I apologize for chiming in late with a mild disagreement, but I have just gone through a lot of work involving the top-link lift mechanism on an old 72" Woods on a JD 950. The link that has been referred to as a "swivel" in this thread is what allows the deck to float upward. If removed, when the front wheels of the tractor start uphill or the rear deck wheel goes over a bump, the top link is in compression. The loading if you are mowing reasonably fast is far more than you want. It will, and did on ours, fail the lower mount pins on the deck and bend the top link. We restored our "modified" deck to allow it to float and have cured the problem. (Some people use a length of chain instead of the "swivel".) On very smooth level ground, by removal of the link you will think you have solved the problem, but you have created a rigid system which shock loads the three-point hitch.
Our top link is a standard turnbuckle type. Before lifting the deck for transport, we shorten it so that the rear comes up early. Before mowing, we extend it again so that the deck can also float downward, as well as up. The top link turnbuckle should be the right length to do that with the "swivel" in place, and you should be able to shorten enough to lift the rear as desired, if the forward mount of the top link is at the right level. Those with the luxure of a hydraulic top link don't even need to crank the turnbuckle.