Clody's one-eyed winners announced

Tuesday, September 30, 2008
First-place winners at Clody's One Eyed Golf Tournament are Chris Brotherton, Ty Oney, Larry Roberts, Ron Branham and Terry Clodfelter. The golf outing raises money for children's eye care at Riley Hospital for Children.

By MARIBETH WARD

Staff Writer

Clody's One-Eyed Golf Tournament was another big success this year. The event held on Sept. 13 at Old Hickory Golf Course went well despite the threat of rain.

At the same time the outing was taking place, Doctors from Riley Hospital visited Greencast-le and provided free vision screenings for children at the Greencastle Moose Lodge.

Several parents brought their children for the screenings and some received early detection results that otherwise they may never have known.

The normal cost of the high-tech screening is $187 per screening. Those attending the screenings at the Moose received them free of charge.

The tournament actually began in 1992 when a group of friends threw money in a hat, played with eye patches and the winner took all. It came about as a result of ribbing Clodfelter for missing the ball when he took up golf.

Clodfelter lost the sight in one of his eyes when he was 13 years old. While helping cut down a thorn tree in the spring, one of the thorns went into his eye. That resulted in a cataract and by the fall his vision was blurry.

He went to Riley for treatment and underwent the then-new laser technique. His eyesight continued to deteriorate, however, leaving him without vision in the injured eye.

After the first tournament in 1992 the group continued to play for four years following that same format.

But in 1996 with seven or eight teams signed up, the group decided to make a difference for children with vision problems. They raised $440 that year.

By 1999 the tournament had raised more than $12,000 for children's eye care at Riley Hospital for Children. In fact, the donations have led to the Clody's One-Eyed Golf Scramble Digital Diagnosis and Consultation Laboratory at Riley.

In 13 years, the golf tournament has raised more than $100,000 and sent six Putnam County kids to Riley for eye treatment.

A seventh will go in late September.

"Something as simple as an eye screening can make a big difference in the life of a child," said Clodfelter.

A lot of fundraising surrounds the golf tourney with donations of prizes by hundreds of local merchants.

Sponsors for this year's event are York Pontiac, Cash Concrete and Wal-Mart Transportation.

Next year's event is planned for Sept. 12. For information about the event, go to www.clodysoneeye golf.com

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