← GlossaryMaintenance
Height of cut
Also: HOC · bench setting
How low the mower is set — measured on a bench, and never quite what the plant gets.
Bench height is what you set on a gauge. Effective height of cut is what the turf actually experiences once the roller sinks into the canopy, and it is lower — sometimes considerably — on a soft or thatchy surface.
Dropping height for an event is the fastest way to gain speed and the fastest way to lose a green. Speed gained by rolling costs nothing structural; speed gained by cutting lower is borrowed from the plant's ability to handle the next hot week.