, we try to mow in the afternoon or as a second assignement-We do it because of grass clipping, but we also fell like we get a better quality of cut. On cool season turf, I know a lot of courses will mow in the morning, not just to stay ahead of play, but also removing the dew will result in much less disease on the turf.

[Steve Curry]

Joel,

A dry cut is always better for a number of reasons, better clip, less mess, reduced wear and especially given the casts from worms, a much better result.

Steve

[Sean Remington (SBR)]

  Dry cut on fairways is preferred for the reasons Steve lists. I would only add that if you are cutting later in the day the dew should be removed in the early morning by another means. The dry cut may not be an option during summer heat stress however. The grass needs different things depending on the season. All that said, we rarely can dry cut because we need to stay ahead of play. It's not efficent mowing through golfers.
 

[Doug Siebert]

I don't care what time they mow it, but I wish the supers out there would instruct their staff that they should mow starting on 18 and work backwards, instead of the other way around.  It seems so obvious but I see this missed on so many courses!

[Patrick_Mucci]

Joel,

How do the members like the interuption to their play ?

How do they like the distraction caused by the noise ?

Does the transporting of mowers from one green to the next interfere with play as well.

Does the club pay overtime ?

Mornings, before the membership arrives, and after the local ordinances permit, seem to keep staff and members out of one anothers way.

It also takes less time when noone is around.

[Marc Haring]

“I don't care what time they mow it, but I wish the supers out there would instruct their staff that they should mow starting on 18 and work backwards, instead of the other way around.  It seems so obvious but I see this missed on so many courses!”

Doug.
There are many reasons why supers would want to start on the first and finish on 18, principal among them being that as Sean say’s, we need to stay ahead of the golf and not in it. Believe me, no greenkeeper wants to be working when there are golfers about, it is stressful for all parties concerned and very inefficient. If we cannot avoid it I instruct my staff to just try and find a gap in the play but avoid all visiting groups, competitions and the known miserable gits that every club gets. Every Super is the same in this respect, no one wants to upset the golfers.    

Marc.

[Anthony_Nysse]

When we mow fairways with play on the course, we will send one guy out to mow #9 backwards and one guy out on #18 backwards, as to not follow a group around the whole golf course

[Sean Remington (SBR)]

   If we are able to be ahead of play then we keep it that way. If we are going out into play, second assignments, then we do insist that the work be done 9-1 and 18-10. I don't want any one group to feel they are being followed.

[Jim Thompson]

Mowing backwards is always the best method if you're not using "the gap" method.  That way when the condition changes for the better it continues for the rest o the round.

Afternoon v Morning.  Greens should always be done first thing OR (and this is a bit out of the box) the second shift of grounds crew could dry mow greens behind the last foursome.  Granted you’d still have to whip and flip the dew.  As for fairways, and anything mowed with a reel, a dry cut will be more uniform as the water and/ or dew are not present to act as a lubricant for the grass blade in the cut in addition to the upright growth of the day.  Also inside wheel rutting and compaction are decreased on firm dry surfaces.  Did you ever wonder what that little, 20" arc, yellow spot is in the corner of most square tees?  Its tire slip, cut on wet morning mow and some bonus compaction.

As for the noise and inconvenience issue.  If its not maintained, its just a big grass field and not much of a golf course so please give the guys on the equipment the benefit of the doubt and THANK them for getting up everyday at 4:30 rain or shine, fixing that sprinkler head that stuck last night because of a pebble the size of a grain of rice (everyday it’s a different one), not going nuts after a month of watching customers/members drive carts onto the collar of the green and being hit into/at, loading bag after bag of fertilizer into the spreader, spraying and spraying and spraying and spraying, fixing ball marks, repairing par three tees (BTW-When did it become acceptable to not replace a divot on Par 3s?), picking up all those cans, emptying and picking up the trash, putting the rakes into and out of the bunkers, moving all those ropes and directional signs, and last but not least, setting through committee meetings.  

THANKS to all of you who clip, mow, maintain, and pick up after the public, members and guests!  I’ll try not to get in YOUR way as I visit YOUR course that you graciously honor me by allowing me to play it!  I know you don’t do it for the hours or the money, usually you just like to be outside in the quiet and you’ve been listening to that mower for the last three hours.  Oh, and if you see your wife and your children, thank them for me for letting you miss early weekend morning pancakes, that two week summer trip you never took, missing dinner all those nights you stayed to aerify, and top dress and do special projects!  You are the heart and soul of golf and the credit is yours!!!

As operators we’d all love to have a crew of 40 people so we could throw them all on the course at 5:00 am and have everything done by 7:30, but its hard to find forty guys that are willing to get up at 4:30 everyday for 17 hrs a week.

Cheers!

JT

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