Atlanta Athletic Club

Atlanta Athletic Club (AAC), founded in 1898, is a private athletic club in Johns Creek, Georgia, a suburb 23 miles north of Atlanta. The original home of the club was a 10-story building located on Carnegie Way, and in 1904 a golf course was built on Atlanta's East Lake property. In 1908, John Heisman (the Georgia Tech football coach for whom the Heisman Trophy was named) was hired as the AAC athletic director.

Atlanta Athletic Club
Club information
LocationJohns Creek, Georgia, United States
Established1898 (1904 for golf course)
TypePrivate
Total holes45
Tournaments hosted
WebsiteAtlanta Athletic Club
Highlands Course
Designed byRobert Trent Jones, Sr., back 9
Joe Lee, front 9
Rees Jones (2006 redesigned)
Par72
Length7,613 yards (6,961 m)
Course rating77.0
Riverside Course
Designed byRobert Trent Jones, Sr.
Rees Jones (2003 redesign)
Par72
Length7,428 yards (6,792 m)
Course rating76.2
Par 3 Course
Par27

While it was downtown, its team placed third in the 1921 Amateur Athletic Union National Basketball Championship defeating Lowe and Campbell Athletic Goods 36–31 in the third place game.[1] At the time colleges, athletic clubs and factory-sponsored clubs all competed in the same league.

In 1967 the AAC sold both properties and moved to a big site in a then-unincorporated area of Fulton County that had a Duluth mailing address and would eventually become Johns Creek in 2006. The vacated East Lake site became East Lake Golf Club and was refurbished during the 1990s. It is now the home of The Tour Championship, currently the final event of the PGA Tour golf season.

AAC hosted the 1950 U.S. Women's Amateur and 1963 Ryder Cup at East Lake, the 1976 U.S. Open, the 1981, 2001, and 2011 PGA Championships on its Highlands Course, and the 1990 U.S. Women's Open on its Riverside Course. The AAC used both of its current regulation courses to host the 2014 U.S. Amateur, with stroke-play qualifying on the Riverside Course and match play on the Highlands Course. The Riverside course, renovated by Rees Jones in 2002, was recognized among the top 10 new private courses in 2004 by Golf Digest.

AAC has hosted many non-golf events including the first two Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournaments in 1933 and 1934. In 1984 and 1985, AAC hosted the U.S. Open Badminton Championship. During the 1990s, AAC hosted the AT&T Challenge, Atlanta's ATP professional tennis stop.

AAC has two 18-hole golf courses, a health center, indoor and outdoor tennis, a par-3 course, Olympic-sized pool, as well as dining.

Famous members of AAC include golfers Bobby Jones, Charlie Yates, Alexa Stirling, Watts Gunn, Dot Kirby, and Tommy Barnes; football player Daddy Barcomb; tennis player Nat Thornton; and basketball player Bob Kurland.

In the 2004 film Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, many of the golf scenes were filmed at AAC.

Pictures

Key dates

  • 1898 – first organizational meeting and granting of club charter
  • 1899 – Official opening of 56 Edgewood Avenue facility
  • 1902 – Move to new clubhouse at 37 Auburn Avenue
  • 1924 – purchase of Carnegie Way property (10 story downtown club)
  • 1926 – opening of Carnegie Way property
  • 1930 – winning of Grand Slam by Bobby Jones, Jr.
  • 1963 – purchase of River Bend property in Duluth
  • 1967 – opening of the new 27-hole golf course at River Bend
  • 1968 – vote by stockholders to sell East Lake Country Club
  • 1969 – selection of Atlanta Athletic Club Country Club as name for River Bend club
  • 1971 – decision to sell Carnegie Way town club
  • 1973 – destruction of Carnegie Way town club
  • 2016 – second redesign of Highlands by Rees Jones

Scorecards

Atlanta Athletic Club – Highlands Course
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
1976 U.S. Open -- / -- 4554504602055404401754204153560 37048051039041521541020546034557015
2001 PGA -- / -- 4305714692045414251834634163602 43945454736444222744120749035117213
2011 PGA -- / -- 4545124752195654251844674263727 44245755137246826047620750737407467
Champ 77.0 / 152 4465434782195674261974704293775 43645755539146826048521057638387613
Gold 75.9 / 149 4425404751945484251834464263679 42144352338745122740920755736257304
Blue 73.9 / 141 3985124451655414031794214073471 40542149536441320437318652833896860
Tournament 72.6 / 142 3984714071425414031793764073324 37939347436436520437315452832346558
White 71.3 / 134 3684714071425013701623763723169 37939347433936517533615450031156284
Green 68.8 / 127 3244483631284693301353493512897 36233944830733514529612446228185715
Handicap Men's 1335151917711 12621481610184
Par U.S. Open & PGA 44435434435 4454434343570
Par 45435434436 4454434353672
Handicap Women's 9371511317511 68212101814164
Green 74.5 / 142 3244483631284693301353493512897 36233944830733514529612446228185715
Tournament 73.3 / 136 3104413241284363301352953512750 35333938929232314529612439726585408
Black 71.6 / 131 31044132492436296902953072591 35331838929232310326610339725445135
Silver 70.1 / 129 31039928992405296902532732407 3533183892662831032669535824314838


Atlanta Athletic Club – Riverside Course
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Gold 76.0 / 142 6164335833914282004422054903788 40016846453639343642023758636407428
Blue 73.7 / 135 5614125223713911854221874483499 38215443651636641540321856334536952
Tournament 72.6 / 142 5614124893713911563971874223386 38215439251636638433917750732176603
White 70.9 / 129 5343914893463661563971534223254 35914139248532338433917750731076361
Green 68.0 / 124 4803674613203361223321333722923 32211337041830134631715444927905713
Handicap Men's 3911311157175 14188610212164
Par 54544343436 4345444353672
Handicap Women's 3911311157175 14181028612164
Green 73.6 / 130 4803674613203361223321333722923 32211337041830134631715444927905713
Tournament 72.3 / 128 4633254263202831043161333552725 32211333339630134630012044926805405
Black 71.4 / 126 4633254262912831043161163552679 3039133339627732130012041725585237

Major tournaments hosted

YearTournamentCourse(s)Winner
1976^U.S. OpenHighlandsJerry Pate
1981^PGA ChampionshipHighlandsLarry Nelson
1990^U.S. Women's OpenRiversideBetsy King
2001^PGA ChampionshipHighlandsDavid Toms
2011^PGA ChampionshipHighlandsKeegan Bradley
2014U.S. AmateurRiverside (stroke play)
Highlands (stroke and match play)
Gunn Yang
2017Arnold Palmer CupHighlandsU.S.19.5–11.5

References

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