Rory McIlroy is headed to Haiti for a bit of perspective

Is there a group of athletes more pampered and coddled than golfers? These guys complain about the temperature of the locker room hand towels, for heaven's sake. So it's refreshing to see someone at least make a nod at social responsibility, as Rory McIlroy is doing now.

While most of his contemporaries are preparing for the upcoming U.S. Open by, I dunno, getting champagne-and-rosemary hand massages or whatever, McIlroy is departing from the Memorial to go straight to Haiti for a couple days.

"I'm doing a field trip for UNICEF," he said. "It should be pretty eye opening ... It's something I've wanted to do since I signed up with UNICEF at the start of this year. I'm looking forward to it."

What, exactly, does a celebrity do on these kinds of tours? McIlroy himself doesn't even know. They may give him a hammer to knock a couple nails in, or they may just give him a sense of the devastation. The point here isn't to get anything new done, but to bring more attention to a devastated country.

Nice job on McIlroy's part for stepping out of the traditional golf comfort zone. It would've been so much easier to sign a check while flying in a private jet; will be interesting to see how this filters through to McIlroy's famed Twitter account.

Rachel McAdams Kristin Cavallari Brittany Murphy Britney Spears Amanda Swisten