Around the Midwest, golf tournaments are as commonplace as barbecues and Monday night football. Whether it’s a workplace golf outing or a laid-back Saturday with friends, the golf tournament is a rite of passage for most men. While most golf tournaments take place in the summer, one takes place on Black Friday to raise money for a special cause.

Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital houses patients for months on end, serving as a bridge between major hospital visits and helping them finally go home. These children face health challenges that some can not even imagine. That is where Kevin Corn wanted to step in and create a program that brings smiles to the kids’ faces through the sport of golf. 

“It’s a junior golf program at Rankin Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital that helps transition kids from big hospitals to home. For those who aren’t well enough to go home right out of the big hospital, but they need a little bit more care, a little more recovery before they’re really ready to go home. And at Rankin, their main care model is care beyond the bedside. It’s getting the kids out of their beds, letting them play and heal and be kids, and utilizing the kids to see that they can do something rather than they can’t, as a lot of them are starting to hear or may have already heard,” Corn said.

David Brader then had the idea of raising money for the charity through a golf tournament with two simple rules that can turn ridiculous. Rule one: You must play the entire golf round with only one club. Rule two: You are issued three beers at the beginning, and they must be finished by the end. 

Drew Lenzen, a player in the tournament, says that this simple game gets very interesting with the addition of these two rules.

“Corn-ucopia, it’s not very competitive; it’s more fun-spirited, just raising money for the cause,” Drew Lenzen said.

While some may think the game is laid back and fun others think the game keeps getting more absurd.

Andy Lenzen, a player in the tournament, says playing with the one club makes the event something that he comes back for every year.

“Well, I think it’s so much fun because you’re playing with one club, right? The challenge of that. The ridiculousness of playing with one club makes it unique. It’s the only thing I do like, all year, with golf.” Andy Lenzen said.

As the final ball is scored, the players go over to Llwelyn’s Pub in Webster Groves to celebrate victory, laugh off being in last place, or enjoy a few more beers, but most of all, the players celebrate the thousands of dollars they raise for Ranken Jordan.