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Hello ODK history lovers
The British Ransomes Overgreen was a professional triple-unit greens
mower introduced in about 1937. The idea of a large golf greens mower,
was then quite novel.

At this time – the 1930s – the vast majority of golf greens were cut by
human-powered ‘hand-mowers’. It would have been a progressive
decision for clubs to convert to powered mowers, whether they be
single or gang styles.

Note that the Overgreen was a pedestrian self-propelled two-wheel
tractor, but the mower units were traditional, but superlative friction-
drive Ransomes Certes golf green hand mowers.

I can’t say the Overgreen was an instant success. But for the clubs
that could afford it – the big ones – the Overgreen had a clear advantage …

One person could mow “18 average greens in less than a day.”
These were the early days of the ‘professionalism of the golf course’.


SOURCE: Ransomes 1789-1989 200 Years of Excellence

Gang mowers were harnessed to mow large areas of ground and their
role in mowing grass airfields should not be underestimated. The story
of the Overgreen is an important one, in that it represents the changing
face of labour and how labour should be distributed.


SOURCE: Old Lawnmowers by David Halford, 1982.

Credit needs to be acknowledged where credit is due.
The next part discusses the inspiration for the Ransomes Overgreen.
That inspiration came from … North America!

TO BE CONTINUED…