My Story

Hello, my name is David Burrow, and I am the owner of Burrow Turf Care.  Back in high school, like many other guys in high school, my brother and I decided to start a lawn service to make some cash to buy our own vehicles. He had his drivers license so he drove and I would tag along. I didn't know anything about "turf" at the time, but as I was mowing these lawns over and over, I couldn't help but notice some lawns were much nicer than others. Some had weeds and were downright nasty with weeds and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't make them look that great.  This was back when the internet was just starting to grow, and I was combing forums about lawn care. I rigged up a "stripe kit" on our mower and was the first person in our small town to "stripe" the lawns we mowed. We didn't advertise our business but people started to notice our work and we picked up customers. We were mowing 20+ properties after school and weekends. Graduation came and I started college continuing to mow lawns, paying for my school and truck as I went. I majored in Ag Production at Lake Land College and went on to SIU Carbondale to major in Agronomy. My classes started to get repetitive and I couldn't help but branch out. I found out they had classes on Turf Management, so of course I signed up! I found out that 95% of these kids in this program were going to be golf course superintendents. I remember feeling completely over my head, especially when my classmates were talking about their internships at TPC courses and Bethpage Black Course (I didn't even know what this was but it sounded awesome!) but I decided to try to act the part. I studied harder and put more effort into these classes than all my others. I read (and still have) "Turf Management for Golf Courses" which was key to filling me in with what we were learning and what my classmates were talking about. Most important, it started to educate myself on how to grow turf grass. Not knowing what it would bring, I reached out to the Effingham Country Club and asked if they needed any interns. They accepted and I worked closely with the assistant Blaine Henson (current Mattoon C.C. superintendent), who taught me much of the practical sides of golf course managment. Wanting to stay close to home, and no openings at Effingham C.C, I took a job at a local ag retailer. I started out in crop sales and wandered into equipment sales chasing a paycheck and career in something.... I worked several stressful years in this job, learning many valuable lessons in sales and customer service and how to work in a busy office setting answering and selling over the phone. During this stressful time, I kept thinking of ways I could get closer to my "dream career" in the industry I knew. There were no green industry companies that were hiring so I decided to create my own company. Burrow Turf Care was born.  I began working lawn projects nights and weekends while working full time in equipment sales. I started seeing success in these side projects and the fall of 2015 I decided to make the jump. I had no idea how it was going happen but I made the commitment to quit my full time job and make it happen. I trusted God that things would work out. I had been reading all kinds of self improvement books trying to get prepared, but that winter, I took a day off to attend the Effingham CEO Conference, and I can honestly say this is where my business hit the ground and got rolling. It happened when I attended a session by Scott Kabbes on networking. It was a great, down to earth presentation on networking. His main point was to "seek out people who know what you need to learn and interrogate them." Taking a big risk, I decided to do this to Scott in the hallway. I will never forget it, we met at McDonalds in Effingham, where we talked about my business start and what he thought on the subject.  He referred me to some of his friends who needed help with their lawns and I ended up sodding his! It propelled me into my first year hitting the ground running vs looking for things to do. I worked my tail off on his lawn and he told his friends. I worked my tail off for his friends and the work just kept coming. Besides this, I networked with a couple others in the Effingham lawn care market to see what gaps I could fill for them. I have done work for and with Bob Ring, Heartland Landscaping, and Alwerdts gardens, taking on projects that aren't in their specialty. From here the business is where  it is today. We are growing rapidly and are aiming to be the top choice in the Effingham County market and surrounding areas for lawn care applications. Since high school I have been in this business and every year I learn more about our area, the soil conditions, weather patterns, and am always seeking how I can make a better lawn for my customers. If you are in the market for help with your lawn, I can assure you that my business is here for you.