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How to Use a Walk-Behind Mower to Make Baseball Field Patterns in the Grass

Many baseball fans may wonder how the grounds crews at their favorite stadiums achieve the familiar patterns in the grass of the baseball field. Baseball fields often have a checkered or striped pattern in the field. Major League Baseball grounds crews achieve this look by using a drag mat made of steel fibers is behind mowers to bend the strands of grass in alternating directions. Light reflecting off these bent blades of grass causes one stripe to appear darker than the next. Homeowners can mimic these baseball field patterns in their own yard with a few additions to their walk-behind mower.

Things You'll Need

Duct tape
2 One-lb. dumbbells

Instructions

- 1
  Place two 1-lb. dumbbells side by side onto the lip of the back rubber flap attached to the back of the lawn mower.
- 2
  Duct tape the dumbbells in place both vertically and horizontally. Take care to make sure the dumbbells are secured safely to the flap.
- 3
  Set the mower on the highest height. The blades of grass bend easier when cut at a longer length.
- 4
  Mow around the edge of the yard in one direction. Once one lap is finished, complete two or three more laps in the same direction, working toward the center of the yard.
- 5
  Choose a starting point on the edge of the yard and mow straight across to the other side of the yard. Turn around within the portion of the yard previously mowed and mow straight across directly next to the initial stripe.
- 6
  Continue until the entire yard is striped. For the checkerboard effect, walk in the initially mowed perimeter to the top of the yard and mow across the yard in stripes as previously described.

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