My lawn is literally a pain in my neck

I have 2 acres of lawn to cut and over the 20 years I've lived here the lawn has gotten so bumpy that my neck and back is sore when I'm done. In certain areas I can't go very fast because my zero turn will hop over the bumps. I have a Ferris zero turn with the shock absorber suspension. I have used a roller but either I'm not doing it when it's soft enough or it is just too far gone. I always switch Cut directions every week and I don't know if this is part of the problem. I've resorted to putting suitcase weights under my feet to keep the front end from bouncing. This is far too much area to attempt to level out. I'm sure having someone else attempt to level it would be expensive. Does anyone have any ideas or am I doing something wrong? My second thought is if I can't get the lawn smoother then, perhaps a suspension seat would help  smooth out the ride for my neck and back. 

Maybe rent or borrow a roller to smooth out the lawn, that may be a better long term solution.

Till it, level and replant :)

I have a little over an acre that is also fairly bumpy. For years I've planned to get a small disc to pull behind my garden tractor and just break it all up then reseed and let it settle. Not sure if it would work or not and I've still not got around to doing it.

stuart in mn said:

Maybe rent or borrow a roller to smooth out the lawn, that may be a better long term solution.

Do you mean an asphalt roller? Would this be a concern for the area that contains my septic leach field?

Keith Tanner said:

Till it, level and replant :)

When I moved here, there was a 1/2 acre garden that I had tilled and reseeded. When it was done it was nice and smooth but it's now approaching the same problem as the rest of the yard. 

Mow less. It's better for the environment and you. I have an acre of property. I mow less than half. The back yard for the dogs and about twenty feet off the front and side of the house.

rustybugkiller said:

Keith Tanner said:

Till it, level and replant :)

When I moved here, there was a 1/2 acre garden that I had tilled and reseeded. When it was done it was nice and smooth but it's now approaching the same problem as the rest of the yard. 

So it may only last 20 years?

I know that we had a bad lawn in my last place and as part of some other work, we tore it up and reseeded it to sort out the vegetation and reshape the contours. I did not drive a riding lawnmover over it for the next 20 years however. If it's getting bumpy, that seems to imply inconsistent density - so maybe till lower and then roll it?

My current place is xeriscaped, all native plants that take care of themselves. I can't tell you how much nicer it is not to have to maintain a monoculture. But I also live in an environment where the challenge is getting things to grow, not preventing them from taking over.

Get a few dump trucks full of sand and rake and screed it into the dents and divots. The grass will grow through it. This is what golf courses do. 

If it's that lumpy, I'd imagine that tearing it up and reseeding is the best option. Then aerate every year and sand it every 1-3 years. 
 

But I don't know much. I just listened to a greeskeeper complain about golfers for about 10 minutes a week for 10 summers. 

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

Mow less. It's better for the environment and you. I have an acre of property. I mow less than half. The back yard for the dogs and about twenty feet off the front and side of the house.

This.  Mow as little as possible and it's an all around win.  If you must mow part of it, level that.

Google "lawn leveling" and watch a bunch of videos. Depending on which part of the country you are in, the infill material will vary, but you can make a putting green level lawn fairly easily.

I upped my mowing game to a bigger tractor. One that has bigger balloon tires and a suspension seat. Helps a lot. 

lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) said:

Google "lawn leveling" and watch a bunch of videos. Depending on which part of the country you are in, the infill material will vary, but you can make a putting green level lawn fairly easily.

why do people think that moving a dump trucks worth of material is "easy"  it may not be complicated but its far from "easy"  I have tremendous respect for people who maintain lawns as well as they do.  it is back breaking hard manual labor (said from a guy who is spending his work time sitting in front of a computer posting on a car forum)

You need a soil conditioner equipment attachment for a skid steer. Bing.com: soil conditioner equipment

My small yard has lots of giant night crawler earthworms and they make my sod so uneven that I worry about breaking my ankles. Every so many years right after the frost has left the ground and before the grass has started to grow I rent a powered overseeder Bing.com: rental powered overseeder and smooth out the high spots and fill in the low spots. If you don't get too aggressive, the grass grows back with no issues.

My grandfather had one of those little bitty Chicago lots and would say every few years you needed to get a load of dirt and spread it around cause of the low spots.  The same lot he cut with the manual reel style lawnmower.  

ClearWaterMS said:

lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) said:

Google "lawn leveling" and watch a bunch of videos. Depending on which part of the country you are in, the infill material will vary, but you can make a putting green level lawn fairly easily.

why do people think that moving a dump trucks worth of material is "easy"  it may not be complicated but its far from "easy"  I have tremendous respect for people who maintain lawns as well as they do.  it is back breaking hard manual labor (said from a guy who is spending his work time sitting in front of a computer posting on a car forum)

Cause language is funny.

Its easy in that it is hard to berkeley it up.  Its difficult in that it is back breaking labor.

Changing timing on a points/condenser ignition system is difficult in that you can mess it up several ways, but its easy in that you have, at most, half a dozen fasteners to deal with.

No rational person that knows what each of those entail is going to confuse the level of difficulty on those, so its generally safe to say that spreading sand/dirt till its level is easy and changing timing can be difficult 

Not the most helpful for the actual issue, but I love my Wright Stander. I find it much less fatiguing than the zero-turns you sit on.

If you want to get crazy, you could try to mount a bicycle suspension seat (or 2).

In reply to bbbbRASS :

does it have a beer holder?

VolvoHeretic said:

In reply to bbbbRASS :

does it have a beer holder?

Some models do

Following. 

rustybugkiller said:

stuart in mn said:

Maybe rent or borrow a roller to smooth out the lawn, that may be a better long term solution.

Do you mean an asphalt roller? Would this be a concern for the area that contains my septic leach field?

What?  No.  I meant a lawn roller, you tow it behind your riding lawn mower (or there are ones you push by hand).  It's basically a barrel you fill with water to add some weight.