‘The oil that runs the machine’: How volunteers keep Charlotte’s PGA Tour event humming

Like thousands of others, Martha Overaker felt compelled to come back.

Once a member of Queens University of Charlotte’s golf team with a lifelong passion for the sport, Overaker relishes any opportunity to be on the greens. She and her teammates frequently helped manage the driving range at Quail Hollow Club when she was at Queens, leading to her first volunteer experience at the Wells Fargo Championship in 2005.

These volunteers — known on the course as ambassadors — play an integral role in the operations of the annual PGA Tour event that returns to the Charlotte this week.

There are roughly 2,100 volunteers, broken up into 40 different committees, who descend upon Quail Hollow from near and far when tournament week in May rolls around.

They keep coming back.

“The term that I continually hear is: ‘It’s a family reunion,’” said Overaker, who now serves as the event’s Director of Volunteers, Charity and Events. “A lot of them have become friends, and they keep up with each other throughout the year. They send each other Christmas cards and all that. It’s really neat.”

The ambassadors typically grow close with the committee to which they’re assigned — in Overaker’s case, those who helped set up the practice area of the driving range. About 100 ambassadors have been volunteering since the inaugural event — then known as the Wachovia Championship — in 2003.

The Wells Fargo Championship has had as many as 2,400 volunteers in recent years. There’s even a wait list now — and some people are turned away.

Already looking forward to next year

Fifteen years ago, Ryan Manzullo’s wife worked at Wachovia — since merged with Wells Fargo — and he learned her company needed some help putting on the professional golf tournament for which her company was the title sponsor.

A self-described “die-hard golfer,” Manzullo jumped at the chance to just be able to walk around Quail Hollow’s course on a regular basis. He’s been an ambassador at every Wells Fargo Championship and a volunteer in the weeks leading up to the tournament ever since.

He now oversees all of the golf carts, a volunteer journey that began with him shuttling members from the parking lot to the clubhouse. The committee — which now has roughly 65 ambassadors — had just about 10 people. It was very small, and everyone knew everyone.

The number of ambassadors has ballooned, but that close-knit culture, especially within each committee, remains unchanged.

“It’s like family getting together when next week rolls around,” said Manzullo, a retired schoolteacher who taught for 32 years, finishing at Davidson Day. “When we get together next week, they’ll be asking me about my grandkids. Some are coming in from out of town, and are literally staying in a hotel for a week just to do this.

“I love doing it. It’s been a blast. I complain about the hours, but when this year ends, I’m looking forward to next year.”

In December, Wells Fargo announced the end of its long-time sponsorship of the Charlotte event, with the change starting in 2025. A PGA Tour spokesperson told the Observer, at that time, that “the tour plans to remain in Charlotte for the long-term and we are in active discussions with potential new title sponsors for 2025 and beyond.”

People want to step up

The ambassadors always love reconnecting when they return to their post at Quail Hollow. They’ll be sharing pictures of their families and setting up dinner plans with their committees.

They also always seem to exhibit positive attitudes. If it rains, they’ll be smiling in their ponchos and helping each other out.

Their roles on their individual committees are a big part of what makes everyone return. Some try to switch up their committees, or bounce around to different groups, but they almost always wind up back in their original spot.

“You’ve got the paid staff, which is 12 or 15, I think, and then you’ve got 2,000 volunteers,” said Debbie Abels, who’s been volunteering in the tournament staff office for the past six years. “What would happen if people didn’t step up? People want to do it. They come back year after year.

“You feel like it’s very worthwhile, and you’re doing something for the tournament. You’re seeing friends and colleagues, and you’re doing something for your city.”

‘The oil that runs the machine’

Overaker, the volunteer-turned-director, hasn’t left Charlotte since volunteering at the early Wachovia Championships with her Queens teammates.

A Knoxville, Tenn., native looking to play golf at a smaller school, she opted to head nearly 250 miles east to be in Charlotte. After her first year, her mother said: “You’re never coming home, are you?” And she’s lived in the Beverly Woods area of South Park, near the golf course, with her husband and two daughters since 2005.

Getting what she called an “eye-opening” experience working a major PGA Tour event truly was a huge part of it. She had worked on developmental golf events for years prior, coordinating significantly more frequent tournaments alongside up-and-coming golfers.

It’s fueled her desire to come back, just like the other 2,100 returning ambassadors.

“They’re the oil that runs the machine,” Overaker said. “We could not work or function without them.”