Inside Kickingbird Golf Club’s $17M Renovations

When the demolition trucks arrive, it will get real.

Kickingbird Golf Club in Edmond will be closing July 1 for massive renovations that will completely change the look of the property. The club is expecting to reopen in the Fall of 2022 as brand-new facilities are constructed and new greens installed on the course.

“We hope that this project, which is quite extensive, will put us on the map for the next 50 years and continue to just grow the community and grow golf in Edmond,” Kickingbird Head Professional Brian Soerensen said.

Three things are included in the base bid for the project, meaning they will be prioritized with the budget.

The headliner of this base bid is a brand new 13,300 square-foot clubhouse, which will contain a restaurant and bar. Since the new building will be around 33% larger than the old clubhouse, it will be built slightly west of where the current one resides.

The selected architect for the project is Bockus Payne, a company that designed Edmond’s Bancfirst and Faith Bible Church. The interior designer will be done by Tom Hoke.

Underneath the clubhouse a cart barn will be added.

“A lot of cart barns are underneath your clubhouse; it saves on your layout and its really going to help us out there,” Soerensen said. “It’s going to be difficult because the soils aren’t too bad, but you’re going to run into some rock.”

The second thing included in the base bid is a banquet/tournament hall. It will be a completely separate building from the clubhouse and used to host all kinds of events, from golf tournaments to graduation parties. The hall will be a little over 6,600 square-feet and can seat up to 200 people at a time.

The banquet hall will allow Kickingbird to host multiple events simultaneously and not have to force tournament participants to brave the elements while eating under the outdoor pavilion.

“(Currently) the experience isn’t great, and I think we’ve lost tournaments to corporate clients because now they can go to a Lincoln Park or someplace else and have a better experience,” Edmond City Manager Steve Commons said. “We think that we’ll be able to track some of those tournaments back having a separate tournament hall.”

Kickingbird Golf Club rests on the highest point in Edmond and the second highest point in Oklahoma County, and the banquet/tournament hall will be a unique location.

“It’s a pretty neat place and going to be a great place to have those graduation parties, those wedding receptions and those office get togethers,” Soerensen said.

“Who knows, (there could) maybe even be a wedding out there, just go out and say your vows on the ninth green,” Commons said.

The final thing included in the base bid is a short game practice facility, used for putting and chipping. It will be located in front where the current parking lot is. The short game practice area will host small events targeted at people looking to get into golf.

There are two add alternates in the bid, meaning if there is enough money left over after the three items in the base bid are complete, they will be added.

The first add alternate is being called a ‘swing studio,’ which is essentially an indoor teaching facility. The swing studio will have a draw for serious players who want to get fit for clubs and use trackman to discover their advanced swing analytics.

The second add alternate is labeled as a driving range pavilion. Soerensen likened the area to a Top Golf experience, where people would hit shots into a simulator arcade style.

“We would hope at some point to turn that into more of the entertainment side of golf because you’re so close to the bars of the restaurant you can just walk, go out to the pavilion and hit shots on the simulator,” Soerensen said.

Dusenberry golf design is the contractor going to help with the grass part of the project. This includes installing new greens, redesigning some of the holes and adding a brand-new irrigation system.

Commons said many golf courses will rebuild their course nine holes at a time, continuing to stay open. However, since Kickingbird is also getting a new clubhouse and tournament hall, it made sense to shut down all 18 holes.

Additional parking will be added after some of the neighboring tennis/pickleball courts to the west of Kickingbird Golf Club are demolished.

“Some of the pickleball people have been a little upset that we’re taking so many of the existing pickleball courts out but it didn’t do us any good to build this facility and then not have any place for people to park,” Commons said.

The improvements are projected to cost $17 Million in total. The clubhouse, tournament hall and other buildings are estimated at $13 Million, while the green replacement, hole redesign and new irrigation system will total the remaining $4 Million.

“Financial responsibility is huge for us, we are an enterprise fund so we’re going to be dotting our I’s and crossing our T’s and making sure we get this thing built well,” Soerensen said. “Quality is not going to be skimped upon, I can tell you that.”

With the present infrastructure market being in a tough spot, the final cost could vary from the estimated cost.

“The biggest unknown for us right now is this whole climate of material cost and deliveries,” Commons said. “It’s got everybody on edge that you want to proceed with the project you don’t think the pricing will go down substantially if you wait so that’s why we’re charging ahead.”

The massive project is in motion and Soerensen believes it will benefit not only golfers, but the community. All kinds of events can be hosted at the banquet hall. Everybody will be invited to come enjoy a meal in the new clubhouse or dip their toe into the sport at the short game practice facility.  

“I believe this project in and of itself should position us as the premier municipal facility in the state and maybe even in the region. With everything going on here, it’s not just a clubhouse, it’s not just a banquet hall, there’s many different elements that we really hope to grow the game,” Soerensen said.