About Us
Jim & Jackie Meeks - Proprietors Emeritus
Jim & Jackie operated Ken-Cliff Lanes from 1966 to 1976.
This revival effort would not have been possible without them.
John Southers - Head Mechanic Emeritus
John worked at the original Ken-Cliff Lanes from 1973 until it closed in 1976.
Following high school, he served in the US Navy from 1978 to 1988. After
moving back to Ardmore he worked for Michelin Tire Plant until he retired.
An avid bicyclist, John participates in sanctioned rides and races, including the
Hotter-N-Hell Hundred, the world's largest biking event, held each August in Wichita Falls.
John is an experienced, top-class AMF 82-30 mechanic and still
enjoys bowling. He has relocated to his home state of Wisconsin, but will
always be an integral part of Ken-Cliff Lanes and, most of all, a highly valued friend.
Robert Bust - Bowler Relations
No stranger to Southern Oklahomans, Robert worked in broadcasting for many years.
He started as reporter and co-anchor at KXII-TV, and later anchored news at KVSO and KKAJ radio.
He retired from broadcasting in 2015. During his news career he earned numerous awards from
Associated Press and United Press International.
Robert enjoys motorcycling, camping and other outdoor activities. He bowled on youth leagues at
Ken-Cliff Lanes and now takes care of endless front-end duties for us during leagues and tournaments.
He served as Director of Carter County USBC Association from 8/1/16 through 7/31/18 and
is a USBC Registered Volunteer and SafeSport Trained.
Glenn Hendrix - Proprietor
After one visit to the original center, Glenn was hooked on bowling, and all things bowling alley related.
He worked front desk at Ken-Cliff Lanes for nearly a year from 1975 to 1976. Later, from 1981 to 1986, he
worked desk at Bowl-A-Rama, while serving one term as Vice-President & two terms as Secretary/Treasurer
of the former Ardmore Bowling Association. His other bowling experience includes league secretary,
pinchaser, local & invitational tournament operations, lane inspections and general management.
After semi-retiring from a career in accounting, he decided it was time to bring a longtime dream to
reality and broke ground for the new Ken-Cliff Lanes.
Glenn has completed the USBC Computerized Lane Inspector Program (CLIP), was the first USBC
Registered Volunteer in Ardmore and is SafeSport Trained. He holds USBC Level I Certified Coach & Fundamentals of
Team Coaching certifications and is a member of the USBC Coaches Assocation. He has served as South Region Director
of the OBCA since 2012, and as director for Carter County USBC from 8/1/12 through 7/31/18.
He completed the Jayhawk Bowling Supply Pro Shop Training Course in August, 2014, and received
he was hired by the Oklahoma State USBC Association to fill the position of state association manager.
He served in that capacity until July 1, 2017.
Ken-Cliff Lanes opted to join Bryan County USBC effective August 1, 2018. Glenn was elected as Director
on the Association board on September 8, 2018; and was hired as Association Manager July 10, 2019.
Ken-Cliff Lanes takes youth safety seriously and is proud to be home for
these volunteers who have completed SafeSport Training and background
checks to become USBC Registered Volunteers.
Kertis VinsonDerick LossonRobert BustGlenn Hendrix
OBCA/BPAA Oklahoma Proprietor of the Year 2015
Ken-Cliff Lanes was the recipient of the Oklahoma State USBC Association's
'Trail Blazer Award' at the 50th Annual Oklahoma State Bowling Jamboree on August 3, 2013.
Click here to see more photos and information about this prestigious award on our Facebook page.
What is Ken-Cliff Lanes?
Well, it's a bowling alley. But it's not what you might expect!
Ken-Cliff Lanes is a 4 lane retro-style bowling alley with restored early 1960's
pinspotters and is the only AMF-equipped bowling establishment in southern
Oklahoma. Our goal is to provide attentive customer service in a clean, family-friendly
atmosphere and offer you the most enjoyable bowling experience you'll ever have!
Once again, Ken-Cliff Lanes is the fun place!
Ken-Cliff Lanes, LLC is a Limited Liability Company,
registered with the Oklahoma Secretary of State.
"The bowling magic is back in Ardmore."
Bowlers Journal International, January 2012
The first time the general public knew about our construction project was in the April 29, 2010 edition of Butch Bridge's weekly This & That Newsletter.
Butch also provided the aerial photograph of Ken-Cliff Lanes that is included on our HISTORY page.
The Ardmoreite ran a front page feature story about Ken-Cliff Lanes on January 5, 2011, about a month before we
officially opened for business. 'Bowled Over' was a 'First in Print' story, not published in their online edition.
During October, 2011 we had a very enjoyable phone interview with Anna Littles, columnist for International Bowling Industry.
After a couple of follow-up calls, a few emails & sorting through over 1,000 photos, Anna told us our story, 'Build It, And They Will Come',
would be published in the January 2012 issue as the 'Center Stage' feature.
On November 6, 2011 Bob Johnson, editor of Bowlers Journal International, made a trip to Ken-Cliff Lanes for an interview during our No-Tap Tournament.
It was a great visit! A few weeks later, on November 30, a 'teaser' for our story was published on the Bowlers Journal website.
The Magic is Back in Ardmore' was part of a special business section of the January 2012 issue titled
'What's Right With Bowling'.
Our continued thanks to Butch Bridges! He included news about our 2012 Hall of Fame inductees in the
January 10, 2013 edition of his weeky This & That Newsletter.
Kevin Hong, award-winning photographer based in Seattle, WA, came to visit Ken-Cliff Lanes on
April 1, 2013. Kevin is the owner of The Vanishing Alleys Project and Vintage Bowling. He travels
across the US and Canada, documenting small vintage bowling alleys. His Facebook page has a
large following and thousands of devoted fans. We're honored to be included in his amazing project.
Click the thumbnail to see the great photos he shot here!
'Bowling Joe' Clark's blog interview with Kevin Hong, including a nice mention of Ken-Cliff Lanes!
Our sincere thanks to Sullivan Insurance Agency, for their kind congratulations which were
published in the agency's Ardmoreite ad the week of September 8, 2013. We appreciate it very much!
Ken-Cliff Lanes was featured in the Summer 2013 edition of the Cowtown Cruisers newsletter.
The 'Cowtowners' from Fort Worth held their monthly get-together event here in July.
Ken-Cliff Lanes was included in the list of '100 (More) Bowling Places You Must Visit Before You Die',
published in the November, 2013 Special 100th Anniversary Issue of Bowlers Journal International.
Bowlers Journal is the oldest sports publication in the United States.
We feel very proud to be a small part of their historic issue and extend our congratulations to them.
Editor Bob Johnson also used a photo of our alley in a story titled
Kevin Hong included one of his Ken-Cliff photos in a feature article titled Lanes and Landmarks, published in the June 2019 edition of Bowlers Journal.
This was our 5th appearance in four separate issues of Bowlers Journal.
Blogger Kris Scott included Ken-Cliff Lanes in his list of
'Cool & Classic Bowling Alleys Across America', published 12/20/19.
Can't view PDF files? Click here to download the free Adobe Reader!
Ken-Cliff Newspaper Ads
Our first ad, which ran in several area newspapers starting August 15, 2010.
The big announcement - published February 11 & 13, 2011.
Special thanks ad - published August 21, 2011, at the end of our first summer league season.
Sooner Shopper ad - September/November 2012
Who Threw the First Ball at Ken-Cliff?
That's a good question and one we've been asked several times! The answer is none other than Oklahoma Hall of Fame member and good friend, Glen Armstrong.
Many of you will remember Glen when he was Day Manager of Ken-Cliff Lanes during the 1970's. After the forced closing of Ken-Cliff Lanes,
Glen went on to become manager of AMF Lanes of Yukon. Glen still bowls and is still a regular at many regional and national tournaments.
He & his wife Belinda, and their daughters live in Guthrie, OK.
On July 30, 2010, Glen, Robert Gill, John Southers, and Glenn Hendrix had an impromptu reunion.
After visiting and a bite to eat, we headed out to see the construction progress for the new bowling alley.
Left to Right: Glen Armstrong, John Southers, Glenn Hendrix, Robert Gill
After lunch, we were joined by Gary Beard at the construction site. After looking things over, Glen disappeared for a
few moments and returned with a bowling ball, proclaiming "I'm throwing the first ball here!" So we measured
a 60' distance and set an old AMF pin in the middle of the bare concrete floor. The rest, as they say, is now part of history.
Glen finds his spot on the 'approach' and lines up, then aims and fires!
Of course he hit it! Pinboys John and Gary were standing by to make sure the ball didn't try to escape.
We don't recommend doing this at home!
Our visit concluded with, of course, more visiting and remembering old times.