Golf in the Garden
AT&T Classic
By: Shauna Matteson

On Tuesday, May 13, the PGA TOUR Wives Association had a very important task to accomplish: putting a smile on every child's face who came to golf in the garden at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta-Egleston Campus. Mission accomplished! The annual event was a great success and we were blessed with perfect weather for this outdoor event that drew many children who were well enough to leave their rooms into the warm sunshine.

PGA TOUR players took time out of their hectic practice schedules to come over and teach the children how to putt. They signed golf balls, hats and t-shirts for the little ones and made sure each one was having a great time. Zach and Kim Johnson, Stewart and Lisa Cink and Billy Andrade make it a point to come each year and join the children. Jason Allred and his wife, Kimberly, left no child unattended and spoke to their parents as well. Ryan Armour and Shane Bertsch gave valuable putting lessons and encouraged the children with high fives and many cheers along the way. Heather Dawson, Angie Watson, Stephanie Sterling and Kristi McLachlin helped the children to create foam visors and picture frames for them to take back to their rooms.

Imagine children chasing big bubbles through the center of the garden; child-size putters stroking golf balls into miniature holes with the help of a PGA TOUR professional golfer; paint brushes painting pieces of a mural for PaintFest; giant inflatable golf clubs gently hitting the adults instead of golf balls (with giggling of course!); creating crafts to take upstairs; having your face painted like a pirate or a princess; and, of course, topping it off with great food from Outback Steakhouse for lunch and Bluebell Ice-cream for dessert. It's every child's dream of a great afternoon. I can't think of a better way for an adult to spend an afternoon than helping children enjoy themselves, can you?

Each year, this event gets better and better. We all left with a sense that we gave the children at CHOA a few hours of fun and, hopefully, we created wonderful, happy memories for them. We wish all of the children of CHOA a speedy recovery and a happy and healthy future. And we thank our big kids, our players and their spouses, and the volunteers and staff from CHOA, for helping us make this a very special day.