Are there any courses left that use Gang Mowers to cut Bent grass fairways

[BCowan]

?

[Tom_Doak]

I am sure there are some old country courses in the midwest that still use gang mowers, but I can't name one off the top of my head.  Springbrook in Maine might be another.

[BCowan]

Tom,

   Are they going to use gang mowers at Stoatin Brae?  I'd really like to see some of the new bent varieties cut with a gang due to them growing more vertical and requiring less water.  On a side note I hear there are some new strands of Fescue that have potential.   

[Anthony_Nysse]

Diamond Springs maintains with Parkmasters, but they don't have bentgrass.

[Steve Okula]

Parkmasters? Wow! I haven't seen one of those for 35 years.

[Anthony_Nysse]

Parkmasters? Wow! I haven't seen one of those for 35 years.

When the course was built and the first few years of maintenance, it was Parkmasters. Everything but greens there is one height. I remember the Supt asking local Supts for parts and if anyone had an old Parkmasters "in the back of the shop."

[Mike_Young]

I know where there is an old Parkmaster presently...and it runs fine...

[BCrosby]

Help me out here. Why would it matter if Parkmaster gang mowers are used to cut bent fw's? Is it just a matter of nostalgia or are there other reasons?


Bob

[Anthony_Nysse]

Help me out here. Why would it matter if Parkmaster gang mowers are used to cut bent fw's? Is it just a matter of nostalgia or are there other reasons?


Bob

  VERY, VERY rarely see Parkmasters or 7gang pull behinds units to mow any more. Everything is hydraulics, lightweight and 1 machine (no tractor pulling unit)
  Quality of cut and heights can differ greatly, also.

[Dave McCollum]

Calling Don Mahaffey.  I think I read he still uses gang mowers pulled behind a tractor and then uses the same tractor to bail the hay on the ranch.  We don't bail hay, but use our gang puller to plow snow and other jobs.  Of course neither of these examples are on bent fairways, except on our 9th hole which in the original routing was the driving range.  River down the right side didn't work out too well for range ball shelf life.  They must have seeded the range with whatever seed they had because there is lots of bent in the fairway.     

[Jon Wiggett]

Dave,


I use a set of 5 gang Hayters (hydraulic) towed behind a tractor for cutting my semi. It is fine as long as it is fairly dry or you cut frequently but if it is wet and a little long because you flatten the grass with the tractor wheel it can leave uneven cutting. Also, if wet grass can build up under the units which also effects the quality of cut. Having said that if you are cutting at 3/4" or less then it is not a problem and cutting with a set of properly set up gangs is far more efficient.


I also use my tractor for hay cutting and baling which is a nice little extra source of income.


Jon

[Garland Bayley]

I believe the last time I was at McNary in Keizer, OR they used the gang mowers. That's been five years or more ago. Recently our super or perhaps it was Pete P of this website told me there was someone in NW Oregon still using gang mowers. Can't remember who was using, perhaps it was McNary, but my impression was that it was a more upscale place.


How's that for a waffling, ambiguous post?

[Dave McCollum]

On reflection, we gang mow our roughs as well.

[Mike_Young]

I gang mow with a Toro Reelmaster until we are 30 yards from the greens and then we mow the complexes with lightweight mowers...a gang mower can last 25 years if cared for..

[Greg Chambers]

Rustic Canyon mows their fairways with a gang, but the fairways aren't bent.  They mow the bent with lightweight mowers.  Probably a good decision.


Olivas Links, also in Ventura county, mows their paspalum fairways with a gang.

[BCowan]

Help me out here. Why would it matter if Parkmaster gang mowers are used to cut bent fw's? Is it just a matter of nostalgia or are there other reasons?


Bob

  VERY, VERY rarely see Parkmasters or 7gang pull behinds units to mow any more. Everything is hydraulics, lightweight and 1 machine (no tractor pulling unit)
  Quality of cut and heights can differ greatly, also.

Tony,

   If a gang gives one a 7.5/10 quality cut is it worth some more time to see how it performs on newer bents?  The new strands tend to grow more upright and require less water.  Do you feel a gang cut would be too much of a flier lie with bent grass these days?  I find the ultra low height we are cutting bent grass fairways today unneeded especially for the majority of golfers.  I'm curious if a higher cut on the new bent strands would mean more additional thatch then with a normal low cut.  It would be cool to see some new technology mixed up with some old school stuff to see what happens.  One could say you are putting an escort engine in a Corvette but oh well.

Would an aluminum frame reduce the weight by 2/3 and thus require a small lighter tracker to pull?   

[Jon Wiggett]

This is maybe a little off topic but are the natural grasslands in the US mainly a mono-culture? Though my reasoning based on my professional knowledge of grass cultivation and grassland management tells me it cannot be the discussions held on turf maintenance in the US point heavily towards this being the case.


Jon

[Anthony_Nysse]

Help me out here. Why would it matter if Parkmaster gang mowers are used to cut bent fw's? Is it just a matter of nostalgia or are there other reasons?


Bob

  VERY, VERY rarely see Parkmasters or 7gang pull behinds units to mow any more. Everything is hydraulics, lightweight and 1 machine (no tractor pulling unit)
  Quality of cut and heights can differ greatly, also.

Tony,

   If a gang gives one a 7.5/10 quality cut is it worth some more time to see how it performs on newer bents?  The new strands tend to grow more upright and require less water.  Do you feel a gang cut would be too much of a flier lie with bent grass these days?  I find the ultra low height we are cutting bent grass fairways today unneeded especially for the majority of golfers.  I'm curious if a higher cut on the new bent strands would mean more additional thatch then with a normal low cut.  It would be cool to see some new technology mixed up with some old school stuff to see what happens.  One could say you are putting an escort engine in a Corvette but oh well.

Would an aluminum frame reduce the weight by 2/3 and thus require a small lighter tracker to pull?

The newer bents have not been developed to be maintained at a higher HOC. Courses that can get away with a gang mowers are those that have some sort of rye/blue/fescue/bent mix and maintain north of .500". I'm not sure that players would tolerate fwys that high if they were paying $50+ to play. Even Penncross above .5" can get very leafy and thatchy without some verticutting.
  The courses that are mowing with gang mowers probably aren't spending the money to seed with bentgrass because they're not going to spend the money (aerifying, verticutting and fungicides) to maintain it and get the benefits of bengrass.