Lesson 10: A Cut Above
As you prepare to sink an eight-foot putt on the 5th green at Penn State's Blue Course, the noise of several early morning mowers breaks your concentration. One is completing its work on the 6th tee while another, larger unit is slowly traversing the length of the 3rd fairway, its path clearly marked by the sudden loss of dew. The reel units leave no trace of their harvest as large, white baskets mounted at the front of each unit capture all clippings.
Mowing was intended to duplicate the effects of grazing by livestock, but without the undesirable residues of their activities. Before the introduction of light-weight engines, mowing was an intensely physical activity. Scythes were used to transform an uneven sward of grasses and weeds to a carpet-like turf. In contrast, manually operated reel mowers required little more than brute force and persistence, but the product of such efforts was unquestionably better, save for the wheel marks left where the ground was too soft. Today, most reels, rotaries, and flails are gas powered. Little more than walking is required for small-unit operation; with intermediate and larger mowing units, the operator rides and works the controls. It has become more mental than physical, as one must make judgements about the nature, timing and intensity of the operations to be performed.
As you reflect on your observations, consider the following questions:
What to do...
In this lesson you will review information on Mowing. Throughout this lesson you will be prompted to do self-checks. If are able to answer all the questions in the self check correctly, you will have the option to skip over some of the material presented in this lesson, of course you can review everything if you want.
When you are finished going through the lesson, access the Lesson 10 Quiz. You can take the quiz up to 5 times. Practice! The questions are just like those you will find on the exams.