The maintenance crew is a popular summer job for college students. It is physically strenuous work that involves a lot mowing. Hand mowers are used to do the primary mowing. These mowing methods are used for the greens as well as the tee box. Greens, in particular, are mow every morning at 6 AM. This is an intricate and tedious process, but it can produce beautiful results if performed correctly. It is seven steps to help you with the green mower process.
1. The best place to park your trailer or cart is the one you choose.Hand mowers with special features are carried in trailers that can be attached to a cart. It is important to choose a parking spot so that you are able to properly load and unload your mower. Also, avoid blocking pathways.
2. Load the mower, and prepare to trim.You must carefully unload your mower to avoid damaging the blades. According to me, these mowers are more than ten thousand dollars. It would be very costly to damage the mower’s blades. Detachable wheels must be removed from your mower. The wheels are there for transporting the mower. People have tried to mow the lawn with them on but it doesn’t work. You don’t even have to consider the criticisms from your coworkers. After the mower has been unloaded, the wheels can be removed and it can be started. Turning the switch to ON near the mower is necessary and then pulling the starter cable. Once the starter cord is pulled, the mower turns on and then the blades turn on.
You do this by rotating two levers near the base. You must maintain a handle down in order to allow the mower’s clutch system to work. There is also a safety switch on the handle. The safety lever must be pushed forward. Once the safety lever is pressed, the handle will engage the mower. After the mower has been engaged, you are able to move in position. Keep in mind, however that you must not lift the mower blades from the ground by pressing down on the handle. This will prevent cutting grass that isn’t needed. The best tip for cutting grass is not to turn the blades on until you’re ready, but everyone has their preferred method.
3. Choose a design-You mow your golf greens from the front, back, and sides. An angle cut is the one that cuts from left to right or right to left. Imagine a square. Start at the corner in the lower right and work your way up to the corner in the upper left. This is called a right-to-left and cut, and vice versa for left to right. The superintendent often will inform everyone about the direction for the morning. Always, it is the opposite cut from the one before. It doesn’t matter if the greens are mowed from one side or the other. Tomorrow they will be mow front to back.
4. Final position for cutAfter deciding the cut direction, you can begin cutting. If you’re cutting in a corner or at the edge, this is the best place to start. To make a forward to back cut for instance, I recommend starting from the edge of the grass and drawing a straight line. For an angle cut, it is best to start at the corner of the green and work your way across. The direction that the cut should be made is determined by each golf course. My golf course instructs us to locate the 150-yard pole and draw a straight line between the pole and the green. This straight line will allow you to base all your cuts on.
5. Mowing itself is the real thingThe position of the cut can be determined so that the mowing process can commence. This is the most important line to follow, because all other lines will depend on it. The process is back-and-forth and ultimately leads to the actual turning of the mower. There are many ways to do this. Most people hold the mower by one hand, and then let it pivot about them. The mower will turn around to cut the next line. Although it is slower, I prefer to use two hands for the mow. The choice is yours, but keep the mower turning and the clutch in the engaged position. The mower will stop if the clutch is released. This can be dangerous as the operator may end up walking into the mower.
Straight lines are not easy to cut. Focus is required throughout the entire process. Others choose to view the road ahead like they’re driving, and then pick one point that they can focus on. This allows them to walk straight. A second method is to focus on the line that was mowed before and allow the mower to go slightly over the line. Another key to a perfect cut is overlaying. You must make sure you don’t miss any grass in between cuts. When mowing, two important points to remember are overlapping and not walking straight.
6. Check your bucket for any grass accumulationA bucket is attached at the front of your mower that captures any cut grass. It is important that you keep your eye on the bucket when you are mowing. You will need to stop every so often while you are mowing to empty the bucket. The bucket will eventually become full, and it will start to drip grass on the blades. This can cause dullness. A sharp blade is essential for mowing greens.
7. Clean upAfter you have completed the necessary back-and-forth passes, it is time to clean up. Clean up involves following the edges of the collar with your mower. The collar is usually a two foot wide piece of grass that runs along the edge of the green. Keep an eye out for the collar with your mower. You don’t want to damage the collar. You will need to do two clean-up passes.
First, follow the collar’s edge. Then make a second cut in the same direction as you did the first. The first cut should be made in clockwise order. If the second cut is in counterclockwise then it must follow that pattern. Clean up cuts remove any grass missed at the edges. The final step to mowing the green is this. You can now relax and admire your work once this step has been completed.
Although it may seem easy, mowing a green on a golf course is not an easy task. There are many things to remember. The end result is satisfying and you will enjoy the clean lines the whole day. This is a good form of exercise. We average 5 miles a day in lawnmowing on my course.