Winrock Grass Farm was founded in 1955 by the late Winthrop Rockefeller on top of Petit Jean Mountain in Arkansas. Mr. Rockefeller introduced middle America to a new “miracle grass” that was superior to all other turfgrasses in the transition zone of the United States: Meyer Z-52® Zoysiagrass.
Little did anyone realize at the time that a new era in turfgrass was born as hundreds of Zoysiagrass varieties were discovered around the world to revolutionize the turf industry. Nevertheless Meyer Z-52® Zoysiagrass is still the standard bearer for turf applications and is best known today as “Winrock Zoysia®” grown by Winrock Grass Farm.
Following Mr. Rockefeller’s death, Winrock Grass Farm was incorporated under new ownership and expanded its commercial farming production using continuously improved professional management and best farming practices. In addition to expanding home and commercial lawn landscapes Zoysiagrass became a favorite turfgrass for use in public parks, golf courses and athletic fields. Its durability and low maintenance characteristics provided a higher standard than existed before its introduction.
Winrock Grass Farm was fortunate to work with leading golf course architects like Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and many others others on over 200 athletic facilities and golf courses. And in this process the leaders of Winrock Grass Farm became more effective in their turf discoveries and selections than the government dominated university system of turf introduction as we know it today.
Today Winrock Grass Farm is continually “raising the bar” in the home lawn and sports turf industries. The discovery of “ShadeKing®” Zoysiagrass for low light conditions allowed this Zoysiagrass variety to replace lower quality Bermudagrasses, St. Augustine grasses and a variety of cool season grasses like Fescue, Bluegrass and Rye in shaded landscapes that wanted a better turf surface along with using less water, less fertilizer and fewer herbicides.
The discovery of “RollMaster®” Zoysiagrass was a huge breakthrough for athletic fields and golf courses who can now reduce their carbon footprint and eliminate winter kill on championship golf greens (and the costs in money and worry in the creation of 18+ disease cultures on Bentgrass or Bermudagrass golf greens). Now the discovery of “EZOY®” Zoysiagrass will revolutionize the landscape industry with improving the length of the green beauty season, higher resistance to winter cold and a higher resistance to diseases that desiccate so many landscapes with the overuse of water, mowing, fertilizers and herbicides.
Winrock Product Timeline
1955 – Introduced “Winrock Zoysia® to the Mid-South Region (Meyer Z-52 Zoysiagrass)
1980 – Began selling Winrock Zoysia® For fairways, tees and green surrounds
2004 – Began Marketing “ShadeKing®” Zoysiagrass for home lawns with low light levels
2019 – Begins marketing its premium “RollMaster®” Zoysiagrass for use on golf course greens and as a superior sports turf
2019 – Begins marketing its premium “EZOY®” Zoysiagrass for home and commercial lawns