I would say your tractor is a bit undersized for that mower. I pull a woods 6ft finish mower with my JD820, I think it's 27hp at the pto, which seems like more than enough, but I don't think a 17 hp engine is going to give you the power you need. My bx 1500 (15hp) is only rated 10.6hp at the pto. I wouldn't dream of pulling the woods with that.