Northfield native Amanda Fontaine isn’t getting much sleep these days, but it’s for a good reason. 

Fontaine was one of 33 women who were invited to join the groundskeeping volunteer crew for the 78th U.S. Women’s Open, which was held for the first time at famed Pebble Beach Golf Links (Calif.).

It’s the first time that the No. 1 ranked golf course in the country had ever hosted a women’s major, and it commemorated the occasion by bringing in some of the best turf staff from around the country to help keep the course picture perfect. The tournament came to a close Sunday night.

Fontaine took 10 days off from her day job as the Course Superintendent for Ledges Golf Club in South Hadley to travel across the country to Pebble Beach for a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was both a difficult and easy decision to make – as much as working at a major alongside an all-female turf crew was enticing, the role is a volunteer one (though all expenses, like flights and hotels, were paid for), and it would mean she would be gone from Ledges for 10 days in the summer.

“The fact that it's a volunteer experience, it does make it complicated to try and get people OK’d to go,” Fontaine said. “I know it was a hard sell for me – not that it was an unpaid position, just the time commitment. I know a bunch of these volunteers, their staff and leadership core, encouraged them to go and it's not going to be a monetary penalty to be here. A bunch of them are getting credits through their school for being here, and I didn't even have to worry about it because I was so supported about coming here. For the most part, if we're here, it's because someone supported us to be here.” 

Fontaine credited Kimberly Gard, the territory manager for the company Syngenta, as the “backbone” of the program, along with one of the sponsors, Rain Bird. The initiative first started in 2021, when Gard was approached by Troy Flanagan, the Director of Golf Maintenance at the Olympic Club (San Francisco), to create an all-women’s crew of volunteers to help at the 76th Women’s Open. 

This year’s crew ranged in age, with some as young as 18 years old and others more “experienced” (read: older) than the 29-year-old Fontaine. A typical day meant waking up at 3 a.m. to start working on the course along with the Pebble Beach crew; Fontaine was specifically working on the front nine tees, setting up markers, hand-watering tees and doing any other sort of work needed before the world’s best golfers hit the links.

Fontaine didn’t get a lot of time to watch the tournament herself – when the crew wasn’t working, the volunteers were taking educational classes meant to improve their skills and learn more about their profession. Earlier in the week, Fontaine helped facilitate one of those sessions; she was part of a roundtable discussion about how to take care of courses sustainably with recycled water. They’ve also been working with young girls in the area, giving talks and teaching about all the different opportunities in their industry.

At night, they also did some extra work on the links as needed, then went to bed for a short rest before waking up and doing it all again the next day. 

It was exhausting work – Fontaine said the crew was operating on around three hours of sleep each night, with some naps snuck in whenever they could. But getting to work with an all-woman crew is something the 29-year-old hasn’t experienced in her 12 years in the industry. 

“(We’re together) all day, every day, and they're all great. It's just nice to have like-minded people that you walk into a room and you don't have to worry about having to prove yourself the whole time because everyone is in the same boat,” Fontaine said. “It’s a completely new experience… [the environment] is a lot looser.” 

At 29, Fontaine was aged near the middle of this year’s cohort, helping out the younger crew members when she could while trying to learn from those more experienced. She also learned from the group at Pebble Beach, who she said was very supportive and always let her pick their brains. While she might have to catch up on her sleep when she returns to South Hadley, she’s going to take away a lot from her time at the U.S. Open. 

“(I’m) just learning how to be a better steward for women in the industry, how to create an inclusive environment even in our own workplace and how to keep striving for a workplace where everyone's comfortable,” Fontaine said.

Hannah Bevis can be reached at hbevis@gazettenet.com. Follow her on Twitter @Hannah_Bevis1.]]>