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The mowers of a golf course are different from mowing equipment we use in a garden or park. For maintaining a widespread area of more than 30 hectares, we need tools that are fast, powerful and work with utmost precision. Therefore, electric, diesel and petrol-powered engines are equipped in the modern golf course mowers. The maintained area of a golf course is divided into four different parts and all you need to know about different golf course mowers including:-
1) Tee box
2) Fairway
3) Greens
4) Rough
Tee area requires low profile grass which increases followed by fairway, greens and rough. The rest of the half portion is covered by hazards that can be sand bunkers, long grass and small ponds etc. However, these areas also require timely maintenance because hazards become a habitat for several unwanted creatures if not cleaned timely. In order to maintain turf and making it compatible for gameplay, you need different types of mowers that we can divide into two basic categories i.e.
• Reel Mower
• Rotary Mower
All models available in the market are based on these two mechanisms. Renowned brands like John Deere and Toro golf course mowers are available in models suitable for tees, fairway, greens and rough. The blade extension of mowers specifies their complete mechanism. In this article, you are going to understand the basic difference between reel and rotary mowers.
Reel Mowers
In reel mowers, the blade extensions are designed in a helical structure. Reels are cylindrical shaped detachable blades. In a typical reel, 5 to 9 blades are fixed to give utmost precision while mowing. Reels revolve horizontally to cut down the grass from the ground. Here is a list of some pros and cons of reels.
Pros
1) Reels work precisely without damaging the roots of the grass.
2) They are suitable for areas like tee box and fairway where grass needs to be low profile.
3) Reel mowers work silently.
Cons
1) Reels are suitable for low-profile grass but they work very slowly.
2) There is a huge risk of damaging reel blades in the rough area.
Rotary Mowers
Mowers with rotary blades extension are called rotary mowers. These types of mowing devices are equipped with extensions that rotate like a chopper blade. Rotary mower chop grass vertically. Below are some pros and cons of this mower to understand in detail.
Pros
1) This turf equipment works much faster than reel mower because the rotary blades have a less complex mechanism.
2) You can run a rotary mower in rough areas also without worrying about damaging blades.
3) Its blades can reach edge-to-edge that gives a perfect finishing to your lawn.
4) Not only for turfgrass but rotary mowers are also suitable for curing tall weed.
Cons
1) Although they are faster than reels, you cannot expect perfection while narrow length cutting.
2) Only machine-operated rotary mowers are successful. Manual mowers with a rotary mechanism cannot work effectively.
A golf course needs both rotary and reel mowers for different areas. Reel mowers are important for areas like tees and fairways where close cutting of grass is required with utmost perfection and without damaging the roots. On the other hand, rotary mowers are helpful in maintaining the turf from greens and rough. Moreover, you can also control weeds and tall grass from hazards. Toro golf course mowers with reel blade extensions are much older than rotary mowers. Rotary blades were designed to work faster but cannot serve the purpose as a reel mower replacement. While choosing a mower for golf courses, make sure that it is customizable with 3-5 extension blades and has a powerful engine. Also, check the seating comfort because you may need to spend a complete day only for mowing.
