We mow our Christmas tree farm with the Grasshopper rear discharge. The first deck we had was extremely loud and did not lay the grass out evenly. The newer design deck runs quiet and leaves no track or windrows of cut grass. The grass we cut is often 6-8 inches tall. We love this mower so much that I'm in the process of trying to trade in my JD 935 rear discharge for a 2nd Grasshopper that is identical to the other. For the life of me, I don't know why anyone would want a side discharge deck
