Jim was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota where his dad taught him to play golf at the age of 5.  He spent many years on the course playing golf with his mom, dad and brother.  He graduated from the University of Minnesota and after several backpacking and ski trips to Montana, he moved to Bozeman in 1982 to attend graduate school.  He worked on the grounds crew at Cottonwood Hills in the late 1980's and after jobs as a middle school counselor/coach and as a city planner in Billings, he decided to make the world of golf his career.  He began his career as an Assistant Professional at Valley View Golf Course and was also an Assistant Professional under Bill Larson at Cottonwood Hills.  Jim gained his "Class A" PGA Professional status in 2001.  He then followed job opportunities working as the head professional and general manager at courses in Montana and Wyoming.  He became the Tournament Director for the Rocky Mountain Section of the PGA in Boise before returning to Bozeman in 2007.  He spent the past 7 years as the Head Golf Professional and General Manager at the Livingston Golf Course.

 

Throughout his career, Jim has worked with a number of youth in various sports as well as growing junior golf programs along the way.  He has experience giving lessons to all ages and abilities and especially enjoys teaching juniors and women.  Jim recently achieved his Titleist Perfomance Institute (TPI) certification and looks forward to bringing this knowledge to the lesson tee.

 

Jim has been married to his wife Michelle for 17 years.  With no kids, they spend their time spoiling their Golden Retrievers, camping, hiking, traveling and reading.