# Manual Greens Mower?



## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

Not sure if this falls under equipment or general discussion(rant), but why are there so few quality manual reel mowers available to the US?

USA has ok mowers with Fiskars, Mclane, and Earthwise/Scotts. Places like the UK and AU have electric/manual hybrid reel mowers and mowers with large drums and rollers meant to be geared more as a greens mower. Unless you pay $2100 for the Hudson, you can not find a mower like that design in the US; however, it appears there is an abundance of quality manual greens style mowers in the UK.

Why? Popularity? Demand? The drum in the rear and front roller seams like a no brainer design.

I.E.:
https://youtu.be/ZSSEt2P-Flc

https://youtu.be/PgeRNTj6gxw

Does anyone know of any manual greens mower from other countries that are high quality and can be imported?


----------



## DFWdude (Aug 28, 2020)

The UK has them because they have legislation that prohibits / restricts use of small engines. Plus fuel there is quite expensive.


----------



## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I also think it has to do with them having smaller lawns in general then we do over here in the States. Those small cylinder mowers are perfect for their little patch of grass that most houses have in the UK and AUS. The demand for them isn't that high here since most lawns are quite larger and most American's don't care for their lawns that well and just want something to mow with and be done.


----------



## hsvtoolfool (Jul 23, 2018)

My lot is 14,000 square feet (1,300 square meters) with moderate slope. It's really NOT fun to push mow that much lawn without power driven wheels. Not to mention the heat and humidity of my region. About July 4th, it's typically 100° F with 95% humidity and zero chance of rain. Even with power driven wheels, I mow the front one afternoon, edge the next afternoon, and then cut the back the next afternoon. Rinse and repeat.


----------



## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

Thanks for the responses. My yard is only 2000 sq ft. which is generous for a busy California incorperated city. I contacted Mclane about their 10 blade but they havent responded. As far as I know they are discontinued. My end goal is have a mower like this:


Edit: I should probably mention that I have an Earthwise 7 blade but it will not go below 9mm for the Bentgrass green I am planning out for a putting range or lawn bowling


----------



## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

I was just thinking about this the other day, I feel like if more people knew that this type of mower existed there would be more people that would have home greens. Let's be honest no one wants to be that neighbor that has their lawn mower running everyday. I have a 1924 toro golf greens mower and it does a fantastic job mowing both my eye grass and creeping bent patches just fine right down to 1/16". Only problem I have now is that I've run out of blade to sharpen so good luck finding a replacement reel. I also have an old Webber wasp which cuts Nice but it's 12" so it doesn't do me much good lol. I wish there was a local manufacturer that made a qualcast like mower for half the price, I'd be all over that !


----------



## Bombers (Jul 14, 2020)

beautiful first post above lol


----------



## f_l (Aug 11, 2020)

I'm with you...have 2000 sq ft in the New York tristate area and want to mow low. options suck. looking into allett but not sure if i want to drop that much for my "small" space plus nearest dealer is in...massachusetts


----------



## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

f_l said:


> I'm with you...have 2000 sq ft in the New York tristate area and want to mow low. options suck. looking into allett but not sure if i want to drop that much for my "small" space plus nearest dealer is in...massachusetts


Your best bet is to look used to keep costs low, I have three manual push greens mower that I've spent a total of 400$. Just takes a lot of looking.


----------



## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

Bombers said:


> beautiful first post above lol


Cheers, I've been a browser of the forum for a while. Decided it was time to join. I try to keep my lawn maintenance costs under 50$ per year. I'm a cheap man he seems the name.


----------



## f_l (Aug 11, 2020)

Cheap_coast_mower said:


> f_l said:
> 
> 
> > I'm with you...have 2000 sq ft in the New York tristate area and want to mow low. options suck. looking into allett but not sure if i want to drop that much for my "small" space plus nearest dealer is in...massachusetts
> ...


trying...my area doesnt have a ton of folks mowing low. i may have to drive a bit far out for one.


----------



## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

f_l said:


> Cheap_coast_mower said:
> 
> 
> > f_l said:
> ...


Fair enough, should be a decent collection of them on eBay, our eBay in Canada kind of sucks so it's not really an option for us.


----------



## ken-n-nancy (Jul 25, 2017)

Cheap_coast_mower said:


> ... I have a 1924 toro golf greens mower and it does a fantastic job mowing both my eye grass and creeping bent patches just fine right down to 1/16". ...


Is that the 1924 Toro golf greens mower? Nice!


----------



## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

ken-n-nancy said:


> Cheap_coast_mower said:
> 
> 
> > ... I have a 1924 toro golf greens mower and it does a fantastic job mowing both my eye grass and creeping bent patches just fine right down to 1/16". ...
> ...


It's the mower in the other picture, you can see the iconic dimple look in the rear drum. I made the front roller for it, as the original design had the front wheels outside of the height adjusters, which have two setting one for the fringe and one for the green. Fun fact toro had an 85% hold on the greens mower market at the the time, and people didn't fully trust the cut quality of motorized greens mowers until the 1950's


----------



## ThomasPI (May 18, 2019)

Best of the best: Hudson Star @Passat774 has one, perhaps he will chime in. NOT cheap.


----------



## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

I am surprised the Hudson doesnt have a front roller. Although if you are mowing green heights I would hope there is no bump that strictly fits in that 10 inch gap or so.


----------



## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

Sonoran Desert Lawn said:


> I am surprised the Hudson doesnt have a front roller. Although if you are mowing green heights I would hope there is no bump that strictly fits in that 10 inch gap or so.


Hudson Star will be offering a grooved front roller for $175 very soon if not already. They will also offer a new model that will have a higher HOC. It should have been released this summer. However, I have not seen anything on it yet.

It's a nice push mower for cutting a green, but I prefer a greens mower for my lawn. So, I sold the Hudson Star pictured above by @ThomasPI.


----------



## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

TulsaFan said:


> Sonoran Desert Lawn said:
> 
> 
> > I am surprised the Hudson doesnt have a front roller. Although if you are mowing green heights I would hope there is no bump that strictly fits in that 10 inch gap or so.
> ...


Agreed, I've used both the Hudson star and my manual toro and they both do a great job if you are able to stay on top of mowing. If you miss a 3-5 days of mowing in peak growth season they're a nightmare to use compared to a motorized greens mower. I'd imagine if you use PGR you wouldn't have those issues though.


----------

