I'll have to post a few times to get this done.

Let's start with the worse problem. Divots! Even thou you have a zero turn mower you can't pivot one one tire staying fixed and turn with the other. That tire you pivot on will cause a divot. You have to make a 3 point turn.

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Here is a link that might be useful: 3 Point Turn

You say you have a 61 inch Ferris, and it ride rough? What model Ferris do you have? Ferris ZTR's have a suspension system, being they have shocks to soften the ride. If I recall the shocks on the Ferris suspension are adjustable, meaning that the shocks can be adjusted for a softer ride. Running low tire pressures are not bad thou. But with a 61 inch deck it could lead to leaning on turns causing scalping, cutting a bare spot on the in side of the turn, and un-cut grass on the outward side. I don't have a Ferris, but I run 8 psi in the front tires, and 10 psi in the rear to smooth out the ride. But you have to have the deck setup correctly. The deck need to be level side to side, and front to back. Once you have the deck level, then the front of the deck needs to be pitched or lowered 1/4 inch to get the best cutting and lift for the best mowing look. This being the grass is is only cut with the front tip of the blades freeing the rear tips of the blade to give the deck the air flow or lift to get the grass clipping out of the deck, thus causing the grass to stand up to be cut, then lay down in the direction of travel causing a striping affect.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ferris

Mowing Patterns take a little planing. But the basics are simple. I tend to mow around the perimeter of the lawn first. I mow two passes around the with the discharge into toward the middle of the lawn to give me room to turn around, and to keep the clipping off of fences or buildings. Not all of the perimeter is straight or square to any thing. But it gives me an outside buffer zone. Then I pick a line for my first straight line. When you pick that first line you need to look ahead at a tree or fence post, or anything to line up with. Just keep your sight on that point doing the best you can to keep the mower going straight at that point, never looking back. Then 3 point turn in the edge buffer zone and line up with the mowed row. Your mowed lines should be straighter.

Here's a link to kelp.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lawn Patterns and Striping

Oh Heck! I misspelled help (kelp)?

My Ferris IS2000Z is very comfortable, I got it with the higher-backed seat and am very pleased overall with the ride. The tire pressure in the manual calls for 25 psi in the front tires and 15 psi in the rear tires. As my husband maintains Ferris and I do all the mowing(sounds fair to me), he felt the tire pressure could be lower than what the manual calls for. So he did go less than recommended. This spring we checked the deck level and all seems well. Blades are sharp.
Lawn Patterns and Striping- that webpage was very informative. When I see a super striping job I now know they probably use a Striper/roller.

mssurveyor- "I mow two passes around the with the discharge into toward the middle of the lawn to give me room to turn around, and to keep the clipping off of fences or buildings." So, that means you are blowing the cut grass onto the uncut grass. Then you cut that area, which is cut and uncut grass. Don't you get clumps? Would you ever start mowing in the center and try to push all the cut grass off the lawn(if a private gravel road was the boundary)? Of course there would be no striping but no clumps either, theoretically. When I mow this way the mowing job just never seems as neat as I would like it.

I would never start in the middle because I would be pushing grass clipping into uncut grass the whole mowing session. I mow 2 passes around the perimeter side discharging clipping into the lawn. Then I make a 3rd pass around the perimeter widely dispersing the clipping across the mowed area. This then gives me room to turn my 52 inch Bad Boy Pup around for the rest of the mowing. I get no clumping, and goodness knows my mower is pushing a lot of tall Bahia Grass. I then mow my pattern either back and forth one week. Side to side the next week. Diagonal one way the next week. Diagonal the other way the week after that. Then sometimes I mow the 2 perimeter passes in to the uncut lawn, the turn and discharge the rest of the lawn to the mowed area in a square type pattern.

"When I see a super striping job I now know they probably use a Striper/roller. "

Yes and No! A lot depends on the grass type, the mower, the blades, and how the deck is setup. Some grasses don't stripe very well. I was just sitting out side looking at my over grown grass. I can still see the stripes form 8 day ago even thou it 6 to 8 inches tall by now. (My mower is being serviced at the dealers right now. I'll get it back tomorrow.) I look at my neighbors lawn he mowed yesterday and it's just plane ugly. It's flat looking, but with a lot of clippings, and something that just doesn't look good. I know for a fact his deck in not setup correctly. I've talked to him about it a few times. I once loaned him my Sabre LT last year because his mower was down because of a tire issue. His lawn looked great after using my mower. He wondered then what the difference was. The Deck Was Not Setup Correctly. You say your deck is level. Ok! But if you could check it again just to start over. What's it take? Just a flat surface line a garage, carport, or drive way. Next check your tire pressures. After reading your tire pressures being 25 psi in the front tires and 15 psi rear, or some what lower than that, I'm thinking, and I could be wrong, but that seems kind of high, and a guess on your part. But just to check the deck for levelness air and adjust the tire pressures to 12 psi front and back. Now check the deck for levelness by turning the blades sideways pointing to the outside of the mower. Now measure the distance from the bottom of the blade to the concrete slab on both sides. It should be the same. Now turn the blades pointing front to back and measure the distance from the bottom of the blade to the slab on the front of the blade, and the rear of the blade. The blades need to be a 1/4 inch lower in the front than the rear.

Here's a little something that should help.

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Now if you want a stripe roller check the link below for one you and your husband can build for little or nothing

Here is a link that might be useful: Ultimate Home Made Lawn Striper

I found these pics on that site on a Ferris!

Here's a picture from a fellow Bad Boy Mower buddy using the Ultimate Home Made Lawn Striper.

dwost really does nice work. He only mows for himself. I think that some property around his office building he owns.

One more thing. I was thinking about clumping. I mow Bahia Grass. Nasty Grass! It grows 6 to 8 inches a week with 12 inch seed shoots. I've had to raise or remove the rubber dis-charge chute defector. If I have that dis-charge chute defector down I would have wind rows of Bahia Grass looking like it was ready to bale for hay. Having it up or off is not the safest thing to do. But I live out in the country side with no body close. But you have to know there's nothing in the lawn to be thrown as a person, house, car or truck. It is a safety issue to be aware of. But I get a much much better distribution of clipping with it up or off.

I do not advise what I practice.

Unfortunately the striper/roller would not work in our situation. All the places I mow have borders of our gravel driveway/road. When I mow around our mailbox I have to drive out 1/2 mile on gravel. Of course the blades are turned off and lifted up. The poor striper would be worn out in no time...
Great pictures, thanks.

Nancy

Those home made rollers swing up and dow freely. You can as others have done use a bungee cord or thin rope to raise it up off the ground while not in use.

You don't need a striper to stripe. But your deck needs to ne level with a 1/4 inch forward down pitch.

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I am printing out the information on the deck level, blade level, and how the front should be somewhat lower than the back. I am curious to hear my husbands reaction. He uses his big 15 foot bushhog with banana/mulching blades and loves them. Does anyone ever put two sets of blades on their zeroturn? We spoke with a man from a landscaping company in Maryland and he says his company does that at times.

Nancy

dwost, the guy with the Bad Boy in the striper pictures uses duel blades. I've tried it. Uses a lot of horse power to push them in this Mississippi Bahia Grass. I've got enough problems keeping one set sharp. Eric Elm, the Dixie Chopper hero may have been the first, or one of the first to use twin blades per spindle. It just might work better in softer northern grasses. This Bahia is just mean tough grass.

So what Ya got going on Nancy? I hope your husband didn't freak out with you getting mower adjustment advice on the Garden Web? I know I would! If I didn't have enough work to do now my wife is getting instructions from strange men on the darn internet! LOL! So how did he take to the advice?

Best Regards,

ms

"how did he take to the advice"

I have broached the subject. He is pretty savvy when it comes to machinery and is also receptive to different ideas. I decided to not print this out, but let him read this thread in its entirety, at his leisure. The idea of the deck being a bit lower in front may be hard for him to follow, we'll see.

Nancy

I've got Ya! I remember when I first read about the deck setup being lower in the front than the rear. That was on this site in 1999. Since that time I've learned a lot of things because of many good people on these web sites. I had a hard time getting my wife to check air pressures on the mowers when she started helping me a couple of years ago after her father died. But she has seen the difference of a deck being setup correctly, and having tire pressures where they need to be before every mowing. She thinks I'm crazy but she love me. And I love her. I lover her enough to use my, our mowers. More so today than a few years ago.

That's good N. If he has any questions, tell him he's welcomed to ask me.

ms