M4Max challenge
REGISTRATION FOR THE 2024 CHALLENGE IS NOT CLOSED
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR APRIL 7, 2025 WHEN REGISTRATION OPENS!
For tournament updates, social media contests and other fun, please follow our M4Max Instagram.
What is the M4Max Challenge?
The M4Max Challenge is a Masters pool unlike any other. It’s grown from humble beginnings to become a global phenomenon, drawing thousands of participants from sea to shining sea. With payouts that would make a Saudi prince blush, and prizes and contests as diverse as my golf swing flaws, the M4Max Challenge makes the best week in golf even better – all while making a very big impact in the lives of kids with Type 1 Diabetes.
In 2023 we had 3,200+ participants representing every state in the union and a dozen different countries. We collected ~$125k in entry fees, paid almost $85k toward more than 100 prizes (including $28,500 to our co-champions, Peter Fioretti and Rob Fisher), and with the extraordinary generosity of so many, this tournament was able to donate almost $160k to Camp Ho Mita Koda, the nation’s first, oldest and best summer camp for kids with Type 1 Diabetes (like my now 16-year-old son, and our tournament namesake, Max).
How It Works
2/3 of all entry fees are used for a wide variety of cash prizes. 1/3 of entry fees are donated to Camp Ho Mita Koda. 100% of all “extra” donations are tax deductible and used to fund “camperships” to help lower-income kids attend summer camp.
2024 Entry Fees
– Purchase 1 team for $25, 2 teams for $40, or 4 teams for $65
– $10 to enter a separate “Hindenburg” Pool rewarding the highest aggregate team score
– $10 to enter a separate pool ONLY for long-time M4Max participants (those who have played M4Max for 10 or more years)
As always, we’ve got a few new tricks up our sleeves this year, including…………….
M4Max Meets 17-Mile Drive!
New this year, if you donate just $25 extra beyond your entry fee, your name will be entered into a raffle to win a 3-night stay at an absolutely stunning home on Pebble Beach’s Legendary 17-Mile Drive. Comfortably sleeping 6, this piece of Pebble perfection sits across the street from the famed “Lone Cypress” tree and less than 1 mile from the first tee at Pebble Beach. Generously made possible by the good people at Blumaka*, makers of the most innovative insoles on the planet (and used by several big-name athletes, including many players in this year’s Masters field), the 3-night stay will include $4,000 to be used any way you like during your trip.
2024 M4Max Entry Process
- Register your teams beginning MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2024 at Max.Propelmg.com. Registration closes on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10th at Midnight Eastern.
- Once registered, you’ll receive tournament communications, including links to our Live Leaderboards, daily updates and of course, really dumb memes.
Please email M4M@camphomitakoda.org with any questions.
Thank you for playing, and good luck!
THE FINE PRINT
After you have paid you will receive payment confirmation, and in early April you will receive an email with a link to the team entry website that allows you to choose a 4 player team from 4 categories (Historically: Top 8 in the world, Remaining Top 25 in the world, Remaining Americans, Remaining Internationals).
Note to first time M4M Participants: Once I have a final tally of all entry fees I will send a breakdown of all the prize payouts, but at a minimum, there will be prizes for the Top 10 finishers (I anticipate 1st place will again be upwards of $20,000), Dead Last, as well as some other new prizes at my discretion this year (you’ll have to wait and see).
If you’re on Instagram, follow @M4Max2024 for Leaderboards, updates and random gifs and images related to the unfolding tournament action. With any luck we will again have a “Live Leaderboard” app, and I’ll also email Leaderboards and a summary of each day’s action at the end of each round.
WHAT INSPIRED M4MAX?
A Message From Chris Mikolay
M4Max Challenge Founder And All-Around Superhero
November 15, 2020
There are many non-golfers who participate in M4Max, and most of them are advocates and supporters of the Type 1 Diabetes community. They’re some of my favorite M4M participants and a big reason why I do this. On that note, if you’ll indulge me for just 3 minutes:
WHY I DO THIS.
My son Max turns 13 tomorrow. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes almost 10 years ago, when he was 3. The truth is, if Max had been born 100 years ago, he wouldn’t be alive to see his 13th birthday; until 1921, being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes was always fatal within 18 months. A century ago Type 1 Diabetes was called the “wasting disease”, as those who got it – almost always children – died of starvation as their bodies could not correctly break down and utilize the food they were eating. It was horrific.
In 1921 two young Canadian doctors, Dr. Frederick Banting and Dr. Charles Best, were the first to isolate and administer what would become one of the world’s greatest scientific discoveries: insulin. After seeing their discovery work in dogs, they gave their new medicine to a young, emaciated girl who was on death’s door. The insulin brought her back to life, and she would go on to live a long and full and happy life*.
I sometimes cringe when people make jokes about eating candy or sugar and getting diabetes. But it’s understandable: most people don’t really understand the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. But here it is: Type 2 diabetes is super common and the kind of diabetes most people have – 95% of all diabetes is Type 2. This form of the disease means the body isn’t able to use insulin the right way, mostly because of diet, lack of exercise and family history. In contrast, Type 1 means your pancreas simply doesn’t make insulin, period. There is no “cure” for Type 1 Diabetes except for the continued use of life-saving insulin; Type 2, on the other hand, can be controlled, and effectively cured, through diet and exercise. And perhaps most importantly, if you have Type 1 Diabetes, nothing you did caused it. Nothing. Scientists still don’t understand what triggers the pancreas to stop making insulin to cause T1D.
Like most non-Type 1 Diabetics, my blood sugars hover between 95-105 throughout the day and waver very little. Max’ blood sugar looks like a Richter scale: he might be 150 one minute, and 30 minutes later he’s 475 and then an hour after that he could crash to a dangerously low 45. His blood sugar levels are affected by what he eats, stress, hormones, exercise and other factors, so controlling them, even with an advanced insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor, is really tricky. His blood sugar levels are CONSTANTLY on our mind. Because the truth is, if Max can’t control his blood sugar levels there could be severe consequences, which, honestly, I have a hard time even writing about.
Years ago I read about Camp Ho Mita Koda. I read how the summer camp gives kids a break, in a way, to just be kids. To meet other kids who understand the unique struggle they’re dealing with – and will always deal with. I read about how the place has changed many lives, forged lifelong friendships, and given many kids who were frightened or embarrassed the confidence to live full and amazing lives. This little Masters pool has become a critical lifeline for funding the camp – those of you who have participated for several years know that just 3 years ago the camp was on the brink of collapse. Through the heroic efforts of a new board, and an amazing Executive Director in Ian Roberts, the camp has continued operating and serving many kids. While the programming was scaled down somewhat due to Covid, they were the only T1D summer camp in Ohio to operate this year, and they did so in a safe way. The early contributions we received in the Spring were critical.
So, thank you for reading this message, and more importantly, thanks for participating and supporting a great cause. I continue to be GENUINELY ASTOUNDED at the way so many people have given so generously, and not just always in cash. This pool would not be possible if it weren’t for the work of Ed Levens and Eric Pastoor, guys who I didn’t know but happened to stumble into this tournament and offered to help. 2020 has been an extraordinarily trying year for so many; I’m so grateful for your participation and support this year more than ever.
It’s time to get back to the ridiculous memes and Dad jokes. As I write this the Final round is already underway. It’s Sunday at the Masters. Thank you for participating in the M4M, and if you’re on the Leaderboard and have a chance down the stretch to grab the $10k prize – just try to keep breathing.
Best,
Chris (Max’s proud father)
