Working Class: A Portfolio

Marty Jertson

Age: 30

Job: Ping senior design engineer and aspiring PGA Tour pro

"I was recruited by Division I schools, but they told me it wasn't possible to play and study engineering. Too much lab time. So I went to a smaller school [Colorado School of Mines]. At Ping, I was the lead designer for the Anser irons, the first forged iron we had made in a number of years. I use my engineering expertise on the course. I know how much wind, temperatures and elevation affect ball flight. To be on Tour would be a fun lifestyle. Your car, food, travel are taken care of. Simply worry about playing. I missed the cut [at last year's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open], but it was less stressful than a normal workweek. I'm usually cranking away on projects and deadlines."

THE HERDERS

Lorraine Argo & Ian Newsam

Ages: 43 and 39

Job: Owners of Brush Goats 4 Hire, which specializes in keeping golf courses clean and green

ARGO:

"Sometimes people aren't right for a job. Sometimes you need goats. Pasatiempo [Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif.] needed brush cleared from canyons and barrancas that are too steep for people. We used 170 goats. Goats are like piranhas—they eat practically everything. They're eco-friendly because you're not using fuel or herbicides. In two months they cleaned out 11 acres, eating ivy and nonnative grasses. Everyone loved the goats. People giggled and stared. But it's driving everyone [at Pasatiempo] crazy. Folks keep asking, 'When will the goats be back?'"