Island groundskeepers work the U.S. Open: Behind the scenes at Shinnecock

Last week, Southampton’s Shinnecock Hills hosted the United States Golf Association’s (USGA) U.S. Open Championship, one of the four major tournaments in professional golf.

More than 100,000 spectators attended the event throughout the week, while millions more watched from home. The tournament ultimately came down to the final stretch on Sunday, where Wyndham Clark held off Sam Burns, Scottie Scheffler, Tom Kim, and others to capture his second U.S. Open title.

But while the world’s best golfers battled one another for the championship, they also battled the course. The U.S. Open is notorious for its difficult course conditions, particularly at Shinnecock Hills, where maintaining the course is a major undertaking. To prepare the course for championship play, approximately 120 groundskeepers and superintendents from around the world volunteered their time during tournament week. 

Among them were two of Shelter Island’s own, who spent the week working long hours behind the scenes for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at one of golf’s biggest events. Arielle Gardiner, the newly appointed superintendent at Shelter Island Country Club (Goat Hill), and Ben Howell, the greens superintendent at Gardiner’s Bay Country Club, worked on the Shinnecock Hills grounds crew last week. The Reporter met up with both superintendents on Monday, June 22, to discuss their time at the tournament.

The Overnight Shift With Arielle Gardiner

It was an exhausting week. Ms. Gardiner worked evening and pre-dawn shifts at Shinnecock while still reporting back to Goat Hill each day. Being situated on an island without a 24/7 ferry made for a complicated commute. 

“The hardest day was filling divots until 10 p.m., getting on South Ferry by 10:45, getting home around 11, walking my dog until 11:30, then getting on the 11:45 ferry back off the Island,” Gardiner explained. She added, “I’d spend the rest of the time sort of napping in my car. Then at 2 a.m. you slap your face a little, drink some water, brush your teeth, and get ready to go.”

They would meet by 2:30 in the morning, hit the course by 3, and work until 7 a.m. before the first pairings went off. Then, it was right back to Shelter Island. “I’d go home, get the dog, and then come to Goat Hill. I’d mow greens, collars, and keep things moving,” she said, before returning to Southampton later that evening.

Being new to the turf industry, Ms. Gardiner had not applied to volunteer months in advance like many of her fellow volunteers. Instead, she reached out to the USGA just a short time before the tournament. “I emailed the USGA directly and said, ‘Hey, my name is Arielle. I’m the new superintendent at Goat Hill. I know we’re just a small, humble course, but it would mean the world to me, not only as a new person in turf, but as a female in turf, to have this opportunity,’” she said.

Peter Barnaby, an assistant superintendent at Shinnecock, responded, noting that he grew up golfing at Goat Hill and would love to have her.

Part of what stood out was the scale of the operation. “To volunteer at the U.S. Open is a really wonderful experience because you’re not just meeting people locally,” Ms. Gardiner said. “People fly in from all across the country, even internationally,” she said, with volunteers from Japan, Scotland, Ireland and beyond.

The work was also highly organized. Ms. Gardiner said volunteers were assigned to specific teams, with groups handling greens, fairways, approaches, bunkers, divots, watering and other jobs across the property. “You were assigned a job basically for the week,” she said. “They had it really well organized.” Volunteers used an app to see their assignments, uniforms and teams for each day, while Shinnecock’s assistant superintendents and interns helped oversee the different crews.

Ben Howell’s Fourth Championship

This wasn’t Mr. Howell’s first championship. He’d tended the grounds at Sebonack for the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open, at National Golf Links of America for the 2013 Walker Cup, and at Shinnecock for the 2018 U.S. Open. In 2018, Mr. Howell spent his time with the fairway crew collecting grass clippings, whereas this year, “I was mowing fairways, and I was on the back-nine fairway crew. So I guess this was a little upgrade,” he said. Adding, “It was a lot of fun. Getting to mow fairways is pretty cool because you get to see the whole property from the mower.”

Similar to Ms. Gardiner, Mr. Howell spent the week working at Shinnecock and at his regular job. “I was getting back to Gardiner’s around 9:30 in the morning. I’ve got an assistant over there who was able to take over, and everything went smoothly.” He added, “I lived in Southampton for 12 years, so I still have a lot of friends over there. I ended up crashing at one of their houses because I can’t get to the Open at 3 a.m. from Shelter Island.”

He also noted the shift since the last Open at Shinnecock. “I think the USGA did a good job maintaining the expectations they wanted without letting the place get out of control,” he explained. Back in 2018, the course was so challenging that not a single player finished under par. This year, “Only three golfers finished under par,” he said. “I think some people were worried they were going to make it too easy, but with only three, you have to give them credit.”

As for the specifics, Mr. Howell noted the fairways and bunkers. “They left the fairways wider, which they didn’t do in 2018. That’s what they should have done because that’s the original design, … kind of rustic, natural beach sand, so you can find yourself with some bad lies.”

A Memorable Sunday

After an exhausting week, Ms. Gardiner and r. Howell met Sunday afternoon to watch an action-packed competition. Many players made moves late in the day, but Wyndham Clark held his own, as he three-putted 17, then had to par 18 to win and hold off Sam Burns by just one shot. While millions watched on TV and thousands lined the ropes surrounding the 18th green, the two Islanders joined their fellow volunteers on the green afterward for a group photo with the champion.

Mr. Howell said, “Being with 120 other superintendents, assistants, and interns and being part of that process is something you never forget.” He added, 

Ms. Gardiner said, “Standing there watching the final putts drop, just feet away from the green, was unbelievable,” she explained. 

After a week of little sleep while balancing two turf jobs, was it worth it? “It made it all worth it,” Ms. Gardiner said. “Definitely,” Howell added. “It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”