Fairway Mowing Patterns

[Eric Pevoto]

Does the Pioneer come with a lifetime supply of Beef-a-Reeno, Don?

[Tom Bacsanyi]

I've personally mowed fairways every which way.  The most efficient timewise for us is 12-6 (full lengthwise) alternating stripes and it isn't even close.  Prettiest (IMO) is salt and pepper (block mow, half and half, etc).  An experienced operator can make a 3 point in a heartbeat on a lightweight fairway unit. Centerline light/dark gets inefficient when you spread outwards from the middle significantly and in any goofy corners.  Another consideration is in dry, low growth conditions, it can be difficult to track the edge of a previous line with the grain going in the same direction, so you can get skips and goofy overlaps.  Of course I'm sure half and half works best with a gang unit. 

[Grant Saunders]

I find there is no significant difference at our site between shadow cut and striping. I tend to mix it up to maintain a good quality of cut. Shadow cutting or light and dark does have a tendency to encourage washboarding if used too often.

As far as aesthetic consideration, I feel stripes can help enhance a landscape which features minimal movement or is lacking in backdrops. Alternatively, stripes can detract from a good landscape.

[Jon Wiggett]

Grant,

I have only experienced washboarding when the mower was going too fast or the rollers were collecting dirt. I am with you though that the occasional change of direction is a good idea.

Jon

[Scott Furlong]

Circle Cut

[Jason Goss]

We have mowed half & half here at Sonoma since 2007.  It used to take three operators three and a half hours to mow all 18 holes, now we finish in four hours but with only two operators.  Saves us time for sure.  It does make a huge difference in the health and density of our rough just off of the fairways.  Less turns/traffic from the heavy fairway units is worth the switch alone.

Interestingly enough when we hosted the Schwab Cup from 03-09 we made the switch in 07 and got lots of resistance from the tour players.  They actually claimed that it was an "unfair" maintenance practice because the grain on one side of the fairway was into the player and was a disadvantage.  We then tried to disprove this theory by checking ball roll out on each side of the center line.  Turns out the players were right....the roll out was better down grain, by 3% on a 40yd roll out.  Not exactly a huge disadvantage.  We were instructed to make sure we switched the pattern every day as to not create an unfair condition.  Kind of silly.  Some of the comments we got from the tour players were unimaginable from people who have spent their entire lives on a golf course.  That needs another thread itself.  

[Matthew Lloyd]

These are the types of aesthetic debates and commentaries that make me love this website. I don't have a personal preference when it comes to the techniques discussed but the fact this topic is on people's minds is great.

As long as sponsor logos are never carved into fairest I'll be happy.

[Matthew Lloyd]

That last sentence should reference "fairways"

Damn iPhone autocorrect

[Matt Wharton]

We have mowed half & half here at Sonoma since 2007.  It used to take three operators three and a half hours to mow all 18 holes, now we finish in four hours but with only two operators.  Saves us time for sure.  It does make a huge difference in the health and density of our rough just off of the fairways.  Less turns/traffic from the heavy fairway units is worth the switch alone.

Interestingly enough when we hosted the Schwab Cup from 03-09 we made the switch in 07 and got lots of resistance from the tour players.  They actually claimed that it was an "unfair" maintenance practice because the grain on one side of the fairway was into the player and was a disadvantage.  We then tried to disprove this theory by checking ball roll out on each side of the center line.  Turns out the players were right....the roll out was better down grain, by 3% on a 40yd roll out.  Not exactly a huge disadvantage.  We were instructed to make sure we switched the pattern every day as to not create an unfair condition.  Kind of silly.  Some of the comments we got from the tour players were unimaginable from people who have spent their entire lives on a golf course.  That needs another thread itself.  

Since switching to this type of mowing in 2010 I have always made the effort to change directions (clockwise vs. counterclockwise) in an effort to prevent a prevalent grain from forming.  I would typically change directions once every 3 weeks.  Mainly because it takes at least a week or more for the pattern (light vs. dark) to change and become highly visible.  We are closed on Mondays, with the exception of occasional outside outings, and I use these days to stripe the fairways 9-3 (straight across) prior to changing mowing directions.  This has worked ok, but this year I am planning to change directions each mowing.  I realize the pattern will not be highly visible, but I am concerned less about that as much as I am trying to prevent grain.

[MClutterbuck]

I have gone through this and many other postings where mowing patterns are discussed. Agronomical, wear and tear, aesthetic, tradition and even playability points of view abound and the answers are probably not even the same for different grasses. What I have noticed, is that most positive comments are received on pictures where there is no discernible mowing patterns. I notice that with Bandon, NGLA, and many Scotish links.

To me no mowing pattern on fairways and rough is certainly the best and I believe most people like this look.

So my question here to superintendents is:

How do we achieve this on a new fescue course? I believe it is tougher the first season when you are still in grow in mode on certain areas and you want to encourage good growth. Any ideas? And for the second season, how do you mow for no patterns assuming you do not have the resources to mow in just one direction?

[Joe Hancock]

MClutterbuck,

On the courses I have grown in, I started the process by paying no attention to what was, or wasn't, going to be fairway. I would mow wall-to-wall, in as many different directions as possible. That did a couple things, in my opinion; it kept grain from developing early on, and it massaged the ground, while it was still fresh, in a way that wouldn't develop ruts, patterns, etc.

Hope this helps,

Joe

[Justin VanLanduit]

This was the first season we've mowed completely with half n half.  Previous years we've done half n half during spring and fall when staff was short and was a big help, in season we'd mow at diagonals and burn in the checkerboard.  This season we maintained half n half as it's getting harder and harder to fill a full staff and it's a huge time saver for us.  We see about 1.5 to 2 hour savings depending on grass conditions (wet, long) taking a bit more time.  I personally like the look, I've always enjoyed making the fairways look like art.  While doing the half n half though we do switch up and go opposite directions to push the turf back up and reduce grain.  We'll also bring out our big fairway brush and brush the turf as well.  Actually mow'd tees half n half this season as well to save time due to short staff.
Patterns are all aesthetics, some like one way some like another.  Practicality too with labor savings comes to the mind of the Superintendent though, where as the golfer at times don't recognize that. 

[Jon Wiggett]

So my question here to superintendents is:

How do we achieve this on a new fescue course? I believe it is tougher the first season when you are still in grow in mode on certain areas and you want to encourage good growth. Any ideas? And for the second season, how do you mow for no patterns assuming you do not have the resources to mow in just one direction?

In my experience you need to give fescue at least four seasons to mature as a sward. If you do not have the patience then you will fail.

Jon

[MClutterbuck]

Jon, can you explain your comment further? Thanks.

[Jon Wiggett]

Jon, can you explain your comment further? Thanks.

You cannot force fescue. It will give a great playing surface once mature but it needs time to mature. Like all grasses it will flourish in some spots and struggle in others. Where it struggles the environment can be helped a little but the fescue will still need time to establish. Getting fescue established has as much if not more to do with making it hard for other grasses as encouraging the fescue. Some of the modern so called links courses here in the UK have panicked and overseeded with rye which they hope to eradicate later. In doing this they show no understanding of either fescue or links conditions.

On a good, lean fescue sward you will not really produce a strong mowing pattern.

Jon

[Jay Mickle]

Have to go reread how to post pictures.

[Jay Mickle]

I knew that my expertise as a farrier would come in handy at some time. Here is a photo of a shoe used on horses to pull the mowers of the past;

[Gary Slatter]

Not that it matters, but I dislike stripes on any fairways.  light and dark is my favourite for normal courses, and they shouldn't mow the same direction all the time. 
I had never heard of "half and half" but I assume it's the same as "light and dark".

[MClutterbuck]

Beginning of season for us. The architect has insisted we try the more classic half and half or light dark cut, that in his views fit better with the philosophy of the design.


I personally prefer the no pattern look, but that would require more resources (more mowers working in one direction only) or more time, and it would not be an environmentally sound practice.


This is the first attempt below, not at all perfect, but good enough to showcase what I see as the shortfall of this look. It appears to make the fairway less wide. Only the left part of the fairway appears to be fairway, with the right side appearing to be rough.





Below the cut last year, which looks wider.




When I talk to golfers, there is a 90/10 proportion in favor of the diagonal cut. 

Unfortunately we will have a mowing pattern, absent spending a lot more money, so what do people here think about how it affects perceived width and the design?

[Erik J. Barzeski]

This is the first attempt below, not at all perfect, but good enough to showcase what I see as the shortfall of this look. It appears to make the fairway less wide. Only the left part of the fairway appears to be fairway, with the right side appearing to be rough.

I don't agree - I think the half-n-half style looks just as wide, if not wider. I think you can tell that it's not rough from the fairway, even if the color is shiny-dull and the dull side looks a bit more like rough than the shiny side.

But I'm not an architect or a superintendent.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I think the first picture looks wider because it is cropped. I don't have a strong opinion, but I do like the look of the striping.

[Peter Flory]

I don't like the half and half.  It makes me want to hit to the down grain portion and makes the fairways feel narrower. 

[Greg Chambers]

If you just back up the prior direction every time you mow, you won’t burn the pattern in...and the contrast will be much less jarring.

[Jeff Schley]

Beginning of season for us. The architect has insisted we try the more classic half and half or light dark cut, that in his views fit better with the philosophy of the design.


I personally prefer the no pattern look, but that would require more resources (more mowers working in one direction only) or more time, and it would not be an environmentally sound practice.


This is the first attempt below, not at all perfect, but good enough to showcase what I see as the shortfall of this look. It appears to make the fairway less wide. Only the left part of the fairway appears to be fairway, with the right side appearing to be rough.





Below the cut last year, which looks wider.




When I talk to golfers, there is a 90/10 proportion in favor of the diagonal cut. 

Unfortunately we will have a mowing pattern, absent spending a lot more money, so what do people here think about how it affects perceived width and the design?

What a gorgeous looking setting.  What course is this?  Love to play it early in the season with the snow capped mountains.  BTW I like the half and half for it gives me the centerline so I can "attack" the course .

[John Emerson]

For the life of me I cannot understand why superintendents still mow with stripes.  Is the biggest waste of time, labor, and fuel.  Remember, there isn’t any straight lines in nature so mowing stripes makes it look very fake/artificial. The half and half, or the top to bottom alternating contour stripes is the superior way to mow fairways.