Hickory Stick Bar & Grill, Sugar Creek CC
The Hickory Stick Bar & Grill at Sugar Creek CC pays homage to golf’s history while offering a modern, casual dining space.
Over the last three years, Sugar Creek Country Club, Sugar Land, Texas, has spent about $3 million renovating its dining areas, pool, event spaces and 18 of its 27 holes of golf.
“We were approaching our 40-year anniversary,” explains General Manager & CEO Gordon Wagner. “Our facilities were old and tired. We needed to improve the value proposition for our current membership and to update the facilities, to enhance our marketability for prospective members.”
Prior to beginning any renovation work, the club’s only casual dining area was a bar and grill called the 19th Hole. It was too small—and besides, “everyone has a 19th Hole,” Wagner says. “We wanted to incorporate the history of the club, and of golf, when we created an updated space for today’s members,” he notes.
 PROJECT SUMMARYSugar Creek Country Club, Sugar Land, TexasThe Hickory Stick Bar & Grill Size: 1,215 sq. ft. Patio Size: 1,585 sq. ft. Estimated Renovation Cost: $500,000 Contractor: Qualified Construction, Inc. Architect: Neos Architect Graphic Designer: Hawkeye Communications Furniture: Kellex Seating, Contract Resource Group (CRG) and McKenzie Galleries |
Expanding the undersized dining space wasn’t an option. Instead, Sugar Creek’s long-term planning committee OK’d moving the bar and grill to an underutilized ladies bridge room. Besides giving them more space, this allowed the architects to design a new outdoor patio where club members could gather for food, cocktails and casual conversation.
The new mixed venue was named The Hickory Stick Bar & Grill, as a nod to the early days of golf. A couple of members donated hickory golf clubs to serve as decorations inside the bar. To further help brand the new area, Sugar Creek had a local graphic design firm create a new logo, which was placed in two six-foot tall light boxes. Neutral colors on the walls help make these embellishments stand out even more.
The most unique features incorporated into The Hickory Stick Bar & Grill, Wagner reports, are the rectangular “drink tables” near the bar (see photo, above left). Two 80-inch televisions draw people into the area. “The stand-up drink tables have really added a social component to the bar,” Wagner says. “They’ve been very popular.”
Both the tall tables and the bar have stone countertops. The room’s dining tables and chairs are made of dark-stained red oak and most of the dining area is carpeted, although there is wood flooring around the bar.
Hickory Stick Bar & Grill, Sugar Creek CC
A small chalkboard informs patrons of the daily food-and-drink specials. To keep members up to speed on the day’s schedule and upcoming events at the club, Wagner had digital signage installed just outside the bar’s entrance.
“The patio is a terrific space that’s been highly utilized,” Wagner adds. Its travertine tile construction makes the area durable and attractive. Most of the patio is shaded by a second-story balcony, and tables without shade have umbrellas. To ensure that members can enjoy the patio area year-round, ceiling fans provide extra comfort during the hot summer months.
The patio also has a small casual lounge area with rocking love seats, lounge chairs, televisions and two fire pits.
“Between the upgrades to the member dining space, the new bar and grill and the outdoor patio, we’ve increased our seating capacity from 100 to 200,” Wagner reports. And by moving the bar and grill to a new space, he adds, the club has taken an area that was revenue-neutral and turned it into one that’s providing a steady stream of income from a more engaging member experience.
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