Edmond, golf capital of the USA

by ken macleod T he year was 1971, Edmond was a small bedroom community of about 18,000 north of Oklahoma City and known for anything but golf. Its first golf course, a tree-lined municipal course called Kickingbird, was just set to open.

Now this bustling city of nearly 90,000 is home to seven courses, has produced 48 high school team championships, has more Champions Tour, PGA Tour and aspiring pros at one course than just about any club in the U.S., has the only junior golf hall of fame of which we’re aware, has hosted numerous USGA and PGA championships and is generally recognized as one of the best golf communities in the country. How did this happen? It all started at Kickingbird back in 1971. The way head pro Art Proctor ran the course in the early days might horrify parents and draw a quick visit from the district attorney today, but he was laying the groundwork for Edmond to blossom into one of the great golf centers in the Southwest.

Proctor, one of the state’s best players, teachers and all-around golf gurus, had a willing workforce of kids as young as age 11 up through high school, all paid for by free golf and range balls. Steven Steele, who now runs the Edmond Junior Golf Hall of Fame founded by Mike McGraw, remembers getting dropped off at 5 a.m. daily in the summer at age 12 and before 6 a.m. he was on the back patio with a microphone serving as the starter for the always packed tee sheet.

When he was 13, Steele graduated to scrubbing the grill where some of the state’s best cheeseburgers are cooked, a task he did for 365 consecutive days, a record he is proud of to this day. He also saw his forearms swell from 8-to-14 inches around and his driving distance increase by 70 yards in one summer.

While Proctor was grooming a swarm of dedicated young golf nuts, he had also basically saved the Oklahoma Open from How Edmond became the center of the golf universe

extinction by bringing it to Kickingbird, landing sponsors, increasing the purse and convincing many of the state’s top young pros coming out of Oklahoma State and Oklahoma to play.

During its seven-year run at Kickingbird (1979-85) the Open champions were Danny Edwards, Jaime Gonzalez, Gil Morgan, Doug Tewell, Tom Jones, Kenny Huff and Bob Tway, a Who’s Who of Oklahoma golf at the time. The tournament then moved to Oak Tree Country Club, where it is still held today.

The kids in the E.C. Hafer Junior Golf Program loved the chance to mingle with the pros. And that junior program was growing rapidly, thanks in large part to the 1978 arrival of McGraw, who ran the junior program for Proctor while attending the University of Central Oklahoma and also during three years of mini-tour golf. McGraw, today the head coach at Baylor, went on to ignite the Edmond North dynasty before coaching the women’s and men’s teams at his beloved Oklahoma State University.

“I met him at the driving range when he arrived from Odessa Junior College,” Steele said. “There were some great times. It was a good place to learn how to play, learn how to fight, learn how to take a joke and give one. There was definitely some Caddyshack stuff going on, nothing criminal but all in fun.”

In the evenings, McGraw said it was not unusual for 20-to-30 juniors to show up and begin placing bets on their putting skills.

“It was just a great place for kids to gather,” McGraw said. “Art deserves all the credit for what transpired. He would start you off as a forecaddie, then graduate to picking up range balls, cart boy, odd jobs and then working in the shop. It was a great place for a kid to grow up and learn a lot of responsibility.”

Some of those kids, like David Edwards, went on to be pro golfers. But the high school programs really took off when McGraw took over at Edmond North in 1987. The high schools were now benefitting not only from the players produced at Kickingbird, but also at Oak Tree Country Club, with its 36 holes designed by Pete Dye and great practice facilities, which had opened in 1981 with the final holes completed in 1984. It was the destination of choice for many affluent families moving to Edmond and a great breeding ground of golf talent as well.

Then there was the influence of Oak Tree Golf Club, now Oak Tree National. The somewhat risky venture that Oklahoma pros Joe Walser and Ernie Vossler created along with financier Gerald Barton in 1976 was now home to a host of young PGA Tour stars that included Morgan, Tway, David and Danny Edwards, Mark Hayes, Willie Wood, Tewell, Scott Verplank and others, one of the most unique confluences of talent at any one club in the country.

“It was a really cool place,” said Rick Bell, longtime Ping rep who played for the NCAA championship Oklahoma team that won in 1989 at Oak Tree CC. “When I moved back from Arizona I was set on living at Oak Tree until my wife said no, her parents are in Norman. But you had not only the pros but all these great promoters of the game like Brent Goodger, assistants like Art Romero, Jim Kane, Jim Woodward, a lot of guys who could really play. Just an Left to right, Al Lukken, Pete Gootis and Bob Tway at the 1982 Oklahoma Open.

Add Hugh Edgmon, Stan Ball, Steve Ball, current OGA Executive Director Mark Felder, current Oak Tree pro Steve Kimmel and a great many other PGA pros and characters who contributed at either of the three facilities to making Edmond the golf hot spot it became. Working the range at Kickingbird you could come upon youngsters such as Bill Self, current KU basketball coach, or Kelly Ogle, anchor at News 9 in Oklahoma City.

Oak Tree National was not only home to the pros, but a site of championships, including the 1984 U.S. Amateur, the 1988 PGA Championship, the 2006 Senior PGA

Championship and the 2014 U.S. Senior Open. It would have held the PGA Championship in 1994, but the parent company, Landmark Land Co., was experiencing a meltdown due to a battle with the Resolution Trust Corporation over a savings and loan. The tournament was moved to Southern Hills CC in Tulsa.

Between the pros at Oak Tree National and the amazing talent coming up through the ranks at Kickingbird and Oak Tree CC, Edmond began to dominate high school golf (chart) in the state, producing even more professionals, such as Edmond North graduates Robert Streb and Kevin Tway, both currently on the PGA Tour.

As Edmond’s population continued to grow, other courses opened to feed the demand, including Coffee Creek, Rose Creek, Silver Horn, River Oaks Golf Club and the Golf Club of Edmond. Coffee Creek and Silver Horn have closed in recent years, victims of a combination of overbuilding and a general national contraction in golf play.

Oak Tree National retains its unique character under the leadership of owner Everett Dobson and Jones, who is the president and chief operating officer. A whole new group of young professionals now rub

“It’s an amazing place,” Jones said. “We had a guest out recently and he sees Brandt Jobe (Champions Tour), Rhein Gibson (PGA Tour) and Michael Gellerman (PGA Tour) coming up nine, then the next group has Sam Bradford (NFL quarterback), Mickey Tettleton (former major league baseball star and top amateur golfer) and Brandon Weeden (NFL quarterback).

McGraw would hand out awards at the end of each summer’s junior program and the pros would take turns helping him hand out the trophies. When it was Morgan’s turn, he stuck around and signed autographs for all 250 campers.

Edmond high schools have won 48 team championships and produced more than 30 individual champions, all but one (Danny Edwards 1969) since Kickingbird opened in 1971. You can see much more information on Edmond’s junior golf dominance at www.edmondjuniorgolf.org There is a physical display of the players inducted in the club retailer Edmond Golf not far from Kickingbird.

Golf is now part of the community’s DNA and it continues to produce great players and take care of its facilities. Kickingbird is planning major renovations of its clubhouse and irrigation system. Oak Tree National, under the leadership of Jones and Dobson, is home to a new Oak Tree Gang and continues to push forward on hosting major events. Edmond Golf Club has improved immensely under the recent leadership of owner Michael Henderson. Other courses have made recent investments in their facilities

The Oklahoma Golf Association has its headquarters in Edmond and conducts both the Oklahoma Open (Oak Tree East Course) and the OGA Junior Girls and Boys Championship (Kickingbird) there annually.

The youngsters scrubbing the grill for head pro Brian Soerensen at Kickingbird today may all be 16 or over, but it remains a great place to learn the game and responsibility and continues to produce more than its share of champions. Danny Edwards and Steve Steele.

State Team Championships: Edmond Memorial Boys (8) – 1968, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989-90, 1992-93 Edmond North Boys (16) – 1994-96, 2005-14, 2016-18 Edmond Memorial Girls (3) –1991, 1992, 2008 Edmond North Girls (9) – 1997-2003, 2018-19 Edmond Deer Creek Boys (1) – 2007 Edmond Deer Creek Girls (1) – 2013 Oklahoma Christian School Boys (9) – 1994, 1999, 2006, 2009-12, 2017-18 Oklahoma Christian School Girls (1) – 2019

Individual State High School Champions: Danny Edwards, Edmond High School 1969 Chris Edgmon, Edmond Memorial 1989, 1991 Heather Bowie, McGuinness 1991, 1992, 1993 Teddy Smith, Edmond Memorial 1993 McRae Brunker, Edmond North 1994 Wendy Martin, Edmond Santa Fe 1996 Matt Larson, Edmond North 1997 Kyle Willmann, Edmond North 1998 Michael Unger, Edmond North 2000 Stephanie Ruiz, Edmond Memorial 2001 David Cromwell, Oklahoma Christian School 2001 Paul Hobbs, Deer Creek 2006 Kevin Tway, Edmond North 2006, 2007 Jackson Ogle, Oklahoma Christian School 2010 Taylor Moore, Edmond Memorial 2010, 2011 Allison Sell, Edmond North 2012 Max McGreevy, Edmond Santa Fe 2012, 2013 Alexis Sadeghy, McGuinness 2014 Zac Schaefer, Oklahoma Christian School 2014 Austin Eckroat, Edmond North 2014, 2017 Jacob Prentice, Edmond Memorial 2015 Laken Hinton, Edmond North 2016 Jaxon Dowell, Oklahoma Christian School 2018, 2019 Brock Polhill, Edmond North 2018 Jordan Wilson, Edmond North 2019

OGA Junior Boys Champions from Edmond: David Edwards 1973 Jeff Oakes 1983 Dustin York 1990 Tosh Hayes 1995 Matt Larson 1997 Zac Reynolds 2000 Andrew Green 2008 Ian Davis 2010 Hayden Wood 2012, 2013 Austin Eckroat 2015 Connor Wilson 2018 Jaxon Dowell 2019

OGA Boys Stroke Play Champions from Edmond: Cameron Meyers 2004 Kevin Tway 2005 Andrew Green 2007 Austen Fuller 2010 McCain Schellhardt 2015 Jaxon Dowell 2019

Chris Edgmon – Won 13 high school tournaments at Edmond Memorial, two individual state titles, dominated junior golf from 1988- ’91. Chris James – Had a dominating junior career and held 35 Edmond North and Edmond Memorial records when he finished high school, his teams won four straight titles. Robert Streb – Won seven high school tournaments, the AJGA OSSO Junior at Oak Tree and had a fine 71.4 stroke average. his senior season. Kevin Tway – The most decorated junior golfer to come from Edmond, along with his two Class 6A individual titles he had a career stroke average of 72.11 for four years. His most impressive school record is a 68.47 scoring average his senior season -- this record will most likely never be challenged. He won the 2005 USGA Junior Amateur at age 15 and finished runner-up the following year. Will Kropp – Holds several school records at Edmond North and is third in school history with a career scoring average of 72.29. He played on four title teams and won three AJGA titles. Taylor Moore – Holds school-record 14 tournament titles at Edmond Memorial, won consecutive individual state titles his sophomore and junior years for the Bulldogs. Was the third-ranked junior golfer in the world his senior year. Max McGreevy – Holds just about every record at Edmond Santa Fe. He won 10 events and has the lowest scoring average as a junior (72.1) and a senior (71.7) along with winning Class 6A individual titles at Karsten Creek in 2012 and 2013.

Austin Eckroat – The only freshman to ever win the Class 6A state tournament, repeated as champion as a senior. Won several world class junior events, was medalist at the 2017 USGA Junior Amateur. Won 15 high school tournaments matching Kevin Tway’s school record and set school records with a 71.65 scoring average and 41 top-10s and 28 top-3s. Heather Bowie Young – Moved to Edmond from Delaware just before her sophomore year and won every high school event she played except one while representing McGuinness High School. She won state high school titles in 1991, 1992 and 1993. She became the first girl in Oklahoma high school history to break 70 for 18 holes in 1992 when she shot 69-70 -- 139 to win the 4A title. She was a fourtime AJGA All-American. She won six AJGA events in all, including the prestigious Rolex Tournament of Champions at her home track, Oak Tree CC. She went on to star at Arizona State, helping the Sun Devils win the NCAA title before transferring to the University of Texas. She joined the LPGA Tour in 2000 and has $3,210,256 in career earnings with 27 top-10s and a victory. Since 2016, she has been Associate Head Coach for the Clemson University women’s golf team. Alexis Sadeghy – Edmond resident was another Bishop McGuinness star golfer. She finished second at the 2011 Class 5A State Tournament her freshman year, helping her team to a state championship. She won the 2014 6A state tournament. In 2013, while qualifying for the Big “I” National Edgmon Moore Tway Eckroat Streb McGreevy Kropp Young Sadeghy