The Shelby County Sheriff's Office is bringing its annual Charity Golf Classic to South Memphis this fall, with a shotgun start set for 10 a.m. on Friday, October 2, at The Links at Pine Hill. Registration runs $135 per player or $500 for a four-person team, and organizers are dangling a $1,000,000 hole-in-one challenge on a designated par-3 hole for any golfer lucky enough to ace it.
The tournament, announced in a Shelby County Sheriff's Office Facebook post, will benefit the department's two adopted schools, Vollentine Elementary and Northaven Elementary. Check-in begins at 9 a.m., a full hour before the shotgun start, and the entry deadline for players and teams is Monday, September 21. Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place finishers, along with closest-to-the-pin and longest-drive contests, according to the same announcement.
Entry fees include lunch and beverages, and tournament organizers are seeking corporate and individual sponsorships as well as door prizes and swag-bag giveaways to round out the day. Checks should be made payable to the Shelby County TN Sheriff's Association Corporation and mailed to 11670 Memphis-Arlington Road in Arlington. Anyone interested in donating, registering or sponsoring can also do so through the tournament's EventCaddy link. Questions can be directed to Assistant Director Robert Jewell at 901-501-1189 or Davina Jones at 901-304-8955.
A New Sheriff Takes Over Before the Tee Times
This year's tournament arrives at a moment of transition for the department. Shelby County voters elected Chief Deputy Anthony Buckner as the county's next sheriff on August 6, defeating Republican candidate Brad Less, according to the Daily Memphian. Buckner is scheduled to take office on September 1, meaning the October 2 golf outing will be one of the first major public events held under his leadership as sheriff rather than Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr.
The department's ties to Vollentine and Northaven run deeper than a single fundraiser. Just over a week before the election, Bonner visited Vollentine Elementary while then-Chief Deputy Buckner visited Northaven Elementary to welcome students back for the 2026–2027 school year, according to WATN-TV. That kind of hands-on presence at the two campuses each year has made the schools a natural beneficiary for the department's charitable golf outing.
A Renovated Municipal Course Takes Center Stage
The choice of venue also reflects a broader shift for South Memphis golf. The City of Memphis completed an estimated $5 million renovation of The Links at Pine Hill through its Accelerate Memphis bond initiative, updating the 90-year-old municipal facility with course improvements, a new clubhouse and the city's first public driving range, per the City of Memphis. The 146-acre, 18-hole course plays to 5,894 yards with a par rating of 70, and it's managed by the city's Parks and Neighborhoods Division.
Prior editions of the Charity Golf Classic were held at suburban venues, including Mirimichi Golf Course in Millington back in April 2020, when proceeds covered field trips and classroom resources for Vollentine Elementary, the sheriff's office noted in a Facebook post at the time. The move to a renovated municipal course in South Memphis puts this year's tournament closer to the neighborhoods the adopted schools actually serve. The revamped Pine Hill facility has already drawn other high-profile events, hosting the Sapphire Golf Tour's season-opening Bluff City Women's Open in April, which paired professional golf for women of color with a youth junior golf clinic, the city said.
Longstanding School Partnership Beyond Charity
The Sheriff's Office relationship with local schools extends beyond charitable giving. In November 2021, the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board unanimously renewed its agreement with the department, allocating $50,000 for 36 deputies to patrol campuses while requiring 16 additional hours of training in de-escalation and student mentorship, according to Chalkbeat. Both Vollentine and Northaven are part of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, a district where schools qualify for federal Title I funding aimed at low-income and at-risk students, per Shelby County Schools' federal programs office.
The Links at Pine Hill has also seen the department's law enforcement side up close. In May 2025, a male golfer was critically wounded in the course's parking lot after being run over by a suspect attempting to burglarize his pickup truck, Hoodline previously reported. Memphis Police had responded to an aggravated assault report at the 930 E. Mallory Avenue address, and the suspect fled the scene in a gray Kia Sportage. The Sheriff's Office more broadly handles security operations for major area golf events each year, including the annual PGA Tour FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind, according to the department's Facebook page.
