How to Add Stripes to Your Lawn Like a Pro. Lawn mower that stripes

How to Add Stripes to Your Lawn Like a Pro

Do you get “green-eyed” when you view the perfectly cut stripes on a soccer field or ballpark? If alternating lines, checkerboards, and diamond patterns would convert your lawn into a personal field of dreams, here’s how to add stripes to your lawn like a pro.

How Lawn Striping Works

Simply put, lawn striping is bending grass blades in opposite directions and having the light reflect off the opposite sides of the blades.

Ryan Moy, head groundskeeper at Minnesota United Football Club’s new 250 million stadium in St. Paul, Minn. explains: “In general, turfgrass species have a darker and lighter shade to their leaf surface. The top of the leaf surface known as the adaxial side of the leaf is darker than the abaxial [the underside of the leaf surface].”

“Not all turfgrass species are created equal with respect to their ability to show that contrast,” but Moy says, “The species we use is very much adaptable to home lawn use.”

Moy says the stadium grass is a blend of Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis) varieties, including:

How to Mow Stripes

Get Your Roller

If you want to stripe your lawn, you will need a roller system that attaches to your mower. The roller is a heavy, cylindrical tool made of plastic or metal that bends the grass blades down in the direction you are mowing.

Moy suggests buying a 30-inch Lawn Striping System/Lawn Mower Striping Kit from Toro. You can also make a DIY lawn striper. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s designed for your mower size.

Stripes like this for 29.95 make your own stripe kit

Depending on the model, follow directions when you fill with sand or water to get the right weight for your terrain, soil type, and grass variety.

Prep Your Mower

Make sure your mower blades are sharp and free of debris. You want to ensure the cut is clean and doesn’t rip the grass out by the roots. Dull mower blades can also leave your grass with ragged edges. As a result, fungal diseases like brown patch and dollar spot have a better chance of spreading to other parts of your lawn.

Lawn Mowing Patterns

Decide which pattern you want to create. You don’t have to stick with lines and squares; you can create waves, zig-zags, or circles if you prefer. Make a sketch of how it fits the layout of your lawn, and learn how to stripe around buildings, trees, flower beds, and other parts of the landscape.

Think about the viewpoint – do you want to see the design from the road or driveway? Think about the end result before you start the engine. It might take a few tries before you achieve the desired look.

A basic lawn stripe has alternating strips of grass mown in opposite directions.

• Basic Stripes: Begin mowing around the perimeter of your yard. Then pick one side of the lawn and start cutting a straight line parallel to the edge for your first stripe. At the end, lift the mower deck and turn to face the opposite direction. Put down the mower deck, and mow adjacent and parallel to the last strip.

• Checkerboard: Mow the striping effect as explained above. Then start mowing straight lines perpendicular to the finished stripes, lifting the mower at the end of each line and turning to face the opposite direction. This will create the checkerboard pattern that you see in many ballparks.
• Waves: Instead of mowing a basic straight stripe, cut in a wave pattern. Then lift the mower deck and turn the mower. Follow the edge of the first wave pattern, raising the mower deck each time you turn unless you want to create a “switchback” or scalloped design on the edges.

You could also begin your pattern from a point of interest, such as a tree or building. Mow a striped or waved line around the object, then continue in a ripple pattern. Continue until you have reached the end of the lawn, allowing the wave to “run” off the edges.

Mowing Tips for Lawn Striping

To keep your pattern in good shape, mow the grass between 2 and 4 inches high, and don’t cut more than a third of the blade per mow. Taller grass blades will make a design stand out more than a shorter lawn. The sunlight will reflect off the blade surface and let you see the effect of the striping technique.

Best Grass Types for Lawn Striping

What a difference a blade makes. For lawn striping, not all grass types are suitable. Cool-season grasses are ideal because they have long, flexible blades that bend easily when the lawn roller pushes down on them.

Warm-season grasses, such as Bermuda or St. Augustine, have shorter, stiffer blades that are more resistant to bending. It is possible to make stripes in a lawn with warm-season grasses, but it won’t be as distinct.

Pro Tip: For warm-season lawns, it is recommended to use a striping kit for the best results.

Good grass choices for lawn striping include:

Proper Lawn Care Sets Up Your Ground Game

Along with the right grass varieties, you must be consistent with care, watering frequently and applying fertilizer and other nutrients as needed. A robust, healthy lawn will show designs much better.

Your lawn grows more quickly when you mow it correctly: By cutting the tips of grass blades, you stimulate growth. Roots become more robust, discouraging weed growth and creating a denser lawn surface. And more grass blades per square inch means more-impressive stripes.

Striping has a logical purpose, according to Moy. “Over time, changing the direction allows you to cut more of the individual leaf blades to a uniform height. If you always go in one direction, there will be some leaf blades that don’t get cut in that specific direction. In this scenario, those blades of grass continue to lay down and grow in that respective direction.”

Lawn Striping Competitions

Lawn striping has become so popular that there is an international creative lawn stripes competition. In 2016, Allett Mowers began an international search to identify the most inventive mowing patterns and designs. American Dennis West was the 2021 winner.

FAQ: Striping Your Lawn

No. It actually promotes the development of a healthy lawn. Mowing in one direction repeatedly might cause the longer blades of grass to fold over and cover the grass underneath from the light, eventually killing it.

Yes. The first step in maintaining a healthy lawn is to cut your grass properly. Things like how often, how high, and how sharp your lawn mower blades are all factors when mowing your grass.

A height of between 2 and 4 inches tall works best. Remember, never cut more than one-third of the grass blade in a single mowing.

When to Call a Professional

The last thing you may want to do is spend hours in the sun mowing your grass. Hiring a local lawn care expert is the right choice if you want to guarantee a lovely lawn without the work. Thanks to our qualified experts, you’ll have a yard to brag about at your next barbecue.

Rosie Wolf Williams

Rosie Wolf Williams has kept bees, grown vegetables and flowers for farmers markets, and never misses an opportunity to have a conversation with an interesting tree.

Yard work at the click of a button.

As seen in Forbes, CNBC and USA Today, LawnStarter makes it easy to schedule service with a local lawn care professional.

Lawn Striping. How To Achieve The Best Stripes In Your Lawn

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How to Stripe a Lawn with a Riding Mower, this is how to do it

At some point, you must have wondered how those striking stripes ended up on the lawn of your local football or soccer ground. They are usually not crafted with lawn paint or a fascinating grass species but by lawn striping. The easiest way to create grass patterns on your lawn is to use a grass roller attached to your riding mower to bend the grass in a certain direction. You can use a PVC pipe or thick rubber floor mats to perform the rolling job too.

A healthy lawn is a must-have if you want to get perfect stripes. If you have small grass, wait for 10 to 15 days for the grass to longer. Creating the striping might seem complicated, but it is not. Start with simple patterns, and with time, you’ll become a pro. In this blog post, we’ll teach you how to create basic grass patterns on your lawn.

How to stripe your lawnmower with a riding mower, this is how to do it:

• Basic Column Stripes: You can achieve alternative light and dark columns by mowing/rolling the adjacent columns in the opposite direction.
• Checkerboard Pattern: First, create the basic lengthwise column stripes. Then mow perpendicular to the basic stripes to create a checkerboard pattern.
• Crisscross: Define the parameter and start mowing diagonally. It’s all about direction, so make sure you are mowing adjacent columns in the opposite direction.
• Zigzag: To create a zigzag pattern, start by making a crisscross or a checkerboard pattern. They can act as a template. Make 90 degree turns after three consecutive blocks crossing dark or light columns depending on your starting point.

Use a Riding Lawn Mower:

Striping are the magic of optics. The reflection of sunlight on the grass’s edges highlights the patterns when the grass is pressed in a certain direction. A well-cut and evenly trimmed lawn with stripes are very nice to the eye, but it can be a very tedious task with a push mower. We recommend using a riding mower for this job. If you are serious with your striping and want to tackle more complex patterns, using a zero-turn lawn mower can make your job easier.

Striping Kits:

The easiest way to create stipes is to purchase a striping kit. They can be attached to your electric or gasoline-based riding lawnmower. As we explained earlier, that roller is the main part of the stripping kits. Its job is to press down the grass. You can buy them online or at your dealer. But if you don’t have one, or do not want to spend the money on one, you can make one yourself. We have two DYI lawnmower striping rollers for you:

PVC Pipe:

If you do not want to spend money on industrial-grade rollers, a PVC pipe can be an effective and cheap stripping kit for you. Cut a piece of a PVC pipe equal to the width of your riding lawnmower, fill it with sand or wet clay, and cap it with PVC caps of the same diameter as the pipe. Attach this pipe with the metal shaft at the back of your mower, and there you have a cheap and DIY-style stripping kit.

Boat Trailer Rollers:

Take a crankshaft whose length is equal to or comparable with your riding mower’s width and mount dense rubber boat rollers on the shaft and attach the shaft to your mower with rigid metal brackets or chains. These rollers are heavy enough to press the grass; you do not have to add extra weight to the rollers.

The Way Striping Works:

Beautiful lawn patterns are produced when the sunlight reflects from differently cut and maintained grass areas. The portion of the grass edges bending toward you will look dark green, while the one bowing away will look light green. Close to each other, they produce an enhanced visualization of light and dark stripes that can be very sharp. Increasing and limiting light reflection on the grass is at the core of this deception. You can observe this effect at sea too: When you are looking at seawater, and the sun is before you, the light reflects a way that gives the shining water silver or golden color. Whereas, when you are looking at seawater with the sun behind you, the water seems dim.

Lawn striping can increase color contrast between bordering lines by making one column lighter and its adjoining line darker. You can accomplish this simple yet elegant look by pushing down one column of grass, bowing it in one direction, and keeping it as level as possible. You will give the following column a similar treatment but in the other direction.

Creating Lawn Patterns with a Riding Mower:

All the logos, crowns, and stars made on the playing fields are made by bending the grass in a certain direction by people who are pros at this game. They know what to do and how to do it. It is all about the direction you bend the grass in and how much you press it against the ground. Creating patterns is not too difficult, especially the simpler ones. We’ll teach you how to create some basic patterns that are easy but will make your lawn look great.

Basic Column Pattern:

To create a pattern of lighter and darker columns, define your lawn’s perimeter and outline the area. This helps to have a good idea of where to start and where to end. For a basic pattern, you only need to mow adjacent columns in opposite directions so that light reflects differently from the edges bent in opposite directions, creating a contrast.

Take care when you are turning your riding mower because it can ruin your strips at the edges. You can lift the roller from the ground so that it will not press against the grass. You will get a clear definition and contrast. The second thing you can do is make a U-turn from the outline you defined earlier so that if something goes wrong, you can do a second round on the perimeter or outline after finishing your main stripes on the lawn.

Checkerboard Pattern:

You can achieve a checkerboard pattern by doing an extra layer on the basic column stripes perpendicularly. To create this pattern, you’ll have to mow the outline around the lawn first. Once the outline is done, start doing the basic stripes on the lawn lengthwise. When you are done with the stripes lengthwise, repeat the same widthwise to get a beautiful and fascinating checkerboard design. Take extra care while turning your riding mover. Finish your pattern by mowing on the parameter once again. This will remove any irregularity on the outline due to turning on the edges.

Crisscross Pattern:

The crisscross pattern is achieved simply by moving diagonally. Define the parameter and mow the lawn the same as the checkerboard pattern but in the two diagonal directions instead of lengthwise and widthwise.

Zigzag Stripe Pattern:

The zigzag pattern is a lengthy process, but crisscross or diagonal stripes can help you. These patterns can act as a template for your zigzag pattern.

First of all, either select a light color stripe or a dark stripe; it does not matter what you choose as the starting point. You should mow in alternative directions on adjacent rows. For example, once you are done with the crisscross pattern, choose a light color stripe as your starting point for the zigzag pattern. Mow on the light column, then cross the dark column to the next light column and turn your riding mower very carefully, precisely at a 90-degree angle to the right. Now mow towards the next light column by crossing the dark column, then turn at an angle of 90 degrees to the left. Repeat this process until you have mowed the entire area.

Remember the direction of mowing; you should do the adjacent stripes in the opposite direction for a perfect pattern.

Finish your job by mowing the outline to have a clean zigzag pattern on your lawn. The zigzag pattern is a bit more complicated as compared to the other patterns mentioned above. You should consult a video tutorial if the written description confuses you.

Maintenance of Riding Lawnmower:

As a lawn artist, you need to take your equipment’s best care after finishing your artwork. Maintenance involves both cleaning and servicing. The best practice would be to clean your mower after every mowing session. Clean the mower deck with a brush, clean cloth, and water. Or use the water hose connection that many more recent riding lawnmowers have. Keep the blades and the cutting area clean. Check the blades regularly, and sharpen when needed. If the blades are damaged, they need to be replaced.

You should check fuel and oil levels before each mowing. Gasoline should never be stored in the tank for more than 30 days. If stored longer, gas can go bad and harm the fuel line and the carburetor. The drive belts and pulleys and air and fuel filters should be regularly checked and maintained too.

Do you need a particular riding lawnmower for striping?

No, you do not need a particular type of riding lawnmower to create stripping on your lawn. You do need a special attachment roller that moves the grass in a certain direction. But you can attach those to almost all riding mowers. When you want to mow more complex striping, quickly turning the lawnmower is important. For this reason, a zero-turn lawnmower could be an excellent option.

When should I use a riding lawnmower?

You should use a riding lawnmower if you have land bigger than a half-acre or so. A push or self-driving lawnmower will cut with a similar result, but it can be tedious and time-consuming for larger areas. A typical riding mover consists of a riding wheel, various controls, a steering wheel, and a cutting deck. Furthermore, it would be best to choose a more extended cutting deck for larger yards since the sharp edge will likewise be longer and cut more grass in one go.

When shopping for a riding mower, you’ll have several gas and electric riding lawnmower options to choose. An electric riding mower is easy to operate and requires considerably less maintenance than a gas one. But for some bigger lawnmowers, the electric mower is less powerful. The area you can cut depends on the size of the batteries. When they are empty, you need to wait sometime before they are recharged. In a gas mower, you fill the tank with fresh gas, and you are good to go. Some more expensive mowers have additional features like cup holders, cruise control, and even CD players. Your choice of a riding mower should primarily depend on the demands of your lawn, and extra features should be of secondary importance.

Final Remarks:

This blog post is a detailed guide on achieving incredible grass patterns with a riding mower’s help. There are several riding lawnmower attachments you can choose to get the desired striping result. We have explained how to get the different grass striping patterns. With time, you’ll gain experience and won’t need guidelines anymore. Ensure that you take good care of your riding mower, as proper maintenance can increase life and efficiency.

How to Stripe Your Lawn Like a Pro

You keep your lawn healthy and well-manicured but you can take it to the next level by mowing stripes into your yard. If you want your grass to have the professionally trimmed look of a baseball field or golf course, follow the steps below and make your lawn the envy of the block.

Step 1: Mow Right

Mowing your yard correctly is the first step to a great-looking lawn. Even if you feel you’re handy with a lawn mower, it doesn’t hurt to brush up on your skills. Always set your mower’s blade to the correct height for your type of grass. If you’re not sure, set the blade so that you don’t cut off more than 1/3 of the grass blades’ height. Grass that is too short makes your lawn susceptible to crabgrass and damage from the sun. Cutting the grass at this height also makes it easier to bend the grass over to create the stripe effect.

Routinely use a scraper to remove any built-up dirt and grass clippings on the underside of the mower. Rinse the underside with a garden hose. Also, check the mower blade. If the blade needs sharpening, use a heavy file to remove dull edges. You will probably only have to sharpen the blade once a year, either at the beginning or end of the mowing season.

Safety Alert!

Pick up debris that could be thrown from under the mower and cause damage or injury, such as rocks, sticks, trash, etc.

You want to push your mower in parallel rows. Using a sidewalk, driveway or other non-grass surface as a guide and a starting point, begin mowing parallel to the surface and work your way across the lawn, turning at each end and mowing alongside the row you just made.

Helpful Tip

To ensure you don’t miss any grass, keep your mower’s wheel just inside the previously cut row.

Use a grass bag or catcher with your mower. This leaves your lawn looking clean and neat. Remember not to let the bag become too full. When this happens, grass begins to clump and these clumps fall out from underneath the mower and leave your lawn looking messy. Empty the grass catcher when you notice that it’s almost full.

Helpful Tips

Clumps and grass clippings can be spread across the yard with a general purpose rake so that your lawn isn’t messy looking. It is also good for the grass, as the clippings act like mulch.

Generally speaking, you should cut your grass once a week for appearance and good grass health.

Step 2: Know Your Grass

The striping effect is created by light reflecting off of grass blades. Stripes look dark when they are bent towards you, while lighter stripes are created by the effect of blades bent in the opposite direction. The degree with which your lawn can be striped to look like a baseball field depends on whether, and how much, your grass blades can bend and remain bent. Cool-season grasses work best to accentuate the striped effect. These include fescues, ryes, bentgrass and bluegrass to name just a handful. Warm season grasses like Bermuda, carpetgrass, St. Augustine grass or zoysia don’t stay bent over as long because the blades are usually stiffer and tougher.

Helpful Tip

Water the grass after mowing to make stripes stand out even more.

Step 3: Choose a Pattern

Before cutting and/or rolling, chose a pattern that works best for you and your yard. Creating parallel stripes is simple and probably the most common striping effect. Other potential patterns include gently curving stripes that create a wave effect, which is good for matching with curved hardscapes. You can also cut/roll in circles around circular landscaping features for a dramatic effect. A more complex pattern is a checkered or chessboard pattern common on some baseball fields.

Step 4: Use a Lawn Roller

While mowing naturally creates stripes, the effect doesn’t last long. A lawn roller accentuates the striping and helps it last longer between mowing. There are manual push lawn rollers for after mowing and also tow-behind rollers that you can attach to your riding or push mower while you are cutting. Some striping “systems” will require some installation, as you have to attach it to your mower. Follow all manufacturer’s instructions carefully.

For simple straight stripe patterns, push the roller or mow in parallel lines like you would normally. The roller pushes down the grass in the direction in which you are mowing, creating the striped pattern. Be sure you “roll” the same direction that you mowed.

Wave-pattern stripes can be created by first cutting/rolling adjacent to a curved hardscape feature such as a flowerbed. This will give you a shape to start with and apply across the yard. After making the first pass, simply turn and go back the opposite direction as you would with straight parallel lines but follow the wave shape of the first pass.

Circular stripes can be created in a similar fashion. Start cutting/rolling by first making a pass directly around a circular hardscape feature. After cutting/rolling a full circle, push the mower/roller outside of the circle, turn it around and mow/roll the opposite direction in another full circle. Repeat this until you’ve cut/rolled all the grass in this pattern.

For a checkerboard pattern, start by first cutting the outside perimeter of the space. Then cut/roll in parallel diagonal lines across the yard until you’ve mowed/rolled the entire space. Next, crisscross over those lines, cutting/rolling in parallel diagonal lines to create the distinctive checkerboard pattern.

Helpful Tip

Use a reel mower. The experts who stripe baseball fields make reel mowers one of their tools of choice to create the designs you see at the ball park.

That’s it! Your lawn should look like it’s regularly maintained by pros.

Project Shopping List

Here’s what you’ll need to complete this project successfully.

How to Stripe Your Lawn

A perfectly striped lawn is the goal of every lawn aficionado. Whether you want your lawn to look like a professional sports field or only want to alter your mowing patterns once in a while, lawn striping is within your reach. Batter up, and let’s get striping.

What is lawn striping?

Even if you’re not a sports fan, you’ve probably seen striped patterns on golf courses, outfields, or even on the lawn next door. So, what is lawn striping? Lawn striping is simply bending the blades of grass in one direction as you mow. The grass blades that are bent toward you appear darker; the grass blades that are bent away from you appear lighter.

Why should I stripe my lawn?

Lawn care is a necessary part of home ownership. Why not use the time you already spend mowing to make your lawn that much more beautiful? In short, there is no reason you should stripe your lawn other than for aesthetics, with one exception. Even if you don’t care about mowing stripes into your lawn, it is a good idea to vary your mowing pattern every few weeks. If you stripe your lawn, you should be doing this anyway.

How to stripe a lawn in 4 easy steps

OK, sports fans. Are you ready for the big leagues? Let’s get striping!

Step 1: Get your gear

If you have cool-season grass, you’ve got it easy. The rear skirt on your mower is sufficient to stripe cool-season lawns.

If you have warm-season grass, plan to up your game. Warm-season grasses bend better with a lawn striper (also called a striping kit). The rear skirt on your mower isn’t sufficient. Buy a kit online or in-store, fill it with sand, and attach it to your mower.

Step 2: Choose a pattern

What pattern do you want to mow into your lawn? If you’re new to this skill, start with simple stripes the first week. The following week, try mowing perpendicular to last week’s stripes to make a checkerboard pattern. In the third week, try a diagonal, and so on.

Don’t expect to mow a pristine lawn on your first try. It will take practice to gain this skill.

Step 3: Know your line of sight

Where will you most often view your lawn? Plan your design to run parallel to this vantage point for the eye-catching results you want. A design that runs perpendicular to your most common line of sight won’t be as noticeable.

Step 4: Start mowing

Once you’ve chosen your pattern and line of sight, you’re ready to mow.

• Mow around the perimeter (striper attachment optional).
• Start mowing along a straight surface if you’re a novice. Following a curb, driveway, or walkway will help make your first stripe a straight one.
• Turn the mower around and mow in the opposite direction. Tip: Make your turns in the perimeter area to avoid bending your striped grass in the wrong direction.
• Repeat until the entire lawn is complete.
• Once you’ve finished mowing, mow along the perimeter again (optional) to get rid of any turn marks.
• Alternate your pattern weekly or every other week, as we’ve discussed. You don’t want the blades to be permanently trained in one direction only. Even if you don’t stripe your lawn, alternate your mowing patterns to prevent ruts and soil compaction.
• Got a riding mower? Not a problem. If it doesn’t come with a striping kit, you can build or purchase one.
• A sharp mower blade will give your lawn a clean, sharp-looking cut without any tears.

Which grass types are best for lawn stripes?

If you live in the northern part of the country, you probably have cool-season grass. Many lawns in the northern Transition Zone also have cool-season grass. These grass blades bend more easily and produce a better striping effect. Since the blades are more malleable than most warm-season grasses, you can get good striping results with the rear skirt of a regular push mower.

Warm-season grasses have stiffer blades and require more heft to get that professional look you’re after. You’ll want to buy a professional striping kit (or build your own) and attach it to the back of your mower to get a good result.

If you’re not sure which type of grass you have, check out this handy map. Below is also a list of common grass types in each region. Note: Both cool- and warm-season grasses grow in the Transition Zone.

A healthy lawn stripes best

We’ll be honest: Not all lawns will achieve that optimal, professionally done look. Why not? Here are a few reasons:

Height: A shorter lawn won’t stripe as well as a longer one. A taller mowing height (the high side of your lawn’s recommended range) means the blades won’t be as stiff and will have more surface area to bend.

Grass Name	Grass Type	Suggested Height
Fine fescues	Cool Season	2.5-3 inches
Kentucky bluegrass	Cool Season	2.5-3.5 inches
Perennial ryegrass	Cool Season	1.5-2.5 inches
Tall Fescue	Cool Season	3-4 inches
Bahia	Warm Season	3-4 inches
Common bermuda	Warm Season	1-2 inches
Centipede	Warm Season	1-2 inches
Hybrid bermuda	Warm Season	1-1 ½ inches
St. Augustine	Warm Season	2-3 inches
Zoysia	Warm Season	1-2 inches

Fine fescues that grow in shaded lawns can be mowed up to 1 inch taller than the recommended range. Greater surface area helps shaded grasses make more food.

Finally, don’t forget about seasonal differences. Consider raising the height of your grass one-half inch during the hot, summer months.

Density: A thicker lawn yields better stripes than a thinner one. A thick, carpet-like lawn is key if you want your lawn stripes to look professional.

Type of grass: As we’ve mentioned already, cool-season grasses stripe better (and with fewer tools) than warm-season ones.

If your lawn isn’t quite on par, we’re here to help. Browse through these articles to help get your lawn fuller and more lush.

Popular lawn striping patterns

If you want to stripe your lawn, your imagination is your only limit. Pros advise starting small. For your first mow, master mowing in a straight line. Once you’ve got that down, try a checkerboard pattern, and so on. Here are a few popular patterns to get your creative juices flowing.

Straight patterns are the easiest to master, so start there. Once you graduate to bulls-eyes, waves, and zig-zags, you’re officially in the major leagues.

FAQ about striping your lawn

How can I fix a mistake?

If you go off-course while you’re mowing, don’t sweat it. Let’s say you veer right into the lane you’ve just completed while you’re trying to swat a mosquito. Re-cut the previous row and your current row to fix the mistake.

Will my lawn look like a professional sports turf when I’m done?

Your lawn will look a little different from a baseball field or other professional turf for one simple reason: It will be taller. Professional groundskeepers mow sports turf very short — as short as one-eighth of an inch on putting greens. As we mentioned earlier, a taller mow will leave you with a more noticeable striping effect in your home lawn.

How do I stripe my lawn around an obstacle?

Let’s say you want your stripes to remain in a straight line across the driveway or on both sides of a swing set. Keep your eye straight ahead as you mow, about 10 feet in front of you. This will help you to maintain a straight line as you go across the obstacle and resume mowing on the other side.

If you suffer from a serious case of ballpark envy, contact one of our local lawn care pros. They know just how to fertilize, mow, and stripe the lawn to make it ready for the big leagues.