A roughly 161-year-old stone mansion in Shawnee, Kansas, that once served as both home and workshop to a legendary custom golf clubmaker has hit the market for $1.35 million. The property at 12811 W. 71st St. is located in Shawnee. For decades, the address was the nerve center of Kenneth Smith's custom golf business, a company whose client list once included U.S. presidents.
According to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, the property was originally built in 1865 and served as both Kenneth Smith's home and his workplace after he began making golf clubs there in the 1930s. Smith's roster of clients reportedly grew to include former President Dwight Eisenhower, former President Richard Nixon, evangelist Billy Graham, actor and comedian Bob Hope, and baseball legend Mickey Mantle, per the station's report. The home's transformation into its current form was led by Kansas City designer and television host Tamara Day, whose renovation combined updated living spaces with the home's historic exterior character, the outlet notes.
From Stonemason's House to Golf Manufacturing Hub
Long before Kenneth Smith ever swung a club, the stone house on the property was built around 1870 by John Garrett, a stonemason and founding member of Shawnee, according to the Kansas Preservation Alliance and Abandoned Atlas Foundation. The broader grounds historically included manufacturing buildings, a barn, and a private golf course spread across roughly 65 acres, the preservation group notes. After moving his operation to Shawnee in 1935, Smith went on to expand the property into a 177-acre estate complete with manufacturing facilities and a nine-hole golf course where employees and clients tested custom clubs, according to Kenneth Estates.
Smith's business took off after professional golfer Horton Smith won the inaugural Masters Tournament at Augusta National in 1934 using a set of custom Kenneth Smith clubs. The provided account confirms Horton Smith's 1934 Masters victory. Smith backed up that fame with a custom-club business, per JoCoHistory. Custom club production continued at the site until 2003, according to the same archive.
A Brush With History in Morocco
Smith's celebrity clientele wasn't limited to sports and politics. In addition to U.S. presidents, his customer list included entertainment figures such as Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, George Burns, and Mickey Mantle, per Kenneth Estates. Kansas City golfing legend Tom Watson also frequented the shop in the 1970s to have his clubs refinished, according to the same account.
Smith's connections extended overseas as well. Smith visited King Hassan II in 1971, where an attack occurred, according to Kenneth Estates. The account does not specify the attack's death toll.
Renovation Stripped the House to Its Stone Bones
The property has been renovated into a modern luxury home, though the provided listing materials do not detail the renovation work or any basement alterations. The supplied sources do not state the home's square footage.
The full transformation was spotlighted on Season 6, Episode 4 of Magnolia Network's Bargain Mansions, titled A TEE-RIFIC Makeover, which aired in September 2024.
A Premium Price for a Shawnee Suburb
At $1.35 million, the estate's asking price is the figure shown in the listing. The supplied sources do not establish a median listing price or typical time on market for Shawnee.
Whether the home's unusual pedigree — a 19th-century stonemason's house turned presidential-favorite golf workshop turned reality-TV renovation — will draw a buyer willing to pay the premium remains to be seen. But for now, the Shawnee address stands as one of the more unusual real estate listings in the Kansas City area, blending frontier-era stonework with mid-century sports celebrity and a modern HGTV-style facelift.
