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Terry's giving good advice. I have the same mower as you do (my 2nd one) and you really can't trim a tight circle around a tree w/o doing some damage over time, if not all at once. Instead, try trimming some of the circle on one pass, then part of it on another, and cleaning up the remant with a 3rd. Easier to show than explain, but if you just circle it the fastest way, you will wear out the grass around the tree. You have to mix it up some to avoid wear patterns.
When making zero turns or really tight turns, just be careful. I usually stop first, then turn the wheels. Even on 3 point turns. It all takes time and experience getting to know the mower's limits.
I also find my tires a little slipperier than I recall them being on my first hp. It's a new design. The key is to learn its limitations and steer accordingly. But when it does slip, it seems to do less damage than my old tires did. So it's a tradeoff. You will always slide going down steep hills on any ZTR, so approach them going uphill.
If you're mowing a warm season turf like Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede, or St. Augustine, you won't see the distinctive stripes like those on Kentucky Bluegrass. Tall Fescue here will stripe, but still nothing like bluegrass up north.
When making zero turns or really tight turns, just be careful. I usually stop first, then turn the wheels. Even on 3 point turns. It all takes time and experience getting to know the mower's limits.
I also find my tires a little slipperier than I recall them being on my first hp. It's a new design. The key is to learn its limitations and steer accordingly. But when it does slip, it seems to do less damage than my old tires did. So it's a tradeoff. You will always slide going down steep hills on any ZTR, so approach them going uphill.
If you're mowing a warm season turf like Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede, or St. Augustine, you won't see the distinctive stripes like those on Kentucky Bluegrass. Tall Fescue here will stripe, but still nothing like bluegrass up north.
