The Play Yellow Story
This Sunday, April 11, marks the 35th anniversary of the story that started the Play Yellow story.
The Story
In the late ’60’s, Jack and Barbara Nicklaus had a family friend named Craig Smith. As a young teenager, Craig was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma. Jack and Barbara wanted to find a unique way to support Craig and his family during his treatment. Following a tournament, Craig mentioned to Jack that he knew Jack would win because he was sporting Craig’s lucky color yellow. In the years that followed, Jack could be seen wearing yellow on tournament Sundays and major Sundays in particular, all because of Craig.
Craig passed away in the early 1970s. Many years passed and on the Sunday morning of the Masters Tournament, Jack pulled a yellow shirt out of his closet and asked his wife if she thought Craig would like it if he wore the color.
“I hadn’t worn yellow on Sunday in a long time,” Jack recalled.
That day, Jack had a career round and won the Masters. All because of a young boy named Craig and his lucky color, Play Yellow was born.
The Movement
Like most nonprofits, children’s hospitals rely on donations. And because 37 million kids in the United States depend on public health insurance programs that don’t reimburse hospitals for the full cost of caring for these patients, the need for donations is even greater. That said, through Play Yellow, golfers can help.
Alongside Jack and Barbara Nicklaus and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Play Yellow strives to bring the entire golf world together to help the 10 million kids treated at CMN Hospitals every year. Through an annual event known as Family Golf Day, as well as corporate partnerships and golf tournaments, Play Yellow is changing kids’ health and changing the future through the game of golf.
The Future
You can join the Play Yellow movement today. Visit the Get Involved page to discover ways you can support. Then, don your yellow attire, head to the course and celebrate the impact you’re already making.
Now your golf game has some meaning. It’s time for you to Play Yellow because when we change kids’ health today, we unlock a world of possibilities for their tomorrow.