For reference, what would those heights compare to on today's courses? What, if anything, is cut at 3/16s today? What is cut at .5? Thanks!
3/16 is equivalent to .187 thousandths.
With the frequency of cut that we have today we can provide good playing surfaces with Greens heights of .125 and Fairways heights of .400.
You can get more run on the ball below these heights, but at some point there are diminishing returns to dropping the mowers.
The Poa annua era of golf in America was largely driven by mowing at heights below what the original Piper & Oakley varieties could tolerate. If they had kept the heights above .130 those old varieties would have had a fighting chance against Poa invasion. But the green speed would have stayed around 8-10 feet at that height and modern golfers grew impatient with those speeds. Thankfully now we have varieties that can tolerate the close mowing. It's a shame though, because those Piper & Oakley selections were wonderful playing surfaces, especially the Toronto C-15 bent. I had the privilege of keeping a pure set of Toronto greens. I never dropped below .130 and they averaged 10-11 if they were kept on the dry and hungry side.