EMPIRE Zoysia now grows on former tobacco fields that have been in Wooten’s family for generations.
Quality Turf’s founder Al Wooten was raised in Maple Hill, NC, where he grew up alongside his eight siblings on a row-cropping farm. As the sole sibling still farming, he takes pride in cultivating grass on the same land granted to his ancestors in the 1750s. He recalled his father focusing on tobacco, their most profitable cash crop. “Back then, you could make more money off 4-5 acres of tobacco than 100 acres of soybeans, corn or anything else. The corn you raised was used to feed livestock, then you slaughtered it and put up your meat. Momma canned vegetables like something crazy. It was a great way to grow up, but you don’t see much of it anymore. I’ve got a lot of life experiences a lot of people don’t have these days.”
Wooten's agricultural background laid a foundation for his career in the sod industry, which began in golf course maintenance after graduating from NC State in 1977. Initially hired as an assistant superintendent in Santee, SC, he was thrust into overseeing the entire 36-hole operation when his boss fell ill and passed away. He reflected, “I got baptized in the fire pretty quick and worked there for 10 years as a Class A Superintendent right out of school.”
After his first daughter was born, Wooten felt the pull to move back home to Pender County, NC. Initially, he worked at Belvedere Golf & Country Club in Hampstead but soon left, feeling it wasn't the right fit. Motivated to find a fulfilling career, he explored the turfgrass and landscaping industry. He visited a college friend who owned a successful landscaping business in Wilmington who advised that entering the landscape material production business—be it shrubs, trees or sod—would be lucrative, especially since most sod was being shipped from Georgia or South Carolina at that time.
Wooten jumped into the sod business during a growth period in the mid-1980s, at a time when there were only four or five sod farms in North Carolina. "We planted our first grass here at this farm in 1985. We started off slow. We put in 10-15 acres in the first year. We didn’t harvest any until the next year," Wooten recalled. Quality Turf's initial offerings included a centipede and two bermuda varieties. Sales took off quickly once they began cutting and selling the sod, leading Wooten to expand and clear more land. With his father slowing down in farming, Wooten began using some of his father's land for sod, continually expanding the business.
Wooten co-founded the business as a partnership, but once that dissolved in 1991, he ran it successfully with his high-school sweetheart and wife, Cynthia, until her passing. The farm grew significantly from 2000 to 2005, expanding from 350 to 750 acres. However, the 2008 financial crisis hit hard. Wooten notes, "We had it all ready just in time for when the bottom fell out. We survived that but I don't know if we ever recovered." The farm's acreage eventually balanced out at about 300-400 acres, where it remains today.
Al Wooten and Dr. Susanna Milla-Lewis of NC State pose with a pallet of Sola St. Augustine. Quality Turf was part of the research trials that helped bring this improved variety to market.
Wooten mentioned his excitement for the two new varieties out of NC State’s Turfgrass Breeding Program, which Quality Turf has licensed to grow since their release. He has planted close to 25 acres of Sola® St. Augustine and will expanded Lobo® Zoysiagrass from stock this spring. “We’re at a point where we’re ready to add another 100 or 200 acres, hopefully in the next couple of years.”
Quality Turf employs 10 full-time staff, supplemented by part-time workers and additional help during the summer for production and harvesting. When orders slow a little during the winter, all full-time employees focus on maintaining equipment and preparing for the upcoming year.
Next Generation
Al Wooten’s daughters, Morgan Heimbach and Jessica Lambe are key members at Quality Turf. Morgan moved home following her mother’s passing to manage the office, a role she’s now been in over 10 years. Jessica, who joined in 2021 after more than a decade in marketing civil engineering, now helps with field operations and the farm's social media and marketing. Both juggle their responsibilities alongside raising their young children.
Al Wooten’s daughters, Jessica Lambe and Morgan Heimbach, at NC State’s Turfgrass Field Day in Raleigh.
Wooten expressed satisfaction with his daughters' involvement: “It's been nice having family work with me. Initially, I wasn't sure they were interested. We had encouraged them to find their own way in the world, so I didn’t know if I’d have anyone who’d want to keep it going. But I think once they had kids themselves, they realized the farm is something special worth holding on to.” He also values their commitment to further education to deepen their industry knowledge.
Grasses
These days, Quality Turf primarily sells grass to landscape contractors for residential installations. Initially, due to Wooten's background in golf, over half of the sod was supplied to golf courses and sports fields. However, this market has diminished with the decline in golf course construction—previously vibrant between Myrtle Beach and Wilmington. Wooten notes, “15 years ago, there were continual jobs, but that’s dropped by the wayside, aside from smaller renovations from time to time.”
Wooten learned from the early 2000 recession that bigger isn't always better. “I found the bigger we got, the harder it was to keep up with it all. Once we dropped back in acreage, it became easier to focus on quality. We’re able to take better care of what we had and keep a quality product moving out, which is what we pride ourselves on since we started. We might never be the biggest, but we strive to be the best,” he explained.
Quality Turf grows several turfgrass varieties, including Celebration® Bermuda, Tifway 419 Bermuda, Sola St. Augustine, Raleigh St. Augustine, common centipede, EMPIRE® Zoysia, Meyer Zoysia and Emerald Zoysia. They've recently established a foundation of Lobo Zoysiagrass, aiming for expansion by late Spring and harvesting by the end of 2025.
Wooten overseeing the planting of Sola St. Augustine sprigs on the farm in 2024. Quality Turf has 25 acres of Sola in production and plans to expand Lobo Zoysia from stock in 2025.
Celebration, first licensed in 2002, has been a significant part of their offering, particularly for sports fields, due to its aggressive lateral growth. Wooten appreciates its low vertical growth and maintenance needs. Regarding zoysiagrasses, he noted, “EMPIRE establishes faster than Emerald and Meyer and is more user-friendly, allowing for rotary mowing and less maintenance than bermudas. It offers better turf quality compared to centipede or St. Augustine. But, if a customer has heavy shade, I recommend a St. Augustine. We are seeing a lot of interest in Sola and expect that to continue as news of it spreads.”
Innovative Turfgrass Research
Quality Turf remains at the forefront of turfgrass innovation, actively engaging in research trials. It is currently evaluating Celebration Hybrid™ Bermudagrass, a 2022 release from Mississippi State University's Celebration X Program, in a plug tray plot as a preliminary step before potential licensing and expansion.
Additionally, Quality Turf collaborates with breeder Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis for trials in NC State's turfgrass breeding program, which has recently introduced Lobo Zoysiagrass and Sola St. Augustinegrass. Wooten noted that these grasses exhibit significant improvements in maintenance requirements and disease resistance, with Lobo thriving in conditions of intense heat and humidity.
Sola St. Augustine harvested at Quality Turf July 2022.
Industry Involvement
Al Wooten has actively engaged in various industry boards and organizations throughout his career. He's been a member of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendent Association since his days in Santee, a longstanding member of the Turfgrass Council of North Carolina and a charter member of the NC Sod Producer Association (NCSPA), holding numerous board positions within these organizations. Notably, he is the only two-term President of NCSPA, serving in 2006-07 and 2016-17. His reappointment coincided with the signing of the Turfgrass Research North Carolina (TRNC) program’s agreements between NC State, NCSPA and Sod Solutions. The TRNC is a collaborative initiative designed to support the turfgrass breeding and genetics program at NC State, focusing on breeding, researching, developing and releasing improved turfgrass varieties.
Steve Lommel (NC State), Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis (NC State), Tobey Wagner (Sod Solutions), Al Wooten (Quality Turf) and John Williams (Oakland Plantation) pictured in August 2016 at the launch of the Turf Research North Carolina program. The program has since released Lobo Zoysia and Sola St. Augustine.
During his first term as president, North Carolina faced severe droughts, resulting in extensive water restrictions affecting sod farms, nurseries, irrigation contractors, landscapers and other sectors. Wooten reflects on the creation of the Green Industry Council of North Carolina, which unified a formidable lobbying force: “It changed the landscape of lobbying efforts in North Carolina from several little groups into one much bigger one. I think it was a great move; it’s still active and I’m still on the board. We meet by Zoom and communicate with lobbyists.”
Will Neisler, Christian Broucqsault, Tobey Wagner, Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis, Al Wooten and John Williams at the 2022 NC State Lake Wheeler Field Day in Raleigh.
His daughter Morgan became the President of NCSPA in 2024. Wooten proudly recalls her growing involvement, particularly during a Turfgrass Producers International (TPI) meeting in Tucson, Arizona, which sparked her active participation. “I still think that communication with other growers in your regions or district is important. The NC Sod Producers was the first turfgrass organization in the country that received USDA funding grants to fund marketing and education,” he noted. “Without an organization like NCSPA, you can’t get stuff like that done.”
Wooten also stressed the importance of cooperation within the industry: “We may be out here trying to sell to the same customers, but we also understand that we can help each other in other ways from time to time. If you only look at it from a competitive standpoint all the time, it’s not good for either party. You can easily see the benefits of working together rather than against one another.”
Al Wooten and his wife, Teresa, with their grandchildren.
As Wooten enters his seventies, he still stays busy on the farm, preparing fields, maintaining equipment and is considering hiring a farm manager to gradually reduce his workload. He and his wife Teresa, a vice president with First Citizens Bank, will be celebrating their third anniversary soon and look forward to traveling and spending more time with their grandkids after retirement.
This article was written by Cecilia Johnson.
