Behind the scenes of preparing Lancaster Country Club for the U.S. Women’s Open

LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) – Starting this month the top 156 women golfers in the world will compete for the 79th US Women’s Open title at the Lancaster Country Club.

The premier competition, which boasts an $11,000,000 prize for the winner, will take place from May 30 – June 2.

But before the golfers can tee up, a lot of work must go into prepping for the event.

“We started to think about this championship in 2020-21, even a little bit before that when it was announced that we were returning to Lancaster,” said USGA Championship Director Bryan Megee.

This is the second time the U.S. Women’s Open has come to Lancaster. The 2015 event was held at the Lancaster Country Club and Megee said that the USGA hopes to see a repeat of the success they had then.

“2015 was very successful,” Megee said. “We still talk about how well it was attended to this day. Everyone had such a great time in 2015 and our goal is really just to replicate that this time around.”

The USGA has been working to engage the Lancaster community by partnering with Discover Lancaster, the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and others. They’ve recruited almost 2,000 volunteers to help with the championship.

“Luckily the support we received locally was incredible,” Megee said. “We filled up in about five weeks; we don’t get that support everywhere we go.”

It takes a village to make the U.S. Women’s Open come together.

The build for the new structures and other details needed for the event at the Lancaster Country Club began in the middle of March and will take four to six weeks to tear down afterward. Even before the physical structures started to come together, the planning for parking, public safety measures and other details were in the works.

Megee said the staff have been coming to Lancaster for about three years prepping details and there are even staff that live full-time in Lancaster who are solely focused on preparing for the U.S. Women’s Open.

“Our vendors, so whoever builds the tens, the floors, does all the power for our temporary facilities, they end up coming on-site for three to four months,” Megee said. “It goes above and beyond the seven days of the championship.”

Megee said that the U.S. Open will greatly impact the local economy because not only are media, golfers and spectators traveling to Lancaster for the week of the competition, but these workers have been living in the community for months.

“We typically estimate around a $25 to $30 million economic impact wherever we bring the U.S. Women’s Open,” Megee said. “[It] makes a significant impact to this community from a hotel, attractions and dining [perspective].”

Megee stressed that the U.S. Women’s Open will have things to do for everyone of any age. He also noted that you do not need to be a golf fan to have a good time; there will be lots more to do than just watching from the grandstands.

“I know everyone’s going to be have a great time once they get on site here,” Megee said. “It’s a major sporting event that’s in your backyard. Even if you’re not a golf fan, I think you’ll have fun coming out here.”

Megee said some of the fan experience features include putting for kids and adults, a wellness pavilion and the USGA experience and museum, which will feature artifacts from the physical museum in New Jersey.

Tickets are still on sale for the event.

“It’s cool that all the eyes in the golf world will be not only on Lancaster Country Club but on this community as whole for an entire week,” Megee said.

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