Forum Groups

 

Forums / Talking Turf / Greens rollers

Greens rollers

6 posts
  1. Clint Evans
    Clint Evans avatar
    0 posts
    11/17/2013 5:11 AM
    Smithco double drum rollers are the way to go. Only 4 bearings on the rollers and they are about 4" off of the turf (this matters when rolling after topdressing). Ask the salesman how many the others have.



  2. Holt Michael
    Holt Michael avatar
    11/17/2013 9:11 AM
    Salsco. Fastest roller on the market. I can roll 3 acres of greens in under 3 hours. Topdress weekly, aerify with heavy top dressing 2 times per year, and roll 4 days per week and never had a problem with the roller. They are bullet proof in my opinion and wouldn't consider another brand.



  3. Paul Double
    Paul Double avatar
    37 posts
    11/20/2013 6:11 AM
    Salsco. Like Michael Holt, we roll about 4 acres in 3-1/2 to 4 hours and they are bulletproof. We used to roll with a Toro 3100 with rollers also, then moved to an older Smithco, and now a Salsco. We see a huge improvement in greens speed and smoothness after the switch. There are a lot of different machines out there to choose from, but call around and see who is willing to talk to you and give you the support and parts for the machine.
    Good Luck

    Paul L Double
    Golf Course Superintendent
    Sugar Valley Golf Club
    Bellbrook, Ohio



  4. Curtis Nickerson
    Curtis Nickerson avatar
    0 posts
    11/20/2013 10:11 AM
    I have two Smithco's and a Salsco. Love the Salsco and wouldn't take another Smithco's if they paid me to take it. We have to do something to them every single time they come back in from rolling (we roll every other day)



  5. Sam Welch
    Sam Welch avatar
    0 posts
    11/20/2013 10:11 AM
    I've always been a big Salsco fan as well, had the Tru Turfs at another facility and liked them for daily rolling but not for after greens aerification (too light to smooth greens out). When we bought our rollers I went with the Salsco HP4, the one with the small rollers. They've had a lot of problems due to poor design (chain issues mainly) and Salsco had the nerve to offer a fix that would've cost $300 per machine on our dime. So while I'll still recommend Salscos as they do seem to last forever and are fast, I'd say stay away from the HP4.



  6. James Smith_2
    James Smith_2 avatar
    0 posts
    11/20/2013 2:11 PM
    Has anyone demoed the Agrimetal 660 greens roller. I have heard good things about them. They are 66" wide and they have three roller heads that flex so you don't get the creasing like the Salsco's sometimes do. I am going to demo one soon.

    Rusty Smith
    Mid South Club
    Southern Pines NC



  7. Andy Jorgensen
    Andy Jorgensen avatar
    1 posts
    11/21/2013 6:11 AM
    The attached "Greens Roller Comparison Chart" should help you make your decision.

    We have two different models of rollers. Both do perfectly fine for rolling greens. I like the Tru-Turf rollers for daily rolling. Very quick. 1 man, 21 greens, 3.75 acres of turf. Roughly three hours to get them all done. Behind a greens mower it takes longer due to having to wait on the mower. Our Salscos take a little bit longer, and have slowed over the years, but then again both are about ten years old and worn out. They held up good for us though up to that point. We still use them after aerification though because of the brushes we have attached to them to brush in topdressing.

    As far as weight goes, the Tru-Turf and Salscos weigh about the same. However, due to more rollers on the Tru-Turf, the psi is less. That being said, when we roll with the Tru--Turf, we are rolling with basically four rollers, or double what we have with the Salsco. I you want weight and high psi, buy an electric roller. That bank of batteries is like putting your heaviest operator on the machine.

    We have had issues with both. Bearings are gonna fail no matter what. Not really a big deal with me. I've popped drive chains on both units when the sprockets wear out as well.

    And, after reading the chart, I noticed the Salsco's have a 5 year warranty. That's pretty huge in our business.



  8. Daniel Stover
    Daniel Stover avatar
    0 posts
    12/8/2013 12:12 PM
    I would have to disagree with the Salsco being the fastest roller. I used to operate both Salsco and hated it because it was slow and cumbersome. We switched to tru-turf after a product demo at my club, it was about 1 hour faster for 4 acres of greens.

    At my current club we use Speed Rollers...which I would not recommend to anybody.



  9. Steven Huffstutler
    Steven Huffstutler avatar
    11 posts
    12/8/2013 6:12 PM
    I like my true surface vibratory greens rollers. They attach to a triplex, no load / unload time, we can double cut and roll greens in front of 7 am crossovers and never get caught . Depending on the setting and the speed, I can add as much as a foot of speed. I am very happy with them and would never go back to a sidewinder roller.

    Regards,

    Steve



  10. Robert Crockett
    Robert Crockett avatar
    4 posts
    12/9/2013 11:12 AM
    Steven Huffstutler, CGCS said: I like my true surface vibratory greens rollers. They attach to a triplex, no load / unload time, we can double cut and roll greens in front of 7 am crossovers and never get caught . Depending on the setting and the speed, I can add as much as a foot of speed. I am very happy with them and would never go back to a sidewinder roller.

    Regards,

    Steve

    Steve I found a slightly used set for $3495.00. They look very good. Think that's a decent deal?



  11. Steven Huffstutler
    Steven Huffstutler avatar
    11 posts
    12/9/2013 12:12 PM
    Robert Crockett said:
    Steven Huffstutler, CGCS said: I like my true surface vibratory greens rollers. They attach to a triplex, no load / unload time, we can double cut and roll greens in front of 7 am crossovers and never get caught . Depending on the setting and the speed, I can add as much as a foot of speed. I am very happy with them and would never go back to a sidewinder roller.

    Regards,

    Steve

    Steve I found a slightly used set for $3495.00. They look very good. Think that's a decent deal?


    Yeah, they're like $7500 new.

    Steve



  12. Thomas Tipton
    Thomas Tipton avatar
    0 posts
    12/11/2013 11:12 AM
    Has anyone tried the new Salsco Roll-N-Go greens roller? I'm in the market for a roller and am just wondering if anyone had any feedback. I always get a little nervous being the first one to buy new products, as with anything 1st generation pieces tend to have a few kinks to iron out. The idea of not having to deal with a trailer would be a big time saver.



  13. Ryan Walsh
    Ryan Walsh avatar
    0 posts
    12/11/2013 2:12 PM
    I believe that you need to decide which roller is best for YOUR course. We have Tru-Turf's which I absolutely love. We use them 6-7 times/ week to roll greens and approaches during the prime growing season (May-October). They work for us because our terrain is relatively subtle. If there are any kind of severe slopes to climb, nothing is better than a Salsco. They are great for construction use as well. You can roll out bare soil without an issue... Tru-Turf's will spin out. Try to demo a couple or visit a few neighboring courses. Best, Ryan



  14. Timothy Connolly
    Timothy Connolly avatar
    0 posts
    12/17/2013 8:12 AM
    We purchased 2 TruTurf 52" rollers this spring, replacing two venerable 15 year-old Salscos. The TruTurfs are outstanding rollers and are worth a look. The psi is lighter than other rollers even though the weight is comparable to competitors. To me this is the most important consideration since we are looking for smoothness, not surface compaction. They are fast too, so operators need to be smooth and feather the pedals. We have kept one of the Salscos for post-aerification purposes. There's less risk of sliding or spinning a drum with the Salscos since both drums are powered.
    Tim



View or change your forums profile here.