mower leaves uneven stripes

Hey!

I’ve got a scag with 52 in deck. I’m neurotic about sharpening blades and could shave with mine. Also, keep the deck spotless.

I cut about 15 acres with my machine and notice when the grass is a bit high I can go fast while mowing. I run a four inch deck height and when I do, with any speed, I get furrows. If a slow to a crawl, the grass looks fine. There’s nothing wrong with the machine. It is my suspicion that the fron deck rollers are compressing the grass and it is not standing tall for the cut after the pass, the grass slowly stands back up in cut.

If I lower the deck to two inches, the cut is fine at speed.

I am considering removing the front deck rollers.

Does anyone have experience with this issue.

Should be can’t not can go fast.

Don’t really care the brand name or size of the mower, the slower the ground speed, the better the cut. The slower speed allows the vacuum under the deck to pull the grass up for a more even cut.

Your suspicions are correct.
At 4" the amount of draught on the grass is substantially reduced so you are relying on the individual grass leaves to spring back to their full height to get cut.
So you either have to cut slower or lower.

If your lawn is actually a lawn and not a grassed area then you can remove deck rollers
But unless it resembles a golf course fairway they you are liable to scalp your lawn or damage the deck.