Date Added January 21, 2024
“In my opinion: properly paralleled reel setup is the most under-utilized tool in turf management. There is a huge education gap on this with Equipment Managers and an ENORMOUS education gap on this with Superintendents. No one’s fault, just information lost or never really incorporated into what most of us have ever been taught. Properly paralleling reels is an old science that’s being brought back to life by SIP. In my opinion, adopters will find this to be one of the most impactful practices they incorporate into their turf management programs throughout their careers, and will find themselves being on the leading edge of producing elite turf conditions over the next 10 years. Unsolicited comment. Proof is in the pudding.”
Charlie Aubry
Director of Agronomy
East Lake Golf Club - Atlanta, GA
Annual Host of the TOUR Championship
“I am proud to represent SIP grinders. I could never endorse a product that I didn't believe in 100%, and over the past 18 years SIP grinders have proven to me time and again how superior they are to other brands. In terms of speed, accuracy, and innovation, SIP grinders can’t be beat. I have purchased around a dozen SIP grinders over the course of my career, at facilities ranging from 18 hole private clubs to 90 hole resorts, and I believe they have been integral to my success as an equipment manager. I take great pride in the quality of cut and after cut appearance from the equipment under my care. In fact, I believe my reputation with cutting units has been largely responsible for my career advancement within the golf industry – and SIP has been my trusted partner along the way.”
John Patterson, CTEM
Equipment Manager
Atlanta Athletic Club - John’s Creek, GA
“Many times, we are quick to point out the inherent physiological or morphological limitations of a particular variety/species of turfgrass relative to the playing surface that can be produced. While these factors are indeed substantive, one item that is often overlooked on precision managed surfaces is the actual set-up of the mower reel, its working components, and most importantly, its geometry. Since being exposed to SIP Grinders at East Lake Golf Club, host site of The TOUR Championship, it has become abundantly clear that this often misunderstood, underestimated measurable can have considerable consequences when not accounted for when operating under very minute levels of tolerance. There are many grinders that can produce a clean, sharp, and consistent edge, but only SIP offers the ability to provide both quality of reel and squareness of the unit in one machine. In short, sometimes its not the fault of the plant itself that surfaces are not as well-prepared as desired, but the overall impact of improper set-up of the mowers we put on them.”
Bland Cooper
Senior Competitions Official, Agronomy
PGA TOUR
“When I first saw these grinders, I thought SIP was cheesy - with the chains and air system. No way were they ever going to be the grinder of choice. Man, was I wrong! After seeing them in action over five years with John Patterson, I decided to demo them before purchasing two sets of grinders. Mark Pilger showed up at my shop and proceeded with the demo. After grinding a reel, grinding relief, and moving on to the 6000 bedknife grinder, I told my director that these were my grinders. That was 11 years ago (2013). When I changed jobs, my new team liked the SIP grinder, as we had number 25 of the production and a Foley 650 and an Express Dual 3000. They fell in love with SIP when I showed them the 6000 bedknife grinder. Priced right, best quality, and service second to none. When you purchase SIP, you’re also buying into the family.”
Skip Heinz, CTEM & Class A Superintendent
Equipment & Facilities Manager
Royal Poinciana Golf Club - Naples, FL
“I first became familiar with the SIP reel and bedknife grinders when I started at Pelican Golf Club almost 3 years ago. Quite honestly, I never really paid much attention to our grinders at previous courses since I always preached I just want the mowers sharp! Once we received the grinders at Pelican I was introduced to Mike Rollins. Mike has opened my eyes to the small details of setups, measuring reel diameter, bed knife thickness, uniformities, cones and other imperfections that may be impacting the quality of cut on the golf course. Many of these imperfections are not seen by one’s eyes until they hit the golf course. With the low mowing heights that are quite common today, these small details are very critical to the health and playability on the turfgrass at all golf courses. Paying attention to these small details and utilizing the SIP grinders to alleviate the imperfections that are many times sent from manufacturers has been a true learning experience for me. The quality of cut and after cut appearance has dramatically improved with the SIP units, in addition to paying attention to the details and Mike’s expertise. I would highly recommend looking at the SIP grinders and listening to one of Mike’s Cutline is King presentations.”
Terry Kennelly
Director of Golf Course & Grounds
Pelican Golf Club - Belleair, FL
“SIP is an unparalleled resource like no other I’ve experienced in the industry. As we are striving to dig further into fixable issues that create value in our cutting unit setup, SIP continues to produce and grow a product that is not only superiorly accurate, but efficient at helping us identify and fix problems. SIP gives us the ability to set a reproducible standard that is not only saving us time, but is visible on the course and in the shop. Customer service is hands down the best in the business, starting at the local dealer all the way to the factory. No one is supporting and promoting the Equipment Manager like the SIP group; from helping educate the industry, to standing shoulder to shoulder with us in the shop as we face an issue we’ve never seen before.”
Chris Johnson, CTEM
Equipment Manager
Jupiter Island Club - Hobe Sound, FL
“After purchasing a new SIP Ideal 6000 bedknife grinder - and refurbishing our Peerless 2000 reel grinder - our equipment managers have dialed in our grinding processes to the point of knowing how much material is being taken off during each grind and, in turn, are able to project the life of reels and bedknives. Not only have these grinders improved our turf quality and appearance, but they’ve also elongated the life of our reels and bedknives to get more use and, in turn, have saved us money in expenses and labor.”
Chris Anderson
Director of Golf Operations
Nemacolin Resort - Farmington, PA
“SIP grinders have been a game changer in our quality of cut here at Desert Mountain. Competitor grinders allow you to grind your reels out of square and then the quality of cut in the field is affected. SIP makes you square the reel up prior to grinding and gives you confidence that your quality of cut and the reel will perform at a higher level in the field. We are extremely happy with our choice of SIP for our reel grinding needs here at Desert Mountain.”
Todd Bohn
Director of Agronomy
Desert Mountain - Scottsdale, AZ
“The thing that attracted me to SIP was their push to get things right and not settle for being ok. Being a data guy, getting the numbers right is important. Supporting a company who cares as much as I do - about not settling - makes it easy to support them and their products.”
Stephen Tucker
Director of Golf Maintenance & Landscape
Four Seasons Golf & Sports Club - Orlando, FL
“Service, quality, dependable, and personable. Many companies lack it. SIP has it. Our efficiency has dramatically increased from the shop to the putting green. Expectations are high, here at Big Cedar, and Peerless helps us meet them.”
Clinton McKee, CTEM
Equipment Manager
Big Cedar Golf - Branson, MO
“I've been grinding reel mowers for over 30 years and the one thing that always made me uncomfortable was the lack of science in grinding. We relied on ‘feel’ and assumptions, far too heavily. SIP Grinders have proven to me that the mathematics and geometry behind the grinder design are not only important, but essential. Touch-touch is a thing of the past. Trust the grinder.”
Thad Thompson
Superintendent
Terry Hills Golf Course - Batavia NY
“The SIP grinder pair brings me unthought peace of mind. I know when that reel and bedknife come off of a grind, it will be perfect. No chasing. No double-checking ACA. Just a whole lot of confidence in my cutting units.”
Kayla Kipp, CTEM
Equipment Manager
Nemacolin Resort - Farmington, PA
"I'd like to share some good news. The super and members have been ecstatic about the green speeds and mower performance. I am told that during the two seasons prior to my arrival the green speeds were stimping no higher than 10 and greens were being scalped and were not healthy. That was with a mechanic who was using another brand of grinders. Our greens have been stimping 12.5 routinely with no changes to mowing/rolling frequency and are healthy. We recently fielded a complaint by our golf pro that the greens were too fast. That's the first time in my career I have gotten wind of a complaint like that. I attribute some of my success to SIP grinders and the information Mark shares in his blog. SIP's grinders and techniques have enabled me to get much closer to my goal of perfection than before."
Roland McPhearson
Equipment Manager
November 15, 2018
“In order to create exceptional playing conditions on today's golf courses, reels and bedknives must be ground to tight dimensional tolerances and have the correct geometric relationships to each other. SIP grinding equipment meets these requirements easily and repeatably because it has been purpose-designed to do so. Geometric problems within the cutting unit - that create after-cut-appearance and quality of cut issues - can be diagnosed and fixed on the grinder, either as part of the grind process or as part of a separate troubleshooting process. Both the reel and bedknife grinder empower turf equipment technicians to measure and control the variables involved in cutting unit performance. These machines are handmade in the USA by a family that is deeply passionate about supporting our profession. Their commitment to their craft has provided us with the tools to continue elevating the sophistication and artistry of ours. When you call them, they answer, and no question is too esoteric or too basic. If you hit a wall, they will get in the van, drive to you, and solve the problem. SIP grinders are an example of technology that makes a human being better for having used it. Learning to use these machines conditions your mind to think about cutting units in a comprehensive way, which will serve you for the rest of your career. These machines have changed me. They have added joy, satisfaction, and pride to my professional life. They have made me a better human being. And they will do the same for you.”
Wyatt Harris
Equipment Technician
Four Seasons Golf & Sports Club - Orlando, FL
Date Added January 22, 2024
“Since we have acquired SIP grinders in our shop, here at The London Hunt and Country Club, we have found a greater consistency with our cutting units and our overall quality of cut. They have also given us quantitative data that can be translated to show us any potential ACA and QoC issues. This data can also be presented to membership to educate them of the importance of having cutting units squared and paralleled or “blueprinted” to meet their high demands on the performance of our turf. Having the means to really diagnose any potential issues that come up is imperative to our peace of mind and budget. It allows us to get that extra grind out of bedknives, thus increasing the life span of each blade installed. It is also beneficial to our reels as having them paralleled to within .002” gives us a longer reel life as well. Each spin allows us to take a minimal amount of material off to get our cutting edge back. The simple nature of the design and components was also a big plus for us, any downtime is minimized if there are any breakdowns and no special parts or sensors are required. The service and support are second to none. They are integral to our success. The simplicity and ease of use is amazing, and we have found greater efficiency in the process mid-season when time is of the essence. There is no better feeling than putting a pi tape on a reel and it measures zero cone! Hearing the difference when set up is awesome. You can hear how the two pieces mesh together being squared and paralleled and ground properly, music to our ears!”
Taylor Cairns
Equipment Manager
London Hunt and Country Club
London, Ontario, Canada
"I had the privilege of being introduced to SIP grinders back in 2013. Luckily, for me, they were the first set of reel/bedknife grinders I ever laid eyes on; so I had no preconceived notions. I was taught - and honed my skills - on both the 7000 and 6000. The time came for me to advance and take my first EM job. That came with a competitor’s set of grinders, with no concrete plan of when I can get SIP in there. Well, 9 years later I can say WE ARE SO BACK!!!! Once Mike came to the shop and knocked the rust off me - on the SIP's - I was off and running like I never left! Then it dawned on me just how good of a product these are after using their competitor for the last 9 years. SIP allows your cutting unit program to shine if you put the effort into it. It also allows you to be as consistent in grinding and set up as possible. With those tools, it is on the end user to elevate their cutting unit program to be among some of the best in the country. That's is where Mark, Mike, Karl and the rest of the SIP staff come in: they are with you every step of the way and always will be."
Tony Bevolo, CTEM
Equipment Manager
Trinity Forest Golf Club - Dallas, TX
Date Added January 28, 2024
"In the past, I could get so wound up and excited with anticipation about a product that, when it showed up, I was let down because it didn’t meet or exceed my expectations. That is not the case with SIP grinders. It had to be about three years ago that I reached out to Mike Rollins, after the 2020 show, to say hey and that he should take a trip up to Canada. I can now look back on that moment as a pivotal moment in my career. Even after learning so much over the past 20 years, I’ve learned even more in such a short time. It's not just grinders - it is a culture. I love being a part of the SIP family."
Kevin Hennigar
Equipment Manager
Angus Glen Golf Club - Markham, Ontario, CAN
“In 15 years of the golf course life, I had been through several types of reel and bedknife grinders, from course to course. In 2021, I finally got a chance to use a set of Peerless machines. I wasn't sold on the video I attempted to watch 5 years prior. After checking the reel, checking the machine, and chaining it down (which is where I stopped the video), I hit start. My whole world changed!!! The simplicity of use and the simplicity of maintenance is like no other. I have never been so confident with cutting units since using the 2000 and 7000, and the 6000 with the V-pallet. Actually, these machines not only help me sell a set, they also helped me land a job at a top 5 course in the state. In 3 years of using SIP I have come to realize that it's not just the machines that are above all, the customer service is above any company I've ever dealt with. I have never had dealings with a company that will answer the phone and call you back to walk you through any issue. You’re not just buying the best machines made, you’re buying a peace of mind on a machine that you can fix on your own. It's not a purchase of equipment, it's an investment of a lifetime. Last but not least, if you can't reach Mike Rollins or Mark Pilger for tech support, there is a special group of EM's that stands behind SIP that will help you in any way. Blue for life!!!
P.S. These machines do not take up half of your shop and you can clean the entire area around any of them.”
Dustin Bates
Branch Manager - Ladd’s
Equipment Manager
Reunion Country Club a Madison, MS