It's Time
Lancaster Country Club Grounds - 2024 USGA Women’s US Open
What we see: Vividly green, neatly mowed and beautifully aesthetic golf grounds so perfect that they stand out in the national spotlight and on television—and they’re even well-kept enough to win a USGA (United States Golf Association) award for this year.
What we don’t see: Hundreds of volunteers—local ones, and ones flying from as far as South Africa, The Netherlands and The United Kingdom—to prepare these grounds and assist during the week, crew members showing up as early as 2 a.m. to start their work before the sun rises, and Karlo Gesner, and his drone.
This is the reality of what goes into a major sports championship, specifically one that nearly breaks attendance records, and one at the Lancaster Country Club.
The United States Women’s Open Championship, recently held from May 30 to June 2, is the second time the tournament has been hosted in the Red Rose City. Karlo Gesner, Lancaster-based photographer and videographer and Susquehanna Style’s very own contributing photographer, experienced it for the first time—and got to do so from much more than a spectator and photographer perspective.
“I’ll start at the beginning. Josh Saunders and I are old college friends. He is the Director of Grounds at the Lancaster Country Club. … We hadn’t connected since post college … and when he moved to Lancaster, he contacted me right away because he didn’t know anyone here,” Karlo says. “I offered any kind of help that I could…so fast forward to four years later, Josh and I were having a beverage downtown, and he said, ‘Hey, you know, we have this USGA Women’s U.S. Open coming up in 2024. We’d really like to get social coverage.’”
Karlo says he was initially hesitant to get involved with social media coverage for the event because photography is the main component of his business, but had a change of heart after thinking on it for a month.
“You know what, this is a really big opportunity,” he says. “This is something I could do for a friend, an old friend. Let’s go for it and see what happens.”
From there, it was game time.
“Monday morning…our call time was 3:30AM. Josh gave his talk at 4 a.m., and before you knew it, we were out flying a drone in complete darkness, filming as much as we could, witnessing the grounds crews trickling down the fairways, six at a time, circle mowing the fairways, making sure they’re absolutely perfect for the players,” Karlo says. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I knew the Women’s Open was a big deal, but the scale and magnitude with which we witnessed the grounds crews prepare for this event was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
Karlo, along with Downingtown-based videographer Jesse Eldredge, teamed up to create videos all week long for Josh and The Grounds Department.
“It really was an educational experience… and real emphasis on experience … to understand what it takes to prepare a course for the expectations set by the USGA,” he says. “I just love how smoothly it went for how big of an event it was.”
Karlo says working the event came with challenges, like perfecting the first shots of the day, navigating the equipment before sunrise and stepping outside of his comfort zone, but the outcome superseded his initial worries about taking on his role.
“Artists, creatives, photographers, videographers, whatever level you’re at…I just want to encourage you to take the chance when something big comes your way,” he says. “You can either shy away from it or you can lean into it, and if it comes from a little bit of fear…look at it like a huge growth opportunity.”
There was also a big “emotional” payoff to witness the dreams and labor of his longtime friend and grounds director, Josh, become reality.
“He told us he’s been dreaming about hosting a national championship since he was 13 years old, and to see that come to fruition, like right before my eyes, was the coolest thing ever,” Karlo says. “And when he won the E.J. Marshall Platter from the USGA, the highest award given for groundskeeping and golf course conditions, my heart swelled. It just goes to show all the hard work that the groundskeeping team put into the even.”
The championship was a win for the community too.
“One of the things that the CEO of the USGA said is that ‘Lancaster is losing something today.’’ At that moment, everyone’s hearts dropped,” Karlo says. “We were in suspense and thinking to ourselves, ‘What’s he going to say next?’ Then, he said, ‘You’re going to lose the word hidden. As in ‘hidden gem’.’”
Karlo says being “on the world stage when it comes to professional golf” leads to “more growth” for Lancaster and the local area.
“Events like this are really preparing us for the future. It brings everyone together … and that’s an amazing thing." Click here to watch the full behind-the-scenes video created by @karlo.gesner and @jesseeldredge.
