The fairway cut, is it half mooning?

[Lynn_Shackelford]

I have been told by an old timer in maintenance that the fairway cutting pattern used by Augusta National is called half mooning?  This is going up one side in one direction and back down on the other side of the fairway.  Used more in the days when sharp turns were not an option with tractors and pull behind gang reels.
I recently played Rustic Canyon and they had cut the fairways in this pattern for that day.  In my group was a "dub" playing the course for the first time and said it confused him.  Then playing a couple days later with Tommy N., he said "I'm not sure about this fairway cut."
I like it, perhaps prefer it to stripping.  Does anyone know if there are other names for this mowing pattern?
Also, you Golf Digest panelists, do you downgrade courses for using stripping patterns on the fairways?  Maybe that is the reason Rustic was doing it that day.  They were getting the red carpet ready for those all important Golf Digest panelists.  Maybe Matt Lauer was in town!

[Don_Mahaffey]

Lynn, we call it contour mowing. It seems to be popular with a lot of the older courses. It is faster to mow that way, but it can lead to rippling in the fairways if the directions aren't alternated. Stripping may give a better cut because of the alternating directions, but it takes longer and the mowers turning in the rough can damage turf during times of stress.

[A_Clay_Man]

They used it in the open this last week and from the tv it did seem to shrink the target.

The diamond pattern seems like a great way to be able tell contours, especially for the first time visit to a course.

I wouldn't even mind different patterns for different holes of parts of holes.  It would be pretty cool if this became part of the maintanece meld giving clues to the firmness of different areas by the mowing pattern.

Is that done anywhere? can it be done?

[Brad Klein]

Different patterns for different parts of the hole to highlight contours! Why not mow the yardages into the fairway? Or mow billboard-style advertisements so that you can pay for the maintenance costs by selling ads?

[Scott Wicker]

Kudos to you Brad for your input regarding this subject.  I think all contributors here should spend a week with their superintendent during their particular course's peak season so they may get a glimpse of reality. Most of the time you are simply hoping that the grass is shorter after the mowing is completed than it was before it was started.  

The contour mowing is simple to perform, quicker than striping, and easier on the turf.  Periodic changes in direction can eliminate rippling.  

[Kelly_Blake_Moran]

I did not like the contour mowing on one course because half the fairway looked the same as the bluegrass rough so all the fairways looked half the width they actually were.  But, I lived.
I like what a private course does when they put 3 fairway mowers side by side and mow in the samme direction down the fairway; they turn around and drive back to where they began, line up and then mow down the fairway again in the same direction.  The entire fairway is cut in the same direction.  I am certain it is more time, but it has a nice effect, and avoids the contour mowing two sstripe look.

[Dave_Miller]

Brad and Scott:  
Right on.  Maybe the USGA will start selling naming rights to the fairways for the open and the ads can be cut into each fairway and we can then see them on TV.
Want to give a Super a real heart attack. Have him cut each of the fairways different.
Oh Boy
Best
DAve

[Oscar Brown]

Dave is right. Reducing turns in the rough is one of the main reasons for mowing up one side and down the other. For the championship, they fertilize and water the rough to get a nice thick stand of cabbage, then raise the rough unit to 4" and park it for a week prior to the event. The last thing they want is a mower making turns outside the fairway cut laying down the turf. Imagine missing the shortgrass in the National Open and having a good lie. Blasphemy.

[A_Clay_Man]

So what your saying is, it isn't done.
Well, perhaps I was not clear enough in My thinking, (outside the box)  it seemed like a possible key to the forward thinking "maintenece meld"  which I thought was concieved to solve the problems that the game seems to be having.(tech-club+ball)

Brad- I wasn't discussing yardage markers cut into the fairway and certainly don't get the billboard comment other than as a metaphor. i.e.- look at me I'm wet as hell over here, or, Hey, dry as bone over here. Won't that increase my options available to me as a golfer.

Dave- While many of friends are super's I think the good ones, delagate. So, worrying about the magnitudes of their headaches is important, but what is the difference if he tells Bob, Jose and abdul to mow more specifically?

[Patrick_Mucci]

Lynn,

Each superintendent probably makes an informed decision based on the conditions affecting each hole on their course.

Topography, moisture, room, bunkering, labor costs, etc., etc.. factor in to the final method.  I don't think there is any one way, or right way to mow fairways, but the person who knows best, the superintendent, makes the call they feel most comfortable with.

[Anthony_Nysse]

I've grown to know this kind of mowing as the Traditional way. Shinnecock, National, Friar's, The Country Club did it for the Ryder Cup, etc.....

[Joe Hancock]

Adam,

I think the "problem(tech-club+ball)" only is a factor to die hards like us and maybe the low handicappers. What does that constitute, maybe 5% of the golfing population? I think increased maintenance practices, which add a LOT of cost to the game, is a bigger problem. How many times has the Pebble Beach/ Bethpage argument turned to the cost factor?( Never mind that the USGA televises a course billed as "the peoples" that they just pumped 4 Million into...4 MILLION!)

For the record, we do the "ying yang" mowing pattern with a 9 gang mower a couple times a week, along with a couple "stripings" with a lightweight. It keeps the grass clippings under control, and doesn't take very long. For the $32 for 18/cart we get, I am sure I'm guilty of over-maintaining.

Joe

[Guest]

FYI, if you encounter this type of “black and white” cutting technique, aim for the “white” side as the ball will roll further (it’s not going against the grain)!

[M.W. Burrows]

Lynn,

I have my fairway mowers mow that way all the time at my club.  I believe it looks proper on an old traditional course with native grasses and mounds.  Stripes tend to look too cheesy and modern.  

We change directions every week and verticut the fairways every couple of weeks to eliminate any grain that forms.  

I've heard this pattern called Zamboni, half-and-half, and block mowing.

[jeff hicks]

Lynn, the half mooning in the fairways was nothing more than just mowing in a different direction. During the grow in Gill had mentioned that he would like to see it in our rotation so every once in awhile we mow them that way. That's all.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Lynn, I don't remember saying I didn't care for it. In fact, in conversations with David Kelley later that day, I told him how I in fact did like it and it gave the course a very different feel.

Couldn't agree more with you Matt on the look of Classic courses having this feature as well as courses inspired by classic courses. Don, Could you see Apache Stronghold with this type of cutting pattern? Could be neat!

Jeff, I was also a bit sadden to see it disappear from one week to the next. (Last weekend, it seemed as if the mowing pattern was gone.)

[Lynn_Shackelford]

Jeff,
Thanks for the clarification and thank-you for presenting such a nice course on a daily basis.

Zamboni cut, I like it.

Tommy, I didn't say you didn't like it, you said "I not sure about it."  I am glad you like it and not surprised.  You probably hit one of those low 250 yard drives "with the grain."
I had a lesson this week so watch out.

Wow, there are a lot of supers out there lurking.