Will You Help Me?

Each week on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, etc., there are dozens upon dozens of golf shots that will make you say, "Wow!" These are the type of golf shots that will make even the Tour players watch a replay of. Of all of these shots each year, there are still two (it used to be three) that stand out above all others for me -- the ceremonial tee shots at Augusta National to officially start the Masters Tournament. Every year those are my favorite shots hit in any professional event. However, as much as I love those shots and the Masters Tournament, there are three other golf shots that are my absolute favorite to see each year. I would fail miserably if I attempted to explain the range of feelings and emotions that I have while watching these golf shots.

 

May and RaeAnne cheering on Jeremiah

The annual Ranken Jordan golf tournament starts with three tee shots that are nothing short of amazing. Each year we have three of our own "Legends of Golf" hit tee shots to start the golf tournament. They could be inpatients or former patients, but all three have learned to play golf while at Ranken Jordan and enjoy playing the game. Just like at the Masters, our three golfers receive wonderful introductions from KMOX sports director Tom Ackerman. A couple of hundred golfers playing in the tournament surround the tee box and watch as our junior golfers get the tournament underway. I see the kids hit shots like this every week, 52 weeks a year, and I am still blown away each year by these three shots. This year the three golfers, Jeremiah Moore, RaeAnne Toennies, and May Reynoso, confidently addressed the golf ball and hit wonderful tee shots right down the middle of the first fairway! After these shots there were smiles all around and not many dry eyes as the players headed to their carts to get the tournament started. I am already looking forward to next year's tournament to see three more shots like these!

Jeremiah getting ready to let it fly!

Before we took our "Legends of Golf" to the first tee to hit their tee shots, I spent some time with each of them explaining what would happen and what they could expect. While talking with RaeAnne, she looked straight at me and asked, "Will you help me?" It took me a minute to find my voice, but I told her, "Of course I will!" That brought a smile to Rae's face and a few minutes later we were all headed for the tee. RaeAnne, Jeremiah, and May, all had smiles on their faces the entire day. For the second straight year, May played as part of the foursome I play in and we finished tied for first (this year we lost a scorecard playoff so finished second) thanks to her carrying our team!

May's team

I say it frequently that there is no better feeling than putting smiles on the faces of the kids at Ranken Jordan -- regardless of whether those kids are there as inpatients or have gone home. Seeing the smiles and how much fun the kids have each year hitting these tee shots is beyond priceless. I am very, very fortunate to be able to go to Ranken Jordan every week to spend time with the kids and also to have a front row seat for their tee shots each year starting the golf tournament. If you are in the St. Louis area, join us for golf sometime and you will see up close why I say the kids always do more for me than I could ever do for them. And if you are not in the St. Louis area, find a pediatric hospital or children's charity in your area and lend your talents to create those smiles. I guarantee you will be glad that you did!

Look at that smile on May's face!

RaeAnne is getting ready for her tee shot as Tom Ackerman introduces her

Eight Years and Ready For More!

How many of you have ever had an idea that you knew was a great idea? The only problem is that you had absolutely no clue how you would make that idea a reality, and even if it did become a reality, you really had no clue how you would keep it going. For me those type of ideas are very few and far between. However a little more than eight years ago I had just such an idea.

Early in 2011, I walked into Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital for the very first time. I was going there to meet with Janine Roe to discuss this crazy idea I had. The crazy idea was to create a year-round, weekly junior golf clinic for medically complex children in a pediatric hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Sounds easy, right? Our meeting could not have gone any better and it quickly went from a discussion of "what" to figuring out "how" and "when." The end result of that meeting was what would soon turn into our weekly golf clinics at Ranken Jordan with the first of those being eight years ago today -- May 10, 2011. Fast forward through eight years, more than 425 junior golf clinics, and more than 3,500 children, and here we are celebrating our eight year anniversary!

I cannot put into words how grateful and appreciate I am for the trust Janine and the entire staff at Ranken Jordan have placed in me to allow me to spend time every week with the kids. They are truly special people doing miraculous work each and every day. The amazing advances being made every day in medicine and health care to provide more healing and more hope to more children and more families, would not be nearly as successful without each and every one of the people who pour their hearts into their work at Ranken Jordan.

After I left that initial meeting with Janine, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, but as I referenced in the opening paragraph, I had no idea how I was going to do it. Before pulling out of the parking lot I called Josh Riley, PGA, who at the time was the Gateway PGA Executive Director. For those who have not had the pleasure of meeting him, Josh is one of the greatest, most polite people you will ever meet, and he was in full support of this crazy idea to teach medically complex children in a hospital how to play golf. Following our phone call, Josh discussed the idea with the Gateway PGA Foundation president, Ozzie Smith, who was all in for providing support. Their kindness and support made this program possible and for that I will always be grateful.

While driving home following the initial meeting with Janine, I stopped at Barnes-Jewish Hospital to have one more conversation about the junior golf program we were getting ready to start. My mother was in the final weeks of her fight with cancer (she would ultimately lose her fight on March 8, 2011) and her most recent chemotherapy treatment had caused her to be hospitalized and unable to talk. When I explained to her and my dad what we were getting ready to do, I saw that familiar sparkle in her eyes that had been missing for so long, and I knew she was proud of her little boy. I hope she has enjoyed watching the last eight years of weekly junior golf clinics from her view from above as much as I have enjoyed helping with them, and I hope she is as ready for more as we are!

Looking back at the eight years of junior golf clinics, it is impossible for me to say thank you to each and every person who has contributed without leaving out someone (or many people). The staff and volunteers at Ranken Jordan, supporters of Ranken Jordan, the Gateway PGA Section and PGA REACH, fellow PGA Professionals, LPGA Professionals, U.S. Kids Golf, PGA of America staff members, my friends and family, and so many more, have all been instrumental in the success of the junior golf program. Most importantly I want to say thank you to each and every one of the children and their families for allowing me to spend time with them. They are the true reasons why we have enjoyed eight years and are looking forward to so many more. As Mary Ranken Jordan said, "consider the children first in all you do."

What A Group!

A doctor, a pediatric hospital inpatient, a recreation therapist, and a PGA Professional walk onto a putting green . . .

Ok, so this did not really happen. In all honesty, it was actually 2 doctors, 4 patients, 3 recreation therapists, and 1 PGA Professional. I guess I should also mention that at one time or another there were also 2 nurses, 2 physical therapists, 1 more doctor, the chairman of the Board of Directors, and numerous people in the gallery. By now most of y'all are thinking I have either completely lost my mind or are intrigued to see if I have any direction whatsoever to this story. Well, my mind was pretty much gone a long time ago and yes, I do have a direction to this story. I think. Bear with me and I will see if I can get to the point sooner rather than later.

In August of 2018, what I refer to as Ranken Jordan National Golf Links officially opened at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital (watch the grand opening video HERE). This is an outdoor area at the hospital that allows the children to utilize through a variety of activities. The most noticeable features when someone walks out to it are the two putting greens and the baseball diamond. The entire field is an artificial surface allowing the children to get outside and play any time it is warm enough. In the Fall, Challenger Baseball games will be held here and we use it as often as possible for our junior golf program. Anybody else as amazed as I am at the one-of-a-kind facilities at Ranken Jordan?

During our most recent junior golf session, we changed things up and had a bit of competition on the links at Ranken Jordan. It started with an alternate shot event with two-person teams consisting of the children's team (two teams of our junior golfers) and the team of doctors. During this fun, highly competitive match, the therapists helped the junior golfers get lined up and I helped a couple of them swing (two of the kids need hand-over-hand assistance to help them swing). While standing back and watching, I am not sure who had more fun competing in the match -- the doctors or the kids! For those scoring at home, the two teams of junior golfers tied and the team of doctors finished in third place. At the completion of that match, the children and therapists created teams for a long drive contest and we finished off with the kids having their own long drive contest. I do not think I can adequately describe how much fun we all had!

Days like this are yet another illustration of the inclusive nature of golf and also how much of a healing tool the game can be. I ask the question frequently -- who in their wildest dreams would ever imagine that a pediatric hospital would have two putting greens, a baseball field, and a year-round weekly junior golf program for medically complex children? Not only does Ranken Jordan have all of that, but they have the staff who is willing to think outside the box in the care they are providing the children and their families. Miraculous work is being done every day at 11365 Dorsett Road in Maryland Heights, Missouri. I am eternally grateful that golf is a very small part of that and thankful that I get to spend time there every week.

What I Know

As I was driving to work one morning, I was doing what I usually do -- listening to Radio Margaritaville. On this particular morning, they were replaying a past concert of Jimmy Buffett's from the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawaii. As Jimmy was introducing one of his songs (a new one at the time), he referenced a quote from Mark Twain, as he often does in his shows, while he discussed the subject matter of the new song. The quote from Twain was "write what you know." Anybody like me who considers themselves a Parrot Head knows that Jimmy does exactly that! When I heard that quote it made me think that I have not written a new blog post in quite some time. However if I follow Twain's advice it will be a very short post! Rather than stop writing now, please humor me as I continue to tell you a story about something I know for certain.

During one of our junior golf clinics at Ranken Jordan about a month ago, Janine Roe, community programs director at Ranken Jordan, and I, were discussing expanding our junior golf program. With Ranken Jordan's expansion, we have many more children who can benefit from using golf as a healing tool while they are in the hospital. The group of children she wanted to get more involved with the golf program are the 3, 4, and 5 year old children. As we talked about it, we quickly realized that to do this we would need to add some new equipment. Many of you likely have heard me say that over the almost 8 years of junior golf at Ranken Jordan, the hospital has not had to spend a penny to pay for the equipment the children use. While Janine and I were talking about the new equipment we would need, one of my first thoughts was how can I get this equipment donated? Now comes the part where I do as Twain said and write what I know.

Social media is a very effective and efficient way to reach many people in a short period of time. With that in mind, I decided to put up a post on Facebook and LinkedIn to see if I could raise at least a portion of the funds we needed for this new equipment. Approximately 2 minutes after clicking "post" on those sites, I was reminded how amazing my friends, family, and colleagues are. My phone immediately started blowing up as I was inundated with messages, texts, e-mails, and phone calls asking how people could get involved and help. As I mentioned earlier, I was hoping to raise a portion of the funds needed to purchase the new equipment and be able to pay for the rest by selling a couple of golf lesson packages for Christmas. Not only did I not need to sell the golf lesson packages to cover the balance, but we raised nearly triple the amount needed for the initial order! This allowed us to order even more new equipment for the youngest children and buy more U.S. Kids Golf clubs for our older junior golfers! One hundred percent of what was donated will be used to give the medically complex children at Ranken Jordan the opportunity to heal in a fun way while they learn the game of a lifetime.

So, back to Mark Twain's quote and what I know is this: I am very fortunate to be surrounded by incredibly kind, generous, and giving people. Saying "thank you" is utterly insufficient when trying to adequately convey my appreciation for what each of you provided for the kids at Ranken Jordan. I look forward to the new equipment arriving and seeing how much fun the kids have as they heal through golf! Continue to watch posts on this blog, my Facebook page, Twitter (@kevincornPGA), and LinkedIn, to see pictures of the kids having fun with the new equipment and opportunities you provided for them! Should anyone want to visit Ranken Jordan, see our golf program first-hand, tour the facility, and get on Ranken Jordan National Golf Links, please reach out to me! Again, thank you so very much for your generous support, generosity, and encouragement, for the kids. My very best wishes to you and your families for a Merry Christmas, happy holiday season, and a healthy and happy New Year.

The Kids and Their Golf Course

What a summer we have had at Ranken Jordan!  The other day I was sitting down to lunch in our Clubhouse at Innsbrook when some golfers saw the Ranken Jordan logo on my shirt and asked about my affiliation with them.  As always, I was only too happy to tell them about the junior golf program and all the great things that happen on a daily basis at that incredible facility.  While we were talking I mentioned this blog and then thought, "I haven't written a post in quite some time."  It was a very busy summer of golf, but the one thing in particular I want to share with you is the brand new outdoor field that was officially opened on August 23, 2018!

It's open!!

Over the past couple of years, any time someone walked into Ranken Jordan they saw (and will still see) a banner hanging above them proclaiming "More Healing and More Hope to More Children and More Families."  This phrase was the central point of the 78,000 square foot expansion that opened in February 2018 and allowed them to grow from a 34 bed facility to 60 inpatient beds.  When you walk through the expansion you'll see a rock climbing wall, a teen lounge, a therapy gym that I'd like to workout in, and so much more.  You will also be able to walk out onto an observation deck overlooking what I like to refer to as "Ranken Jordan National Golf Links."

Zion grooving her putting stroke

Going back to the summer of 2016, I remember the first time I saw the architect's renderings for the Ranken Jordan expansion.  To say I was blown away would be a drastic understatement.  Everywhere you looked was something cooler than what you saw a few seconds earlier!  Then, I was shown the outdoor field . . . and not one, but two, putting greens!  As amazed as I always am every time I walk into Ranken Jordan, I could not help but thinking, "wait a second, as cool as this place already is, now they are going to have a rock climbing wall, gym, baseball field, AND two putting greens?!?!"  Watching the progress every week was something that led to tremendous anticipation for what would happen in August of this year.

Almost done!

The day the field officially opened was beyond description.  We had two ceremonial first pitches and then it was time for Ayden to officially open Ranken Jordan National Golf Links!  Leading up to the grand opening, Ayden had been a regular junior golfer and looked forward to Golfday every week.  He hit golf balls, worked on his putting, and he healed.  We watched not only his golf game improve, but more importantly, his health improved.  When I walked him out to the "First Tee," he took his stance and ripped a drive straight toward the putting greens!  He then took his putter, stepped onto the green, and made his putt (Ok, so he hit two putts and the video linked HERE didn't show the one he made)!   Ayden then turned and waved to the crowd just as he would after making a birdie putt on the PGA Tour!  While watching him, I knew immediately why I refused each invitation to try out the putting greens before they were officially open for the kids.

Ayden's first tee shot (and first golf shot ever struck on RJNGL)

Almost 8 years ago I walked into Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital for the first time.  During that time span, with very few exceptions, I am there at least one day every week.  I can honestly say that I am as amazed and impressed with every aspect of the facility as I was that very first day.  However the opening of the outdoor field and all that it allows the children to do has me in awe.  How many other pediatric facilities can you go to and see a child who, due to a horribly tragic accident is now a quadriplegic, and part of his therapy includes him playing golf outside while he's in the hospital?  My favorite part of helping him was the first time I saw the big smile on his face and the promise he made that he would give me a putting lesson!  For any of you who are in or near St. Louis, or if those of you from out of town would ever be in St. Louis, I encourage and invite you to visit Ranken Jordan see the miracles that happen there every day.  I can promise you this, your life will be better after any amount of time you spend at 11365 Dorsett Road.

Landon is a putting machine!

A Hospital Bed, A Golf Club, and A Lot of Smiles

A few weeks ago a new inpatient at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital came to our weekly junior golf clinic and the following conversation took place:

Me:  Hi, I'm Kevin.  Are you ready to play golf?

Junior Golfer:  I'm in my hospital bed, I can't play golf.

Me:  If you want to play, I'll show you how you can hit the golf ball.

Junior Golfer:  Really?  Even though I'm in my bed and have to lay on my stomach I can still play?

Me:  Of course you can!

Junior Golfer:  Ok, if you think I can hit the ball from here I'll give it a try.

Over the years of writing this blog I have shared several conversations that I have had with patients which are much like the one above.  For many of the children, getting to Ranken Jordan is the first time they have been told that they can do something like play golf.  I always enjoy these conversations because they serve as a starting point of showing the children what is possible for them.  Who would have thought that a child laying on their stomach in their hospital bed could hit golf balls?  To take it a step further, who would have thought that same child would also learn how to tee up their own golf balls while laying face down in their hospital bed?

After having that initial conversation with our new junior golfer and starting to hit golf balls, things were going so well that I decided to teach them something else.  At Ranken Jordan we use the Almost Golf Balls because they do not break glass or skin and are very limited flight.  They are also much lighter than regular golf balls.  Because of that, the golf balls can be rolled up the rubber driving range tee using a golf club so that nobody has to bend over to tee it up (however we do make many of the kids bend over to tee up the golf balls for the therapeutic effect).  Following several very good golf shots, I showed our new junior golfer how to do just this.  It did not take much practice before teeing up golf balls from the hospital bed was no big deal!  The smiles, laughter, and fun did not stop for well over an hour!

Imagine if you will walking into a pediatric hospital as a visitor.  As you walk past the reception desk, you see an indoor playground with children hitting golf balls off the windows on the other side of the playground.  You look further and see that one of the children is flat on their stomach in a hospital bed, has scooted up to the edge, and with arms hanging off the end of the bed is hitting golf balls.  You stand and watch for a few minutes and that child is also teeing up their golf balls before hitting them.  Seems perfectly normal, correct?  At Ranken Jordan things like this are perfectly normal.  I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to spend some time with the kids every week and always leave knowing they did far more for me than I could ever do for them.  However the best is yet to come -- I cannot wait until Ranken Jordan National Golf Links is open for the kids to enjoy!

7 Years of Smiles

Junior Golfer:  "Is it OK if I watch golf today?"

Me:  "Of course it is, but we can get you set up to play if you'd prefer to do that."

Junior Golfer:  "No, that's OK, I'll just watch because I've never played."

Me:  "Everybody who plays has been in that same situation before.  If you want to play you let us know and we'll get you started."

Junior Golfer:  "Do you really think I can do it?"

Me:  "I know you can.  Let me grab a golf club and we'll get you going."

Junior Golfer:  "OK, I'll hit 3 golf balls and give it a try."

Fast forward through those initial three swings to get to this --

Junior Golfer:  "Can I hit one more golf ball?"

Me:  "You can hit as many as you want."

Junior Golfer:  "Maybe I'll hit two or three, this is fun!"

The conversation above has been shortened a bit to keep it brief but still get the point across.  This is how we started our junior golf clinic at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital yesterday afternoon.  I can think of no more perfect way to start the junior golf clinic on the day before the 7th anniversary of our very first junior golf clinic.  Yes, today, May 10, 2018, is the 7th anniversary of the initial golf clinic at Ranken Jordan.  To have a brand new junior golfer come to our clinic, be hesitant, pick up a golf club, have fun, and want to keep playing, is the perfect illustration of what golf has done for the kids at Ranken Jordan over the past 7 years.

While our new junior golfer was hitting golf balls today, the smiles and laughter never stopped.  When fatigue set in, we were left with a final big smile and a promise to be back next week for more golf.  Why, you might be thinking, was there fatigue after only six swings?  Well, those six swings turned into about 40 as there was also a request for "one more shot!"  This is one of the things that continues to amaze me each and every week.  Children like this who do not think they can play golf or have been told that they can't, are shown that they can.  Through Ranken Jordan's revolutionizing "Care Beyond the Bedside" healthcare model, kids are given the opportunity to get out of bed, out of their hospital rooms, and back to being kids.

There are not enough adjectives to properly or adequately describe the impact the past seven years of junior golf at Ranken Jordan have had on me.  It is also impossible to say thank you to everyone who has been a part of our junior golf program in one way or another -- our junior golfers, their families, therapists, nurses, doctors, friends and family, colleagues, donors -- the list has no end.  For that I am truly grateful.  Seven years of weekly golf clinics, rain or shine, has been simply amazing.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who has been so important in improving the lives of so many children one swing at a time.  And Janine, thank you for letting me continue to sneak past security every week!  Here's to the next 7 years of more healing and more hope for more children and more families!