The job description doesn't sound very exciting: Long hours wearing a hard hat in the blistering Georgia sun. With no pay.

But because the job is being a volunteer gallery guard at the Masters Tournament, it's considered one of the most enjoyable in golf.

More than 300 gallery guards from around the country are working this year's Masters, and hundreds of others would like to. The list of applicants has grown so long that the club no longer takes names.

Daniel Frazier was on the list for five years before his name came up to work this year's Masters. The 45-year-old resident of Hot Springs, Ark., is enjoying every second of his duty as a gallery guard on the eighth hole.

``It's a quite difficult process,'' Frazier said of applying for a gallery guard job. ``When your day comes, you're more than glad to be here. I'm still walking on cloud nine. It's a volunteer job, but we'd all pay them to do it. We get to see the best golfers in the world play golf. I think to a man, all of us here are golf fans. That's why we want to be here.''

As is the case with many of the gallery guards, Frazier heard about the job through word of mouth. His wife knew a gallery guard.

``You have to write the Augusta National,'' Frazier said. ``I sent a resume and did an interview and got on the waiting list.''

The gallery guards get no money, but they get something money can't buy: a free round of golf at Augusta National Golf Club. They play in late May, before the club closes for the summer (it reopens in mid-October).

``Certainly, playing the course is a benefit, but it's not the only reason I wanted to do it,'' Frazier said. ``I wanted to be at the Masters, on the Augusta National grounds. To me, it's the hallowed ground of golf.''

``It's a thrill to play the course,'' said Newton Pendleton of Eagles Mere, Pa., who is Frazier's co-worker on the ropes on the eighth hole, where he has been for four years.

``It's especially fun to play the course after all the TV towers, bleachers and scoreboards are gone. It's pretty precious.''

These are the only days of the year the 64-year-old Pendleton works, though the retired insurance executive says, ``It's not work; it's pleasure. This is to die for. We're on the most precious turf there is in the United States.

``There's not a day that goes by every year that I don't think of Augusta National. I love golf, and the reason I wanted the job was to be a part of the tournament. It's better than having tickets.''

Few spectators will see as many golf shots hit this week as the gallery guards. They are at their posts Monday through Sunday, working as many as 10 hours a day.

After their shift is over, they are free to watch all the golf they want, all over the course.

``I see five to five-and-a-half hours of golf after I finish up,'' Pendleton said. ``I've got some friends on No. 14 I go and visit.''

The time of day the gallery guards are free to take their hard hats off and watch golf depends on what hole they're working. Frazier and Pendleton have a prime spot. Once the field is through the eighth hole, they are free to go, so they see the mid- to late-afternoon play.

Over on the 17th hole, where Augustans Stephan Chaney and Dale Villemain work as gallery guards, they don't have to be at their post until the first golfers come through. That would be at about noon during the first two rounds, when the full field is playing. On Saturday and Sunday, after the cut is made and the field is trimmed to the low 44 plus ties, they don't have to be in their position until about 1 p.m.

``On tournament days, we come out early and sometimes sit on a hole and watch half the field come through,'' Villemain said. ``Other days, we walk the course and follow the golfers.''

This is the 13th year the 45-year-old Villemain has been a gallery guard. It's No. 12 for the 51-year-old Chaney.

``I worked as a gallery guard when I was in high school and college for five years, then got married and went to work and got away from it,'' Villemain said. ``I was fortunate to get back on in the late 1980s. It's a lot of fun.''

Longtime gallery guards like Villemain and Chaney have developed a bond with their co-workers, many of whom they only see once a year.

``It'a a renewal of friendships,'' Chaney said. ``It's just like the patrons do. Once a year they come out and see the people they met years ago. After we finish every day, we get together and chew the fat. We tell stories about what's been going on - the good shots and the bad shots.''

``So many gallery guards have been working out here for a number of years that it's almost like a fraternity,'' Villemain said.

As a first-year gallery guard, Frazier has discovered how close the men in the yellow hats are.

``One of the benefits of doing this is the camaraderie and meeting new people,'' Frazier said. ``I know I'll keep in touch with people through the year and we'll make plans to see each other. It's actually a growth experience.''