Amanda Fontaine

Early in her turf career, Amanda Fontaine learned about the importance of a strong work ethic.

“Definitely,” she says. “You have to work harder than anyone else around you. Not only (because of) being a woman but being younger. Proving yourself through your actions rather than your words. So you’re definitely working harder than anyone else, doing the best work possible and presenting the best product possible.”

Fontaine is in her third season as the superintendent at Ledges Golf Club, a municipal course in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She’s a second-generation superintendent, following in the footsteps of her father, Michael, the course’s current general manager. “I just really like making a product that other people can use and appreciate,” she says.

Fontaine was among the 33 women who volunteered to support superintendent Bubba Wright and his crew at Pebble Beach during the recent U.S. Women’s Open. Her employers encouraged her to make the trip, which required being away from the Ledges for 10 days at the height of the golf season. “They said absolutely, no matter what, we’ll figure it out,” she says. “I had their support from the very beginning.”

Speaking with Rick Woelfel on the Wonderful Women of Golf podcast, Fontaine related her first reaction to Pebble Beach upon arriving at the storied venue.

“I think the first place I actually walked on was the maintenance tent right on 10 fairway,” she says, “and I walked out of the van and literally said, ‘Wow.’ The TV and the camera crew does not even do it justice.

“It’s amazing, being right on the water like that, the elevation changes, the rock walls right on the ocean there. The camera doesn’t do it justice.”

Fontaine’s week at the Women’s Open featured early wakeup calls. By 3:15 each morning, she was in a van for the 10-minute ride to Pebble Beach. After a rundown of assignments and perhaps some coffee, the team was out on the golf course.

Fontaine was paired with Miguel Rosado, a 44-year veteran of the Pebble Beach crew who has worked six U.S. Opens. The tandem was assigned to Pebble Beach’s front nine. “We were setting up the tees,” Fontaine says. “We got to see the entire front nine, from the clubhouse to the ninth green, every morning and afternoon.”

The assignment allowed Fontaine to spend time at Pebble Beach’s iconic par-3 seventh hole.

“It was actually a lot shorter than it looks on TV,” she says. “Here, at my golf course, we have a 70-yard par 3, and I thought, ‘Holy cow. I think mine is longer than this.’

It was actually a lot shorter than it looks on TV. Here, at my golf course, we have a 70-yard par 3, and I thought ‘Holy cow. I think mine is longer than this.’”

“For the practice rounds, they had it up really short, distance-wise. It was absolutely breathtaking to be right on the edge of the water. The wind howled. In my head, as a golfer, I was like, ‘How am I going to play this?’”

Following the morning setup and breakfast, the crew engaged in an assortment of workshops and educational activities, which covered topics ranging from environmental stewardship to how women are impacting the turf industry. Fontaine participated in a First Green program for LPGA*USGA Girls Golf members from the area who wanted to know more about the turf industry and the science behind it.

“That was super cool to meet young women who wanted to learn more about it,” she says. “We were able to put on a little presentation for them and teach them a little bit more about what we do.”

Following an early dinner at 2 p.m., the crew returned to the course to begin preparations for the following day. Once the championship started on Thursday, the workdays got longer, particularly on Thursday and Friday, when 156 players occupied the course. Sleep was at a premium.

“We had to wait until that final group got a couple holes ahead of us, so we weren’t going out on the golf course until 6 or 7,” she says. “Then, we were staying on the golf course until almost 11 o’clock.”