Mowing height does not affect speed of athletes – Turfgrass Science at Purdue University

Mowing height does not affect speed of athletes

We often hear the comment by coaches to change the mowing height of an athletic field when a particularly “fast” or “slow” team is coming to play.  In a comprehensive article by Kevin Trotta in a June 16, 2004, “Turf News” article, he clearly showed that mowing height has little effect on player speed. Thought the following table summarizes part of the article, the complete article is available at: http://www.athleticturf.net/athleticturf/Athletic+Turf+News/New-study-suggests-mowing-height-has-little-influe/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/99087?contextCategoryId=3226

 

Table 1: Forty yard dash times for high school athletes from various sports when run on Kentucky bluegrass mowed at 3, 2 or 1 inch. Six or seven athletes were used from each sport and each athlete ran two dashes at each height. Differences in times between mowing heights within each athlete group was not statistically significant.

Athlete

3 inches

2 inches

1 inch

JV Football

6.04

6.06

6.04

Varsity Football

5.46

5.39

5.42

Cross Country

5.36

5.33

5.26

Average

5.62

5.59

5.57


Share This Article
Disclaimer: Reference to products is not intended to be an endorsement to the exclusion of others which may have similar uses. Any person using products listed in these articles assumes full responsibility for their use in accordance with current directions of the manufacturer.
Turfgrass Science at Purdue University - Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, 625 Agriculture Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907

© 2024 Purdue University | An equal access/equal opportunity university | Copyright Complaints | Maintained by Turfgrass Science at Purdue University

If you have trouble accessing this page because of a disability, please contact Turfgrass Science at Purdue University at ashbreed@purdue.edu | Accessibility Resources