US Women's Open: Hartford golf team volunteers, interacts with pros

Golf team volunteers at US Women's Open

Erin Hills is giving local high school golfers an experience to volunteer and interact with the U.S. Women's Open players and caddies.

ERIN, Wis. - As the world's top 156 golfers battle in the U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills, the course is giving local high school players an experience they won't soon forget.

What they're saying:

There is a pressure that comes with championship golf. A tension the game's best players look to manage before they swing. And it's in the practice area that Erin Hills hopes there's truth to the old saying: "The grass is greener where you water it."

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"It's really professional here, and we're not used to being in experiences like this," said Josie Majerus, a member of the Hartford girls' golf team.

Majerus and her teammates are volunteering as players' assistants for the U.S. Women's Open. They interact with the players and caddies like no one else at the tournament.

High school golfers volunteer at U.S. Women's Open

"I think it lets them see kind of what it's like to be at an elite level in some of the stuff they do," said Vinny Daniels, the Hartford girls' golf team varsity coach. "Like being able to see the practice area, just how they warm up, the interactions with the players."

They hope those interactions will lead to memories but, more importantly, a lesson of how fun golf can be. 

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"It started with an idea that our ownership had," said Robert Leist, Erin Hills' director of golf and lodging. "Hopefully, we continue to grow that within not just the team, but then the school sees some of that and hopefully, continues to bring on future players or younger players.

"Some day, it could be them."

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Daniels said he hopes his players pick up a thing or two that they can add to their game when they get back on the driving range next week. 

Around 10 high schools, including Hartford, Germantown and Catholic Memorial, are volunteering at the tournament.

According to the USGA, one third of all golfers in the U.S. are now women. The number of women playing the sport has jumped 41% since 2019.