Chris Johnson, CTEM

Certified Turf Equipment Manager @ Atlantic Fields Club / SXS Off-roading/ Golfing / Fishing / Pellet Grill Cooking

[Chris Johnson, CTEM @TurfTechLife]

Had such a great time yesterday spending the day with everyone touring new and old maintenance facilities to gather ideas and inspiration to take back with us. Big thanks to the hosting facilities @Turftech561, Panther National, Mirasol, and Loxahatchee Club. @nate_watkin @FGCSA @GCSAA_SouthAtl thank you all for making this happen. Hope to see more of this around the state.

[Chris Johnson, CTEM @TurfTechLife]

This is why we love our 6000’s from @SIPGrinders1902.

[Wyatt Harris @truecylinder]

Here's the context missing from the pivot bolt discussion: Loading speed of the 6000. The next knife is in before the stones stop turning. No alignment or touch off of any kind required, no stopping to do the other face. The precision comes for free alongside the speed.

[Mike Rollins @MikeRollinsSIP]

📊I'm well aware that this question is relative to operation - i.e. budget, manpower, tools, resources, & overall attitude & culture of the whole team (from top, down).

But PERSONALLY - as an Equipment Manager or an Agronomist - which mentality do you gravitate toward?

[Mike Rollins @MikeRollinsSIP]

Really, REALLY excited to announce that we’ve sponsored an EM Lounge for Wednesday & Thursday, during the show!

There will be food & drinks in the AM (both days) & then food & adult beverages in the afternoon on Wednesday!

It’s booth 1115.

[Stephen Tucker @StephenTucker7]

Last study session for tomorrow’s seminar @GCSAAConference on Growing Your Role and Responsibilities at Your Facility. Come see us at 1:00 314AB

[Mike Rollins @MikeRollinsSIP]

For 27yrs, @SpecialtyReels pushed limits & set the standard for cutting units. He ignored know-it-alls, put his nose to the ground, & GOT IT DONE. - winning @GolfDigest's Best New Private Course in '22 as an EM.

@SIPGrinders1902 Presents: The Daily Grind
Ep. 5 - Jerry Kara, CTEM

[John Michael Clark, CTEM @ClarkJohnmike]

Very happy to be able to accomplish this milestone in my career.

[GCSAA @GCSAA]

John Patterson, CTEM, the equipment director at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga., is the winner of the 2025 Edwin Budding Award from GCSAA. Patterson will formally receive the award during the 2026 #GCSAAConference. https://t.co/xJ3hSVcLR9

[Palm Beach GCSA @PBGCSA]

Join us for the Palm Beach GCSA Fall Education Day at The Polo Club of Boca Raton! FREE for all members—includes breakfast, lunch & GCSAA CEUs. Jackets required. Sponsorship tiers available. Don’t miss this full day of education & networking!

[Chris Johnson, CTEM @TurfTechLife]

@ClarkJohnmike Great work over there! Making great progress over there.

[Mike Rollins @MikeRollinsSIP]

🚨Announcement🚨

We’ve certified our first class of Grinder Gurus!

These 4 Equipment Managers come to you & train, retrain, & service your SIP machines!

We plan on having 15-20 of them running around the country in the very near future!

Read @markpilgersip’s blog post, here:

“In the last post, I told you how busy Mike says he is and that was before I told him he had to cover the whole country when Larry retired. Mike and Larry were Regional Managers and their responsibilities included sales, new machine training, machine servicing and retraining, and phone tech support. Mike is also our Director of Sales and Marketing, so I guess he may be right about being too busy. Also, in the last post, I introduced Larry’s new responsibility of taking over all tech phone support and he can be reached on his direct line at 813-845-4945.

This still left Mike spread too thin, so we pondered several ideas as to how we might be able to handle the field tech support and we wanted to maintain a high level of service. We came up with Grinder Gurus: highly qualified equipment managers all over the country, who will come to your shop to train, retrain or service your grinders. These are the same guys who taught Mike almost everything he knows and helped him develop “Cutline is King”. They have also collaborated with me on many of my designs or performed prototype field testing. They have also all drunk the blue Kool-Aid with years of experience using our grinders correctly. In fact, they developed some of the advanced techniques that we now teach. And yet, they still had to go through our certification process. I believe, because they are equipment managers, they will do an even better job than Mike or Larry and, more importantly, they will be more available so the wait times will be reduced. So let’s meet our inaugural class of Grinder Gurus.

Wyatt Harris grew up around turfgrass as the son of a superintendent, and has worked in the industry for 13 years. He enjoys helping other turf mechanics solve their cutting unit problems and use their SIP grinding equipment to it's full potential.

Kevin Hennigar, licensed small engine mechanic, has been in the golf course industry for over 25 years. Kevin and his team started using SIP grinders 4 years ago.

Chris Johnson, CTEM, has worked in turf equipment maintenance and reel grinding since 2009, with a passion for precision and performance. Chris is committed to helping others grow in the industry through hands-on training, and real-world insight.

John Patterson, CTEM, is a life-long mechanic who found the turf industry in 1993 and has been an Equipment Manager for thirty years. John started using SIP grinders over twenty years ago and along with being a Grinder Guru, is the Georgia state sales representative for SIP.

One other requirement for being a Grinder Guru is that apparently you have to have a beard.”

[Chris Johnson, CTEM @TurfTechLife]

@turf_talk1 We are doing a Ty Robb putting contest tomorrow. Starting from 100 yards out.

[Chris Johnson, CTEM @TurfTechLife]

What a thoughtful gift. One of the nicest and most helpful guys out there. All around great person!

[Mike Rollins @MikeRollinsSIP]

AWESOME gifts from @Sip_FssJonGowen!

He even made one for each of the guys out in the factory!

[Turf Talk @turf_talk1]

Due to unforseen circumstances, Chad can't join us tonight. Were still having an open mic/old school turf talk. See everyone at 7est

[Mark Pilger @MarkPilgerSIP]

New Blog Posted: Step Two - Larry https://t.co/jgOugMqqDm @MikeRollinsSIP

[Chris Johnson, CTEM @TurfTechLife]

An extreme unparalleled cutting unit I setup thanks to the JD eccentrics to showcase to our team here why it’s so important to have rollers paralleled to cylindrical reels. Twisted frames and coned reels are some of the reasons why we could see something like this across all colors of cutting units. Heights good and cuts paper just isn’t a good enough look into a cutting unit.

[Mike Rollins @MikeRollinsSIP]

🎥"Last time: I told you about having to light a fire under Mike to get him to make the videos he has been promising for years. Well, now he is on fire and had to make a video announcing the fact that he is making videos." - Mark Pilger

Read Mark's post: https://t.co/lVljDuZWsU

[Chris Johnson, CTEM @TurfTechLife]

@BorRazu13 @GCSAA @gcscook @ChampionsTour Maybe one day they’ll add the EM to the list.

[Chris Johnson, CTEM @TurfTechLife]

@BrianChasse618 Love seeing other EM’s utilizing a granite surface plate. I have a similar video to this that dial indicated a .106 rock. It was setup for greens at .125 from the dealer 😬. Make a list and send it to the dealer. That’s what I do. Have to squeak the wheel until they listen 🤷🏻‍♂️.