Why are the fairways cut so low?

If you notice the first picture, it shows a height cut of 5/8" to 3/4" of an inch. This picture was taken from #1 Fairway at White Wing right of the green tee boxes in an area of fairway that does not get much cart traffic if any. All of our fairway units are currently set at 3/4". In the second picture, which was taken in the center of the fairway at 100yds from the green, you can see that the grass barely reaches the 1/2" mark and is closer to 3/8". Both areas were mowed with the same mower, the same day. It is the wear from cart traffic that compacts the turf canopy which in turn makes it appear as if we cut the fairways to low or "tight".