How do you cut that grass so short?

That's a good question. We have specialized mowers for the entire golf course but none are as important as the greens mowers. We mow the greens between 1/10th (.100) - 1/8th (.125) of an inch, the height and frequency depends on the time of year. In the fall and spring we mow lower and more often because the bent grass is actively growing, however, in the heat of the summer we raise the heights up a little and mow less often.

                       

                  "The blades on Reel Mowers work just like a pair of scissors; they have sharp edges that snick together to lift and cut individual blades of grass. This style creates clean, even looking cuts across the top of your lawn. With a reel mower, you can easily duplicate the striped pattern found at ballparks and manicured gardens.

There are several rotating blades on a reel mower, paired up with a single back blade. The back blade is usually fixed at the base of the rotating cylinder, in-between the wheels. As the wheels spin, they turn the rotating blades. The rotating blades rotate towards the back blade, gathering up loose stalks of grass as they turn through their arc. When the back blade brushes against the spinning blades, it cleanly cuts any grass or weeds caught in between.

Grass that is cut cleanly is also healthy grass. Since reel mowers cut the grass with interlocking blades, they do not tear or shred plants as they cut. Grass heals quickly from these clean cuts and is less likely to suffer from diseases and insect attacks than grass with ragged edges. When plants spend less time fighting disease, they have more energy to use developing deep, drought resistant roots" (http://www.reelmowers.org/)

(Juilo mowing #10 green with Jacobsen set at .100)

At St Ives we are lucky enough have 2 types of Greens Mowers (Toro and Jacobsen). This give us a lot of flexibility; for a couple of reasons. When we aerifiy the sand dulls the bed knife and reels; having 2 sets of mowers allows the mechanic to have fresh mowers daily. Also, one type of mower is a little more aggressive (it has the ability to mow lower) while the other is less aggressive for mowing during times of stress.  Our Mechanic Carlos Hernandez does a great job of setting up the mowers correctly, there is no room for error when you mow at 1/10th of an inch. 

                                              (Acaiso checking the quality of cut after mowing)