Having your own personal putting green is the ultimate dream for many golfers, and learning to mow it correctly is the single most important part of making that dream a reality. A perfect cut is what separates a regular patch of lawn from a surface that rolls pure and true. This guide will walk you through the essential equipment, techniques, and routines needed to achieve a perfectly manicured backyard golf green.
First things first: your standard rotary lawn mower - the one you use for the rest of your yard - is not going to work. A rotary mower tears and rips grass from the top, and its lowest setting is nowhere near low enough for a putting surface. For a golf green, you need a specialized piece of equipment called a reel mower.
A reel mower doesn't tear the grass, it cuts it with a scissor-like action. It has a T-shaped cutting unit with a series of blades (the reel) that spin against a stationary bedknife. This clean, precise shear is what allows you to maintain the turf at the famously low heights required for a putting green without damaging the plant.
When looking for a greens mower, pay attention to the number of blades on the reel. More blades translate to a finer, smoother cut. For a putting green, you ideally want a mower with 11 blades or more. This higher blade count increases the "clip rate," meaning you get more cuts per foot of forward travel, resulting in a cleaner surface.
Before you even fire up the engine, you need to understand the three core principles of greens mowing. Getting these right is more important than achieving perfect stripes on day one.
This is the measurement from the ground to the tip of the grass blade *after* it’s been cut. For a home putting green built with bentgrass or ultra-dwarf Bermuda grass, your HOC will typically be somewhere between _0.125 inches (1/8") and 0.156 inches (5/32")_. That's about 3 to 4 millimeters. This incredibly low height is what allows a golf ball to roll smoothly without bouncing or being deflected by the grass blades themselves. Calibrating your HOC accurately requires a special height-of-cut gauge - an indispensable tool for any greenskeeper.
Maintaining grass at such a low height is stressful for the plant. To manage this, you must abide by the “Rule of Thirds,” which states you should never remove more than one-third of the grass blade in a single mowing. To stick to this rule with grass that's only 1/8" tall, you have to mow frequently. During peak growing season (late spring and summer), this means mowing at least every other day, and for the absolute best results, every single day. Mowing is not a weekend chore, it's a daily or near-daily ritual.
Grass is often covered in dew or guttation fluid in the mornings. Mowing a wet green is a bad idea - it leads to clumping, uneven cuts, and can promote fungal diseases. Before you mow, you need to remove this moisture. You can use a dedicated "dew whip," but a long fiberglass pole, bamboo staff, or even dragging a lightweight hose across the surface works just as well. Simply brush the moisture off the grass blades before making your first pass.
Once you understand the principles, the actual process becomes a smooth routine. Here’s how to do it correctly every time.
Always start by giving your mower a quick check. Is the gas topped off? Is the height of cut set correctly? Are the reels spinning freely? Critically, are the blades sharp? A dull reel mower bruises the grass, leaving a brownish, shredded tip instead of a clean cut. You’ll need to learn how to check the cut and perform a "backlap" to keep it sharp.
Next, walk your green and clear off any leaves, twigs, stones, or other debris that could get caught in the mower and damage the blades or bedknife.
Your first mow of the day should be what’s called a "cleanup pass" or "first lap." Slowly mow one complete lap around the outer perimeter of your green. This accomplishes two things: First, it gives you a clean, defined edge to work against. Second, it creates a buffer zone, making it easier to turn the mower around without scuffing the edges of the green on your subsequent passes.
Now it’s time to create those beautiful stripes. Begin on one side of the green and mow a perfectly straight line to the other end. When you turn, line up your next pass so that the wheel of the mower slightly overlaps the line you just cut. This overlap, typically the width of one wheel, is vital to prevent unsightly “mohawks” or missed slivers of grass between your passes. Continue this back-and-forth pattern until you’ve mowed the entire green.
This is one of the most important professional techniques. Never mow in the same direction two days in a row. If you mow north-to-south today, you should mow east-to-west tomorrow. The day after, you should mow on a diagonal (e.g., northeast-to-southwest).
Why? Because grass, like any plant, will adapt to its environment. If you constantly push it in the same direction, it will start to "learn" to lie down that way. This creates a condition called grain, where the grass blades all lean in one direction, significantly affecting how your putts roll. Changing your mowing pattern daily encourages the grass to grow straight up, which creates a more consistent and true-rolling surface.
Many pros use a "mowing clock" to track their patterns. Imagine your green is a clock face:
This simple system prevents grain and ensures the health of your turf.
For a truly exceptional putting surface or for preparing for a friendly tournament, you can perform a "double cut." A double cut is exactly what it sounds like: mowing the green a second time in one session. The key is to make the second cut perpendicular (at a 90-degree angle) to the first. For example, if your initial cut was north-to-south, your second cut would be east-to-west. This clears up any stray grass blades ("stragglers") and produces an unbelievably smooth finish.
Properly mowing a backyard golf green is a discipline, but it’s an incredibly rewarding one. It’s about having the right tool for the job - a quality reel mower - and embracing a consistent process rooted in the principles of turfgrass health: cutting at a low HOC, mowing frequently, and continuously varying your pattern.
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