In 2002, Jim Walton founded Southwest Greens Florida, a leading business in developing, refining and installing high-end synthetic turf.
With an MBA in International Business from the University of Miami and a bachelor’s in Logistics Management from Michigan State University, his diverse leadership experience includes managing logistics for Royal Caribbean & Celebrity Cruise Line. Recently, Jim addressed the BDBMC Investors Council, sharing more about how customed design turf projects are reimagining businesses and homes across the region.
While voted for five years in a row as “Best Putting Greens” by Golf Digest, Southwest Green Florida’s work extends well beyond the fairways and practices greens. The company’s acclaimed synthetic turf is finding a surprising variety of applications on schools, playing fields, public greenspaces—even private backyards.
So, tell us about Southwest Greens Florida. You specialize in …
Synthetic turf. It replicates natural grass but without all the weeds and watering and pesticides and care required.
Do you mostly work with golf courses or in various commercial capacities?
We’re well known for our work in the golf segment. But we build everything from mini golf or putting green courses in someone’s backyard. We also do high-end residential projects, resorts, schools, municipalities. Right now, we’re building a couple of golf course-sized installations on some ranches on private property.
There’s certainly a lot of big-time names in golf in this area.
Yes. We’re fortunate to have been a Jack Nicklaus co-partner for 20 years now and have a number of pro endorsements, such as Rickie Fowler. A number of PGA pros have our greens at their homes. We get into pretty much everything related to turf. We’ve even done some athletic fields in the South Florida area—football, soccer, lacrosse. We get involved in all kinds of applications for turf that are beyond somebody’s backyard. The majority of the work we do is commercial.
Are you doing any projects in Martin County?
We’ve done a ton of residential projects and some turf projects for the school district, some private schools, some assisted living facilities, high-end homes in Sailfish Point. Some new communities. But we go all over the state.
What are some of the services you provide that are more challenging to share?
We must impress upon people the maintenance aspect of synthetic turf. People ask, ‘Why do you need that?’ The way we build a job, it’s going to last. Most of the material has a 15-year warranty—but it requires maintenance. Our maintenance is grooming and conditioning. If, for example, there’s ever any mold or mildew, we treat it. If there are pet places and pet-related wear, most of that can be brushed out.
What are the biggest challenges you’re seeing in your industry right now?
We’re a labor-intensive business. Quality labor is always hard to find. So, anything that can help develop or train people are opportunities that we welcome.
You recently gave a presentation to the BDB Investors Council that was really well received.
That’s nice to hear. It was a very nice experience because we’re passionate about what we do. I really appreciate the BDB’s mission to help support and grow businesses in Martin County. A lot of our business is driven by relationships, meeting people and trying to impress upon them the quality of the work we do. We’ve really appreciative the partnerships we’ve forged through the BDB, and all the introductions they’ve helped make across Martin County. We’re a very niche business, so it helps to get in front of people.
