Heroically, Mac stays on the attack

Under a tent outside the Conway Farms Golf Club clubhouse, heroes are sitting everywhere.

Doctors. A dozen of them, most of whom sit on the advisory board of the Children's Heart Foundation. They're here for an eighth annual golf outing.

And who's their hero?

She's sitting among them. She's 15 years old, 5 feet 2 inches tall with long blond hair, wearing stylish golf clothes and a smile that might be even sweeter than her golf swing.

MacKinzie "Mac" Kline has come to Lake Forest from her hometown sunny San Diego to once again help bring awareness to congenital heart defects, which affect nearly one of out every 100 births, or about 40,000 babies each year.

Mac, as everyone calls her, has served as national spokesperson for the Children's Heart Foundation since she was the ripe age of 10.

"She has a great aura around her and everybody loves her," John Mason, the director of golf instruction at Encinitas Ranch Golf Course in California and Mac's coach for the last eight years, says on Kline's Web site, mackline.com.

Spend some time with Kline -- a 1 handicap who hit tee shots for foursomes on the par-3 second hole on a San Diego-like day at Conway Farms on Monday -- and it's hard not to come away inspired.

She was born with a heart defect described on her Web site as "single ventricle with transposition of the greater vessels."

"I have only three chambers instead of four so I can't do any aerobic activities," Mac says. "So that's pretty much why I play golf."

Her liver is transverse, meaning it's on the left side of her body, and she was born without a spleen.

She had her first open-heart surgery when she was 11 weeks old and second shortly before her second birthday.

She takes a lot of medications.

"I kind of live a pretty normal life, though," Mac says. "I really like my life."

How can you not like her?

Mac can't do certain activities with her friends, but she doesn't pout.

"If they want to try to go surfing or boogey-boarding, I can't really do that because I can't (afford to) get hurt," the California Kid says. "Some of my friends like to work out, so they'll ask me if I want to go for a jog on the beach. I'll say, 'No, I can't really jog so we're going to have to walk.' "

Hey, just because your heart isn't right doesn't mean your life can't be a day at the beach.

Mac, a sophomore in high school, announced to everyone under the tent at Conway Farms that she reached her goal of earning $1 million for congenital-heart-defect research.

"My new goal is $2 in two years," Mac tells everyone, and suddenly heroes are applauding a hero.

Mac started playing golf when she was 6 because, she says, her doctor thought it would be a good sport for her to try. Her dad took her to a golf course and she was hooked.

This summer, Annika Sorenstam invited Mighty Mac to play in Sorenstam's LPGA event called the Ginn Tribute in South Carolina.

"She's a very, very nice lady," Mac says of one of the greatest females to ever swing a golf club. "I didn't play very well, but I learned a lot. And the golf course was incredible. Beautiful golf course."

Winning isn't the most important thing, someone once said. Mac Kline has the golf game to win junior tournaments and maybe someday win money as a professional.

But her story isn't about that. There are some kids with congenital heart defects or other health-related issues -- and Mac has seen them -- who have the mind-set that they "can't."

Mac tries to avoid that word like a fairway bunker.

"I really like to do golf, I really like to do stuff," she says. "I really don't think of myself as being different than other kids. I don't think I can't do something. I will always try it, whether I can end up doing it or not. I will try, just because that's the type of person I am."

In the future, Mac might play collegiate golf or turn professional, or maybe both.

But she's got lots of time before she has to make those decision. In the meantime, she's going to enjoy playing golf, earning money for congenital-heart-defect research and being a teenager.

She's excited about Monday night's season premiere of her favorite TV show.

The name of the show?

"Heroes."

"The first season (last year), I taped every single one of the episodes," Mac says. "That's the first show I've actually seen every single episode."

Funny, a hero's favorite show is "Heroes."

"I just think of myself as a golfer," says Mac, modestly. "It's just something I like to do, and raising money is just something I like to do. It just seems like a natural thing for me to do."

That's what makes 'em heroes.