The fairways make up 29% of the overall property considering all maintained areas. Depending on the turfgrass variety and growing environment, it can be costly to maintain fairways. Compared to putting greens, fairways are more expensive to maintain. Reducing outlays is one of the ways that costs can be managed. The biggest cost associated with fairway maintenance is labor expenditures.

A dense, contiguous cushion of turfgrass is desired at a general height of 0.38 to 0.5 inches due to improved quality and playing conditions over the years. It takes up to three or more times per week to maintain this height range while the grass is growing. Environmental growing conditions such as temperature, sunlight duration and intensity can affect mowing frequency.

It is often necessary to level the heights of fast-growing grasses to match slower-growing areas. Between 6 and 10 labor hours are required each mowing of 20 to 30 acres. Along with labor costs, fairway mowing costs include fuel use, mower wear, equipment maintenance and blowing or removal of clippings. Fairway mowing is timed to minimize disruption of the game. 

Many years ago, growth regulators were used to helping reduce mowing frequencies. Reducing mowing frequencies by 50% to 75% is one of the benefits of growth regulators. Growth regulators are applied to the grass every two to four weeks in order to create a tighter playing surface that is more resistant to traffic, wear and shade as well as decreasing the need to mow.

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