October 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 80

OPERATIONS
Grounds Care Machines and Their Maintenance
By Bill Frank

W

hen maintaining park and recreation properties, having the
right equipment is key to keeping the grass pristine for visitors to enjoy. However, much like there is a wide array of
property types, there are also multiple machines designed
to maintain the grounds. To help navigate through all the options, following are some different types of grounds maintenance machines, the benefits
of each and best practices for keeping equipment running year-round.

Types of Equipment

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOHN DEERE

Understanding your needs is the
first step to help ensure you are
selecting the right machine for
the job. What work are you trying to complete? For example, do
you only want to cut grass, or are
you looking to complete multiple
tasks? Also, consider horsepower
needs and the terrain of the property on which you will be working. All these factors will help

identify the best machine.
Zero-turn radius mowers come
to mind when most people think
about machines designed to cut
expansive areas of grass. Powerful
cutting machines, zero-turns allow
the operator to quickly and efficiently maneuver through broad
areas of grass. They are also particularly efficient in areas with lots
of objects, to mow around, such as
trees and landscaping.

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Parks & Recreation

| O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

For maintaining large-acreage
park and recreational facilities, a
popular choice is the wide-area
mower. Equipped with three mower decks, wide-area mowers have a
larger cutting width than other machine options, which helps to speed
up the total cutting time.
Front mowers are another great
grounds maintenance option,
as they combine maneuverability with the ability to mow lots of
grass. One factor that separates
front mowers from other mowers
is their multi-season capabilities.
They can be equipped with attachments to tackle other tasks, such as
snow removal, giving owners more
bang for their buck.
Compact utility tractors have
a reputation for being the " swiss
army knife " of equipment, as these
machines can be transformed, using a vast array of implements, to
tackle just about any task. From
mowing and aerating, to blowers,
blades, backhoes and loaders, compact utility tractors are ideal because of their versatility.
There are other types of equipment that might be helpful for
maintenance on other areas of the
property. For example, while compact utility tractors are good for
sports field maintenance, specialty
equipment should also be considered, so work with a dealer to discuss your needs to determine the
right mix of sports turf equipment.
Another important machine to
consider adding to your lineup is
a utility vehicle. Utility vehicles
allow for easy transport of people,
handheld equipment and materials



October 2018 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2018 - Parks & Recreation

October 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 1
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