Mowing Patterns and Play

[Rick Sides]

So here is an interesting question.  Do you think mowing patterns affect your play at all?  Sometimes if your looking at a fairway from a tee box deciding how the fairway slopes or especially if your trying to read greens and lets say the green is cut in a certain direction.  Do you think this mowing pattern effects your line of putting?

[Dan Herrmann]

Rick - I think the 'up and back' pattern we're using this year eliminates a lot of unneeded visual 'noise', and makes the architecture easier to discern than the old checkerboard pattern we formerly used.

I think mowing patterns on tees are more significant, though.  A lot of folks use a stripe as an alignment aid. Well, we don't have stipes anymore, so it's a little tougher on thoe folks that used to use them.

I've never actually noticed mowing patterns on greens.

[Tom_Doak]

Rick:

I've often noticed when I am trying to line up a breaking putt that it appears that the walking greens mower was curving in the same direction when the mowing was performed, so that I am putting right down the line of cut.

[Dan Herrmann]

I will tell you that putting on a recently aerated green (that's done well, so it putts well) is a joy.  You can pick out a spot clearly and just aim at it.  It's as easy as bowling.