Today was the first fairway cut for the season. We mowed the fairways 'light and dark' because it is less wear and tear on the roughs because we are not turning the mower after each pass like we do when we mow diagonal stripes. Light and dark is a neat tradition with old clubs because in the day when horses or mules pulled a fairway gang unit, you couldn't turn very easy. Therefore, the operator directing the horses went up and back, up and back which created that look. The dark stripe is grass laying towards you and the light stripe is grass laying away from you. The stripes result from the way light is reflected off of the grass.
