Golf Greens Type of Mower

The use of a pedestrian or ride-on triple cylinder mower can provide for interesting perspectives, but a majority of greenkeepers would indicate that a pedestrian mower will produce a higher quality cut than a triple mower. Much of this will, however, be due to personal preference and influenced by the quality of the mower, how well it has been maintained and set up and the skill of the user.

If there is a qualitative difference between a triple mower and pedestrian mower than this could be argued to be negligible, if at all in some cases, although nearly all modern mowers are finely engineered machines of excellent quality.

Other benefits and limitations within any consideration are that typically the maintenance and operation of a pedestrian mower is easier and cheaper than that of a triple mower, although productivity is greater with a triple mower.

During the main growing season and especially if the greens are mown on a daily basis the use of a triple mower will save considerable time and this is a key requirement during this period. Occasional hand mowing might also be interspersed with triple mowing with two hand mows to five triple mows as a guide, if mown daily, but clearly this will vary depending on available resources and requirements.

Triple mowing at a weekend would also be typical as staff would also typically only be in work during the early morning, so time is of the essence in getting greens prepared during this short period.

During the wetter autumn and winter period hand mowing will typically be the only, or predominant, method for mowing greens.

Whichever type of mower is used a green will have the main body mown first and then a final finishing cut, often called a clean-up cut, will be carried out around the perimeter of the green. The green surround, which will be either one or two mower widths, and apron will often be cut slightly higher than that of the green, ¼" (6.5mm) to 5/16" (8mm) being typical.

Turning off a green with a triple mower can lead to bruising of the grass and smearing of the surface if wet and if turning too sharply. If the green has an excessive depth of thatch then the use of a hand mower can also leave footmarks when it is wet, whilst the use of a triple mower can leave tyre run marks.

When the end of a mowing run is reached with a triple mower, the units will typically be raised, drive disengaged and turning takes place off the green. This action can often see grass clippings being dislodged from the unit, ending up on the sward just off the green; this will require switching to disperse the small clumps of grass from being left as an unsightly distraction from an otherwise well-manicured green.