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Looking into grinders
A Pennsylvania golf course takes a look at a new grinder for GCM.
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To find the perfect course in Pennsylvania to test out equipment for us, GCM staff had to do a lot of looking.
Thankfully, we found Lookaway.
Located 40 miles northeast of Philadelphia in Buckingham, Pa., Lookaway Golf Course is an 18-hole Rees Jones design that opened for play in 1999. Class A superintendent David Renk Jr. is a 15-year member of GCSAA, while assistant superintendent Paul Passanante is a nine-year member.
When we caught up with them in early November, the crew was busy cleaning up oak tree leaves after a heavy rain.
Renk and Passanante have been discussing with their mechanic Ed Boyskey the possibility of getting a new grinder. GCM contacted Bernhard and Co. about getting its new Anglemaster 3000 to the course. Bernhard associate Tom Hurst and the folks at Philadelphia Turf obliged by delivering the equipment and setting up a day-long demo. GCM sent a photographer to document the experience and then followed up with Passanante and Boyskey to see what they thought.
GCM: What did Bernhard and Co. deliver?
Ed Boyskey: It was an Anglemaster 3000. We have a 2000 and a 1000, much older models. We’re two models behind what they have now. I’d say our current equipment is about 10 years old.
GCM: What did you think of the 3000?
Boyskey: It’s much easier of a set-up time-wise and grinding-wise. You have a much faster set-up — it’s simpler. It has an electronic panel on the side, so when you move the grinding wheel up to the reel… it has an LED to indicate you’re parallel. There’s no guesstimating.
Paul Passanante: It’s a nice set of grinders. They’ve made a lot of improvements, and it is a user-friendly set-up. I also think the coarser stone makes for a faster grind.
GCM: Did you get a chance to operate it? How much better was it than your older equipment?
Boyskey: Yes, I ground a triplex unit with it. I’ll roughly say 30 to 40 percent faster — but that’s hard to say. I’d say it’d take me three hours on the old grinder, two hours on this one.
Passanante: I don’t do a lot of grinding, I typically just help out in a pinch. But I really liked the set-up. They have the quick-adjust to hold down the roller now; before you had to screw the adjuster down. I also like that there’s a plate under the back roller on the center of the grinder. It’s like a sheet. On the old one, the reel could drop down in there. It seems to me like they’ve responded to any complaints they got and have improved the product.
GCM: Was there anything you didn’t like about the 3000?
Boyskey: It has very few downsides, but I’m comparing it to my old grinders. I’d have to use it for a while to find any negatives. You get used to the old technology, and then you get the new one and it’s just great.
Passanante: If I used a grinder more often I could comment… talking with Ed, this is pretty good the way it is. It’s convenient and easy.
GCM: Are you looking at getting a new grinder at Lookaway?
Boyskey: Absolutely, we’re at that age and we’re trying to get new grinders in the next couple of years.
GCM: Will you consider the 3000?
Boyskey: I’ve looked at other brands… I’d say I’m going to recommend the 3000. The speed of set-up, the quickness of turn-around… there’s very minimum down-time. All you have to do is set it up one time; it’s a big advantage when you don’t have to move the holders for each one.
Passanante: Basically it’s personal preference for anybody, but I am impressed with this.
GCM: Anything else our readers should know?
Passanante: This new model has a hood over the top of it for safety. A lot of people would say that’s not necessary — but anything can happen. You can choose not to use it, but if it’s there, you really should use it.
— DD and SJ
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