# What kind of lawn mower is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2015, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560 "2015-07-30T05:19:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560/21 "2015-07-30T18:04:49Z")
Interesting that this mower is featured in an article entitled “11 Ways You May Be Sabotaging Your Marriage”, as linked in the OP. Too much yardwork affecting your relationship? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560/22 "2015-07-30T18:08:57Z")
[quote=“MikeF, post:19, topic:726560”] Here’s a mower that really doesn’t have any wheels. [/QUOTE] > [@TriPolar](#): > > There was a mower like that back in the 60s. It must be nothing but trouble. There still is. [Many, in fact](http://www.flymo.com/uk/lawn-mowers/hover/). In the UK I think they outsell wheeled mowers. They’re not hard to operate. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560/23 "2015-07-30T18:23:58Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > There still is. [Many, in fact](http://www.flymo.com/uk/lawn-mowers/hover/). In the UK I think they outsell wheeled mowers. They’re not hard to operate. That leaves me with nothing but questions. How on earth do you mow over rough ground or on hills? Does it only work on metric yards? Or is a yard called a metre over there, like “Let’s go sit out in the backmetre?”. Do they have a hover snowblower too? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560/24 "2015-07-30T18:37:56Z")
Most English lawns are pretty flat, and they’re generally relatively small compared to US yards. [This](https://www.google.com/maps/place/181+Knightlow+Rd,+Birmingham,+West+Midlands+B17+8PY,+UK/@52.4677046,-1.9561237,128m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x4870bd9f52bdd505:0x579ef9885163f47b!6m1!1e1) is the surburban house I did much of my growing up in. As you can see, the back garden (what British people call a backyard) is only about 40 feet deep and 15 wide, and when we first moved there it felt like we had acres to ourselves. The big green bit is common waste ground, in case you’re wondering. The blades create a small updraft which allows the mower to function sort of like a hovercraft. It still touches the ground, but because the fairing is smooth and flat is slides easily on grass. You can move it sideways, which is handy for the small spaces we’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560/25 "2015-07-30T19:26:22Z")
Pretty sure a downdraught would be more useful in creating lift, but yes. I had a small electric hover twenty years ago. Useless if the grass was on the long side, it couldn’t hover over that although it did just fine if the grass needed only an inch or so taken off. Most Brits still use inches, feet and yards informally, though. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560/26 "2015-07-30T19:27:43Z")
Up, down, potato, potahto. 😉 I should have said it still touches the _grass_, rather than ground, too. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560/27 "2015-07-30T22:38:22Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > But I worked at a golf course one summer (mid/late 70’s) and we didn’t use anything like that. There are quite a few different types. That one looks similar to a couple of these. [Greens Mowers](http://www.putting-greens.com/gear.html) As regards striping, although rollers will emphasize them, they are not the cause. It’s the direction of the pass that shows stripes. When you make a pass, you’re also pushing the blades over and when you come back in the other direction, the grass leans in that direction. It’s the way the light reflects off the two different directions that create the striping effect. When I was in the lawn maintenance business, I always stressed to take care with the lines. We also alternated the direction of the passes from week to week, not just because the cross hatching looked great, it really helps the grass to not be mowed in the same direction every time. Stands up better for a more complete cut. Of course, not every lawn shape worked for that, but when it was appropriate, I would also do an occasional diagonal direction. These were lawns mowed to a 2.5-3.5" height with commercial rotary walk behinds and ZTR\* mowers, not golf greens. - [Zero Turning Radius](http://blog.buchallase.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/ScreenShot029.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560/28 "2015-07-30T23:49:54Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > But I worked at a golf course one summer (mid/late 70’s) and we didn’t use anything like that. I’s shocked to hear that. I worked all through college on golf courses (1980’s) and every mower we had but a couple were variations of that. What were the greens mowed with? Even the rough was mowed with the big gang mowers towed behind a tractor. Obviously we didn’t capture the clippings from that, but the mechanism and look was the same, just larger. Push rotary mowers were used only in tight spots, like around flower beds near the clubhouse. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560/29 "2015-07-31T00:39:49Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > IWhat were the greens mowed with? It was an attachment that went on the big riding mowers we used. It stuck out to the side and the mower was driven around the green, but not on it, and the attachment would do the cutting. This left a unique look to it. There was a hand held unit but it didn’t look like the one I posted in the OP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-lawn-mower-is-this/726560.md?page=1)