Like the rest of her fellow volunteers, Pam Urfer is going to have a blast at this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship. That’s not to say, however, that this volunteering thing has always been smooth sailing.

“I actually work right in front of the clubhouse as they come out of the clubhouse and go to the practice putting green,” said Urfer, who works on the spectator access committee (she pulls the ropes as the golfers come through and helps keep them safe from spectators).

“A couple of years ago, I just got tangled up in the ropes one day and all of a sudden Jordan Spieth is right there in my face. And I said ‘do you want to dance?’ He just laughed at me.” 

British Open winner is walking in Memphis, his life forever changed

No worries; Urfer will be back at TPC Southwind for her fifth year when the tournament officially gets underway Thursday. Lee Hunter, at 19 years, has been at it even longer than that and Myra Gill, at 32, even longer still. But they keep coming back to their special summer place, Gill from Chattanooga and the others from their homes in the Nashville area.

The miles are no barriers to the smiles they’ll see from their fellow volunteers, friendly faces in the gallery and yes, even an occasional bemused golfer. A golf tournament is only as good as its volunteers and Memphis is home to some of the very best.

Fifteen hundred strong and spread out over 40 committees, they are devoted to the cause. And the cause that makes this week most meaningful and memorable.

“St. Jude, the cause is amazing,” said Gill. “But once you do it for a few years, it becomes a family. You see the same people year after year; when you walk up, they’ll call you out by name. Hug you. It just becomes a family after you do it for so long.

“You know exactly when to be there; know exactly what you’re going to do. The sponsors are amazing. Blue Cross Blue Shield, they take care of the volunteers. They supply us with uniforms so we don’t have to pay to volunteer and I think we’re the only PGA event in the country that does that.”

Gill just has to get herself here.

She became a volunteer through friends, who already were working the tournament. At the time, she was trying to learn to play golf herself but the demands of the family took up too much of her time (although she did play softball and volleyball competitively).

Thursday’s FESJC start delayed by weather

Her career, which included developing software and doing security for International Paper, is no less demanding but it will serve Gill well this week. You can find her perched up at the 18th green, where she serves as hole captain and works on the ShotLink committee.

The myriad statistics about distance and accuracy and hole difficulty that are accessible for any and all? That comes from data that Gill and others track and input during the course of the four rounds of the first event of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

“The technology is amazing, what they can do with the triangulation and finding the ball,” she said.

Hunter, on the other hand, will have duties that are less technical but every bit as important. He’s an escort marshal, walking with groups and making sure the players can get from point A to point B without any issues.

It’s demanding, often hot, work. Hunter might even be one of the volunteers who takes advantage of the on-site masseuses, another perk that comes with being part of the family.

FESJC notebook: Rahm advocates for change, big and small

But it also gives Hunter a chance to see the golfers up close and personal. In their element, the good and the bad. And he’s seen a few things.

“I was playing on Saturday with my golf buddies and we were talking about it afterwards,” he said. “The neat thing is, you’re inside the ropes. You can see them hit every shot; you see them communicate with their caddies. With other players before and after the round. In a round of golf, they have good moments and bad moments and you can see their personalities through the entire round.

“You can see who the good guys are.”

And the odds birds.

“I walked with Woody Austin of all people the year he won (2007),” Hunter said. “He was known for banging his putter against his head, doing some crazy stuff. We were two or three groups in front of the final group; nobody thought he was going to win the tournament.

“But he holed out for an eagle on the third hole and for a long time it looked like he was going to shoot a 59. I think he ended up shooting 61 or 62.” 

Good memory. Austin did shoot 62 on that Sunday 16 years ago. Hunter was there every step of the way; information supplied by Gill and her crew would have given some insight into how it happened. Urfer would have made sure no one interfered.

Opinion: How can LIV Golf and the PGA Tour come together? Friendship bracelets.

Sixty-six years of Memphis golf memories. It’s what keeps the fans coming back. The volunteers want to see good golf this week too but for them, the memories are deeper. More personal. More profound even.

All family memories are unique and this one is no different. But the twin threads — the kids at St. Jude and the sense of community — are what stitch it all together for Gill and Hunter and Urfer and the others.

“It’s a fulfillment for me to be able to help out the kids at St. Jude,” said Urfer. “Through Honors for St. Jude, we (the volunteers) raise money ourselves. I try to get as many donations as I can ... and I just love coming. The people. I get to see people from high school that I haven’t seen in forever.

“It’s kind of fun.”