Here’s how the turf team grows the grass for the 2024 US Women’s Open [photos, video] – LNP | LancasterOnline

When newcomers look across the acres of golf course greens at Lancaster Country Club, theres something Matt Wolfe hears time and again.

They always assume its fake, says Wolfe, who, as superintendent, is responsible for maintaining the golf course.

The grass is real. Its a playing surface that can handle golfers taking divots. Its a living organism with a team devoted to keep it alive. You fight dead grass, weeds and pests on a quarter-acre lawn? For the U.S. Womens Open, this teams managing a 110-acre course, some of which is mowed to a fraction of an inch and still healthy enough for world-class golfers. Dont forget the sites flooded five times this year alone.

The turf managers are scientists as well as artists who paint a scene. If things go as planned, their canvas will not be a lush, pretty picture.

Were hosting the best players in the world, and were going to challenge the best players in the world, says Josh Saunders, director of golf course operations. So when they step on the first tee, I want them to think that, this place looks dangerous, looks mean. Its going to be a tough test for them.

Josh Saunders gives us an in-depth look at course turf and playing surfaces for the upcoming U.S. Women's Open.

Danger aside, there are many reasons why this golf course turf is different from your lawn.

Lets start with the grass species. Cool-season grasses like bluegrass and ryegrass reign in home lawns for texture, color and growth. The country club course is dominated by bentgrass, which can be mowed low and doesnt need much pesticide or fertilizer, Wolfe says.

The course along New Holland Pike was designed by renowned architect William Flynn more than a century ago. With that heritage comes a mix of different grass species in the playing surface.

The bentgrass loves heat, Saunders says. With springs cool and damp weather, this species is finally waking up, he said two weeks from the start of the championship.

The record-setting heat in late April pushed a different grass, poa annua, to produce its first flush of seedheads. Afterwards, the grass takes a break and turns yellow.

Thats what Im battling now, he says. Its only an aesthetic thing. It has nothing to do with playability. Everythings fine. Everythings healthy. Its just an aesthetic aspect of how were going to look to 135,000 people who are going to be on property throughout the week.

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An influx of 80 volunteers over the weekend helped keep up with maintenance at the U.S. Women's Open.

Since the last championship, the clubs dealt with a pandemic, the death of a project manager during on-site renovations and historic flooding.

Focusing on the flooded turf during Tropical Depression Ida, patience is the way to recover, Saunders says. The Conestoga River, which runs through the course, reached its third-highest historic crest during that 2021 storm.

Youre maintaining a living organism, and its going respond, and its going to recover naturally on its own, Saunders says. So you have to be patient and not rush, rush the whole process of cleanup.

The grounds crew needs to understand the microclimates throughout the 27-hole course. Each area has different levels of shade, drainage and air flow. More than 500 trees were removed since the last championship, further changing these areas.

The team watches weather, scouts for signs of potential issues and takes steps to prevent problems. Dollar spot fungus, for example, can create sand dollar-sized patches of dead turf and thrives in wet grass. If rains in the forecast, pre-treating with a fungicide should help prevent an outbreak, Wolfe says.

On the insect side, the annual bluegrass weevil is an enemy for the abundant poa annua grass. The first generation of adults emerge around the time forsythia bloom, Wolfe says. Applying insecticide prevents them from laying eggs. But, if they miss the window and adults reproduce, the next generation of grubs have a grass buffet. The population grows along with the damage. Through the golf season, the team looks for signs of damage and digs into the soil to look for grubs smaller than a pencil eraser.

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Grounds crew members work on the bunkers at the 16th hole at Lancaster Country Club.

Work on the course has been ongoing with construction renovating bunkers, changing tees and expanding fairways. Over the winter, the team removed dead trees and repaired bridges.

On April 1, as plants throughout the course started waking up, the turf team turned to the big event. Theyre looking for turf thats dense, vigorous and upright, with a good color. This is not the time to irrigate the entire course at once. Limiting water makes a firm and fast surface for the golfers and prevents disease.

The approach to the 13th green at the 79th U.S. Womens Open

Its a delicate balance. Too much water, and the roots become shallow and not resilient. Too little water brings other issues.

You want to keep the grass searching for water, Wolfe says.

Usually, he has a team of 25 to 30 people during the busy season. This year, a team of 20, including managers, prepped for the championship. The country club hires seasonal workers to boost the ranks through the federal H-2B temporary non-agricultural visa program. Most of the employees are from Mexico and have worked on site for more than a decade, Wolfe says. Last year, eight seasonal workers started their work in Lancaster in April. This year, the start time lottery draw means seven workers will arrive weeks later, after the U.S. Womens Open is over.

The 2024 crew is smaller and includes three former golf course superintendents, turf school students and a few new hires who have never worked on a golf course.

An influx of 80 volunteers over the weekend helped. Every volunteer works in the industry so training wasnt an hurdle, a luxury in a tight labor market, Wolfe says.

During the tournament, staff and volunteers plan to meet at 4 a.m. and then mow, roll and adjust as the course setup shifts pin positions and tee locations. They need to wrap up by the time play starts at 6:45 a.m.

The rough is mowed to 3-4 inches; fairways to 0.4 inches; tees to 0.375 inches; approaches to 0.225 inches. The height of the greens is top-secret, Saunders says.

The team aims to make the playing surface as consistent as possible and only give greens enough moisture to survive the day for playability and health of the grass.

At 4 p.m., theyre back for a meal and then wait for play to end to prep the course for the next day. On the night shift, theyll check moisture levels and water with hoses where needed. In a few hours, theyll be back to do it again.

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Here's how the turf team grows the grass for the 2024 US Women's Open [photos, video] - LNP | LancasterOnline