You are doing it right. Previous owner is wrong.

Always use full throttle on rotary mower (or tractor) because you rely on blade tip speed for cut and airflow. Ground speed usually controlled by multispeed transmission or hydrostatic. Many walk behind rotary mowers do not even have throttle control any more.

All power reel mowers (Trimmer, Tru-Cut, McLane) have throttle controls and expect speed to be controlled at the engine. There is no means of controlling ground speed other than slip-the-clutch, or change sprockets to the drive wheels or roller.

Slipping the clutch won't hurt things, but will cause the clutch to wear faster. Over a period of time you'll find the drive clutch is worn out, while the reel clutch still has a lot of life.

Depends on what kind of frequency of cut you are after. Reel speed and ground speed play a very large part in the after cut appearance of turfgrasses. If your Tru-Cut is a 10 blade and you are cutting Bermuda at 1 inch or less I would use a slower rate of cut. If it is a 5 or 7 blade model, reel speed should be high. Meaning the previous owner is correct. Just use the left thumb button like a gas pedal.

I have a 7 blade reel. I just dont want to be buying a clutch every year because I slip it the entire time. How many hours of life can i expect if i sliped it under high power conditions? Have you guys ever replaced yours? Also, I can't get a connection on two grease fittings. the on the the reel bearing, left hand side when standing behind it, and the one right behind the tire on the left side when stadning behind it (its at the end of the engine driveshaft). Maybe i have a cheap grease gun coupling? I bought a 3 peice one off tractor supply co that I hope will let me get in there. Not sure if it will help with the one with the tire in the way.

I guess ultimately the choice is yours. It's your mower. My 27" was purchased in 08. No problems with clutch wear so far, and don't really expect any. If you have that reel speed low so you can walk slow, your rate of cut as well as appearance of turf will suffer. As far as the Zirk fittings go, the one on the reel bearing is tough. You have to thread the hose around the blades a little to find the right angle.

I didnt try moving it around the reel.. good idea. What about the tire one? do i have to unbolt the tire and slide it over 1/2 an inch? I cant seem to get grease in that one, i cant get a good enough angle. I have a better grease coupler on the way, hoping that solves it.

The fitting at the wheel should not be difficult. If your grease gun has a flexible hose it should attach easily. If you can't get it for some reason, just remove the chain guard. Two bolts in front, two in back, and you can get it from the top. Don't go nuts greasing the thing either. Twice a season should be more than enough. Once a season should be sufficient depending of course on the hours you put on it.

With my mower, the wheel is in the way, not the cover. we'll see if my new coupling will work.

new coupling arrived, it fits on the zirk... bearing still won't take grease... what gives? Maybe its clogged? the zirk seems to work fine, i can probe it with a small wrench. I sprayed it with wd-40 inside and out but still no grease goes in the bearing, just squeezes out the sides of the zirk and the coupling.

I have a c-27 and the drive clutch will not disengage. I have cleaned and greased it multiple times and to no avail, it will not move like the reel clutch. I cannot get it to neutral. Any suggestions?