As Joe began to familiarize himself with St. Andrews, he also began to notice one of the other owners, Grace Hough. Family history states that there was a dance coming up and as Joe loved to dance, he asked Grace to go with him. A little known fact about Joe is that not only did he love to dance he, excelled at it. So much so that he had won many a dance competition. And wouldn't you know? Grace had actually trained as a dancer, including ballet. They obviously found chemistry off the dance floor as well as on the dance floor because they were married a year later, in 1939.

At this point, the two sisters decided to split up the inherited property with the Lakewood Subdivision going to Alice and St. Andrews going to Grace. The only problem was that St. Andrews had a debt. Luckily in February of 1940, with $23,000 in the bank, Joe and his wife were able to get a 2nd loan for $50,000 so they could wipe out her family's 1st loan and claim full ownership of St. Andrews. The Jemsek legacy had now begun.

As the new owner of St. Andrews, the "public" course, Joe quickly realized that they did not have enough business to fill one golf course let alone two. He first closed one of the courses until they had enough golfers to open both. He then went out to the local communities and began to cultivate an interest in golf by giving free lessons and starting golf leagues. At the same time, he began his life long policy of pouring the profits right back into the course. This paid off in regular golfers as well as national acclaim as "one of the finest daily fee courses in the country". The proof of this being that in 1947, St. Andrews was chosen as the first public course to ever host a U.S. Open Qualifying Round. His success also led to opportunities for his family. His parents and siblings were able to come and help at the course, while his wife, Grace, was able to return to teaching. (She had given up her favorite job to help with the course.)