Since this is my first blog, I think it’s important to introduce myself, and give you my background in the turf industry.

As you can see, they have deemed me “Mr. Wise Grass,” as  I possess some knowledge that might seem silly to the average person regarding grass, but on the same token it’s very useful when we discuss the health of your lawn.  You may be asking yourself, “Do I really care to read on?”  But, I can promise that you’ll learn some new lawn tips every couple of weeks, and expand your own turfgrass knowledge.  You can also email me directly to send photos of your lawn, and ask me any questions you may have. 

My turf career began in the golf industry in ‘93.  I was back in Michigan where I worked at Hickory Creek GC, Fox Hills CC, and Travis Pointe CC, where I learned what my true calling is in life.  It is grass.  And not the kind most people think of when they ask me what I do for a living!  It’s turfgrass.  I attended Eastern Michigan University where I got my basic courses out of the way.  I also got a good start to a business degree before I decided to transfer to Michigan State University to study agronomy with an emphasis in turfgrass.  This was a real happy day for my dad as he realized he was now paying for more school.  It still hurts me a little mentally on some level to say I have a BA from MSU because I do bleed “maize and blue.”  I’m a huge University of Michigan fan.  That is neither here nor there so I shall continue…..   

I moved to Arizona in ’00 to work at Desert Mountain Golf Club in North Scottsdale where I earned my stripes working on the Geronimo course for a year and a half, Cochise course for 2 years, and finally I put my stamp on the building of the last of six Jack Nicklaus courses—Outlaw (definitely the best course on the property but I may have a slight bias).  After Outlaw was built I was offered the position with West Coast Turf/Western Sod.  While I had no sales background, I was hired on my ability to think outside the box, and consult to landscapers, turf professionals, golf courses, and to several professional and minor league sports teams.  Five years later, I am still here, so I am glad to say it’s worked out pretty well.

So that’s my story, and I am sticking to it.   Please feel free to click on the “Ask Jay” button to your top right of this page if you have some questions of your own!

Jay

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