Courtesy of Dr. Sheila Schroeder
It’s been just over two years since a group of some 30 female turf professionals from North America volunteered their time and energy at the 76th U.S. Women’s Open at The Olympic Club. The impact of that gathering reverberated across America and beyond.
Kimberly Gard is a territory manager for Syngenta covering the San Diego-Palm Desert area and a portion of Arizona. She played a key role in assembling that volunteer group that worked the 2021 Women’s Open and has been a driving force in the Women in Turf movement ever since. She helped build a second group of volunteers for the 2022 Women’s Open at Pine Needles and has done the same thing for the 78th edition of the championship for the week of July 3-9 at Pebble Beach.
Gard told Golf Course Industry the first conclave of female volunteers was an enjoyable experience but says the participants didn’t fully grasp the event’s significance at first.
“I don’t think any of us recognized that at the time,” she says. “I knew that event would be wonderful for getting all the women together. I just don’t know that we recognized the impact that that was going to have. I think the thought was, ‘Oh, we’ll have a great week, it will be fun, we’ll meet new friends, that would be it.’ And at the end of the week, I think we all kind of looked at each other and just kind of realized what just happened. It was profound, it was big, it was really difficult to describe, but I think all of us left thinking something happened there.”
This year’s corps of volunteers, which again numbers around 30, is evenly split between newcomers and returnees. Gard says that stipulation was necessary because the majority of women who worked the last two Women’s Opens expressed a desire to return and more are interested than there are slots available.
“The first year, we really didn’t know what to expect,” she says. “We were kind of taken by surprise at the depth of what happened. I think the second year, more of the women that we contacted were familiar with what happened. I think the women now are saying ‘Wow, I saw you guys on Twitter,’ or ‘I’ve heard about this,’ or ‘I’ve seen videos.’ They’re probably reaching out more now to say, ‘I want to be a part of that. How do I get on that team?’”
Gard says a formal application process for future events is under development.
Aside from assisting Pebble Beach superintendent Bubba Wright and his team during Women’s Open championship week, the volunteers will have access to multiple educational and enrichment programs, including a First Green presentation.
“I think it’s very important to expose kids to what superintendents do,” Gard says. “Obviously, there is a lot of visibility with the players, but preparing the golf course and having it shine for a televised event, a lot of that happens behind the scenes. (Golf course maintenance) is not a visible profession and so that it makes it more difficult to attract people into the profession. So, connecting the dots for kids I think is important. Hopefully that will inspire many of the women to have a First Green event at their facilities when they go on home.”
The Tuesday of championship week will feature a seminar devoted to golf’s impact on the environment, as well as a presentation from Troon’s manager of environmental science Bri Kenny.
“Pebble Beach has their own environmental team,” Gard says, “and some unique conditions and situations for that property, being a very environmentally sensitive area. I’m very interested in hearing about some of the challenges (they face) and some of the things they work on; their outreach with the community to show that they’re good stewards to the environment.”
Thursday’s schedule will include a presentation devoted to the GCSAA and leadership issues.
The championship concludes Sunday, July 9. Gard says the impact of the event and the gathering of female turf professionals will resonate long after the volunteers have returned home.
“(It’s about) having the women connected together, whether it’s through social media or just technology,” she says. “We might be a few states away from one another, but we’re really just a phone call or a text or a group chat away. It makes us feel like you still have all your friends around you and certainly when things happen, whether somebody gets an award or we see their picture somewhere. It’s just a very supportive atmosphere, that was always the biggest thing.
“I know the impact it’s made for me and for the other women, and we just want other women to know that we’re here and want to connect them as well.”
Rick Woelfel is a Philadelphia-based writer, senior Golf Course Industry contributor and host of the Wonderful Women of Golf podcast.
