GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Some major changes are coming to Mines Golf Club in Grand Rapids, with plans underway to add a three-hole par-3 course, a restaurant and an event center.

The 40-acre golf course sits on the West Side of Grand Rapids on Covell Avenue off of O’Brien Road. Managing partner Chris Sobieck, who bought the golf course in 2021, described it as a “community golf course.”

“We are here for the people,” he said. “We try to price ourselves that way, too. We’re not the highest priced golf course in town, we are a little bit lower than that intentionally so that we can give the opportunity to everyone to come play.”

Mines Golf Club was first opened in 2005, built over old gypsum mines. The course was designed by golf architect Mike DeVries — Sobieck said it’s “the only true Mike DeVries golf course within 100 miles of the city.”

“It definitely has his stamp on it,” he added.

When the golf course was first developed, there were plans for a par-3 course. That was scrapped, but not before three holes were put in.

“When we purchased it, we saw these three holes and saw how unique and how cool they were, and we came in and we’ve put them back into play,” Sobieck said.

One of the holes was redesigned in order to have a practice space in the middle.

Sobieck said it’ll be an ideal space for beginners and families, and it will also be a good spot for high schools and universities to practices.

“It’s a good place to go work on your game. It’ll be a good three-hole loop that you can come do during lunch, spend an hour,” he said. “To have … a couple untouched Mike DeVries holes that we can put back into play, I think people will be really excited about that. And we’re excited to get that opening.”

The course is set to open next spring.

In late September or early October, crews will break ground for the Mines’ new restaurant and event center. An outdoor pavilion on the property will be demolished to make way for the 15,000-square-foot building.

Sobieck said while the golf course is a nice space, it didn’t feel like a complete facility. As management looked to make additions, he said they didn’t originally want to have a restaurant.

“There’s some challenges involved with those,” he said. “But after getting to know the West Side a little bit more, we realized that there’s a need over here, especially for banquet centers. There’s not a ton of options.”

The restaurant will be a casual dining spot, while the event space will be able to host everything from weddings to meetings. The golf course hopes to occasionally have live music on the patio, where people can sit and enjoy the view.

“There’s a need,” Sobieck said. “People who play in leagues out here, when they’re done, don’t really have a great option for dining. We have a limited amount of food that we can offer with our space here, and it’s simple food. … Now they’re going to have a reason to stay afterwards.”

He said it would be a great place to meet people coming from out of the city if you’re coming from downtown. Guests could play golf, then have a meeting over lunch.

“Our clientele is very excited about it,” he said. “The people that play all the time have come in and we’ve had a lot of comments as they’ve started to hear about it a little bit. There’s a lot of excitement for it.”

The building will also have a spot to store golf courts in the lower level.

While the restaurant hasn’t been named yet, the event center will be named the Gypsum Event Center in honor of the mines the golf course sits over. There were some concerns the mines could be a challenge for building, Sobieck said, but the space where the facility will be built does not sit directly over the mines.

Mines Golf Club hopes to have the restaurant and event center open by Memorial Day of 2024.

Sobieck hopes it will be a fixture on the West Side and that it’ll become the go-to spot in town for golfing.

“We’ll have everything you need. We have the great practice facility, we have the par-3 we’re putting in, we have the facilities here. The golf course is fantastic, we’re working on a few little renovations to the course as well over time that we hope people will really like,” he said.

Sobieck — who first started golfing at 15 and whose first job was at a driving range — said golf has meant a lot to him and his family. He now coaches at the high school and collegiate level.

“Golf is such a great … sport that anyone can do,” he said. “Regardless of talent, you can golf. … It’s just a great outdoor experience.”

“I get excited every day to come to work and try to help people have a great day,” he added.