What could be better than a round of golf with Vikings' All-Pro Center Matt Birk and his celerity guests at Rush Creek Golf Club - coupling that round of golf with a non-profit organization dedicated to changing the lives of Twin Cities-area children.
The HIKE Foundation held its Fifth Annual Celebrity Golf Classic presented by Coca-Cola on June 11th at Rush Creek Golf Club. At this year's Celebrity Golf Classic we introduced a new and exciting change to our celebrity format -
"Pros versus Joes". The "Pros versus Joes" format allowed each foursome to play one hole with
each of Matt's celebrity guests. On these four
"Pros versus Joes" Holes, golfers competed directly against the Pros to win an items signed by all the Pros. This year's team of Pros included Vikings All-Pro Center Matt Birk, Vikings' All-Pro Guard Steve Hutchinson, Vikings' Kicker Ryan Longwell and KFAN's Super Star Mike Morris.
In addition to the excitement of golfing with our celebrity guests, each golfer was provided over $100 in items from the "Ultimate Golf Pro-Shop" featuring the hottest items from Nike Golf, Adidas Golf and TaylorMade, as well as a beautiful way to display their experience in the form of a commemorative frame valued at over $100, which featured an autographed photo Matt and a 4 x 6 of their team with their celebrity. On top of enjoying a great day of golf, each golfer had their fill with on-course food provided by Chili's, Maggiano's Little Italy, Matty B's Supper Club and drinks from Coca-Cola.
Every successful event includes prizes and at the conclusion of the Classic, prizes were awarded to our winners. Team Birk posted the event's lowest score and won top honors. For their efforts each player received a TaylorMade Staff Travel Cargo Bag valued at over $300. A dozen Maxfli golf balls were awarded to the winners of the Most Accurate Drive, Longest Putt, Longest Drive and Closest to the Hole competitions; one golfer received a cordless saw for the "Ball in the Woods" award to help alleviate the common obstacles often found on the golf course, a weed eater was awarded to the winner of the "Ball in the Weeds" hole and a ShopVac was handed out for the "Ball in the Water" award, which will serve as very efficient ball retriever next time the water gets too deep. The "Pros versus Joes" competition was fearce, with just two golfers able to beat all four Pros. For their feat, each received an NFL Football autographed by all four Pros.
Without the help of our corporate partners this event would not have been such a great achievement for the HIKE Foundation and the children that benefit from the programs offered. A very special thank you to the following corporate partners:
- Coca-Cola (Presenting Sponsor - Celebrity Golf Classic)
- Sears Imported Autos (Official Sponsor)
- US Bank (Flag Sponsor)
- Coca-Cola (Beverage Sponsor)
- Chili's Grill & Bar (Food Partner)
- Maggiano's Little Italy (Food Partner)
- Matty B's Supper Club (Food Partner)
The HIKE Foundation is looking forward to holding another successful Celebrity Golf Classic in 2008 and hopes to see you there!
