Volunteers from various states help out with U.S. Women’s Amateur

WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI)- Hundreds of people, whether they’re players, spectators, or workers, will make their way to Old Waverly in West Point this week for the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

An event of this scale couldn’t happen without volunteers.

Many of them play golf themselves, some are new to the game, and some are just there to support the event.

Volunteering can come in all shapes and sizes.

For Linda Jeffrey, she doesn’t view her time at the U.S. Women’s Amateur as work– it’s a lifestyle.

“Golf is definitely a passion. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but either way it’s always a challenge,” said Jeffrey.

Jeffrey has been playing golf for over 30 years.

She drove to Clay County from Montgomery, Alabama to take part in the event.

She knows first hand how important the role of a volunteer can be.

“To be able to come and to help the United State Gold Association, is our highest for the Amateur, to be able to play in one of those. To make it special, it takes a lot of people, so if not me then who? That’s the way I look at it,” said Jeffrey.

On the other side of the spectrum, Archie Anderson is a recent retiree from Starkville.

He heard about the need for volunteers on the radio and figured it’d be a good way to help out.

“I thought, if nothing else, this being a national event, it’d be a great opportunity to put Old Waverly on the map as being a great place to play especially with all our out of state visitors and maybe even out of country,” said Anderson.

Anderson is a fresh face in the volunteer community but said he’s catching on quickly.

“It’s been enjoyable. Just learning, for me, so I’m kind of just a little bit nervous about well just make sure you do the right thing, and I think we’ll be ok,” said Anderson.

Volunteers said the fulfillment that comes with volunteering will be more than enough compensation at the end of the tournament.

“People have trained and been prepared for many years to come to this, so we want to put the best foot forward, certainly for us, West Point, the Golden Triangle, and Mississippi,” said Anderson.

“Anytime that you can come in and help around and show the good parts, I just think that’s the best part. Being there helping the players… They’re here to play golf right? They don’t want to have to worry about any of the logistics, and there’s everybody from people picking them up and shuttling them to where ever they need to be, putting their nameplates on the range, it takes a lot of people to make it special. I think the players know that,” said Jeffrey.

The US Women’s Amateur wraps up Sunday.