East Lake Golf Club is a private golf club 5 miles east of downtown

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. Established in 1904, it is the oldest golf course in the city. East Lake was the home course of golfer Bobby Jones and much of its clubhouse serves as a tribute to his accomplishments. Since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, East Lake has been the permanent home of

The Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 m ...

, the culminating event of the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

Playoffs for the

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. Th ...

. The Tour Championship was first played at the course in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. The reigning Tour Championship and FedEx Cup champion is Rory McIlroy. All proceeds from operations at East Lake Golf Club—more than $20 million to date—go to support the East Lake Foundation, which has helped transform one of the nation's worst public housing projects into a thriving community.

History

Early years

The

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 bui ...

(AAC) was formed in 1898 and due to its popularity it gained 700 members in only four years. The director of the club's athletic program was John Heisman, the famous football coach for whom the Heisman Trophy is named. In 1904 the AAC bought property at East Lake to build a country club which included a golf course. Course architect

Tom Bendelow Tom Bendelow (1868–1936), nicknamed "The Johnny Appleseed of American Golf" and "The Dean of American Golf", was a Scottish American golf course architect during the first half of the twentieth century. He is credited with having designed som ...

was asked to lay out the course. 200px, Bobby Jones age 9 shown playing golf at his home course at East Lake. The course's first holes were built in 1906 and were initially only seven holes, then nine. In the summer of 1907, the course was expanded to 17 holes, and later that year the 18th hole was built to complete it. Also in 1907, the first significant tournament was hosted at East Lake, the Southern Amateur, won by Nelson Whitney. In 1908,

opened his "No. 2" course at East Lake. In 1913, famed golf course architect

Donald Ross Donald Ross may refer to: *Donald A. Ross (1857–1937), Canadian politician * Donald Ross (golfer) (1872–1948), Scottish-born American golfer and golf course designer *Donald P. Ross (1902–1973), American horse racetrack and racing stable owner ...

redesigned the course at East Lake. The new plan provided for each of the nine holes to conclude at the clubhouse. Ross also redesigned the No. 2 course in 1928. A tragic fire destroyed the original clubhouse at East Lake in 1925. Following the fire, famed architect Philip Shutze, who is known for constructing the famous Swan House in Buckhead, was hired by the club to build East Lake's present day two-story Tudor style clubhouse. left, 180px, Stewart Maiden golfing at East Lake Golfer Bobby Jones is said to have played his first and last games of golf at East Lake. Jones won golf's Grand Slam in 1930, claiming the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, British Amateur and British Open titles in the same year. Jones's father, "Colonel" Robert P. Jones, served as the president of East Lake from 1937–42 and as a director for 38 years. Bobby Jones himself also served as president of East Lake from 1946–47. Other notable East Lake players around the same time were amateurs Watts Gunn, Perry Adair,

Charlie Yates Charles Richardson Yates (September 9, 1913 – October 17, 2005) was an American amateur golfer. He is noted for winning the 1938 Amateur Championship, captaining the United States Walker Cup team and being the long-time Secretary of Augusta ...

and Alexa Stirling Fraser many of whom were assisted by East Lake's golf professional

Stewart Maiden Stewart Maiden (February 13, 1886 – November 4, 1948) was the head golf professional at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. He was best known for teaching grand slam winning golfer Bobby Jones. Early life Maiden was a native of Carnoustie ...

. In 1963, East Lake hosted the 15th biennial Ryder Cup where Arnold Palmer served as the playing captain of the winning US Team.

Redevelopment

East Lake began a downward slope when the surrounding neighborhood deteriorated in the 1960s and became victim to suburban flight. The Atlanta Athletic Club became a part of this when it sold the No. 2 course to developers and moved to its current home in

Johns Creek Johns Creek is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. According to the 2020 census, the population was 82,453. The city is a northeastern suburb of Atlanta. History In the early 19th century, the Johns Creek area was dotted with ...

. The original course and clubhouse were saved by a group of 25 members, led by Atlanta businessman Paul Grigsby, who purchased them and created East Lake Country Club in 1968. In 1970, the East Lake Meadows public housing project was built on the site of the No. 2 golf course and became a center for poverty, drugs and violence. Middle-income homeowners fled the surrounding neighborhood, replaced by low-income renters. By the 1980s, East Lake became a mostly forgotten golf course in a seemingly hopeless neighborhood. This all changed in 1993 when a local charitable foundation headed by

Tom Cousins Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

purchased East Lake with the intent to restore it as a tribute to Bobby Jones and the club's other great amateur golfers. The East Lake Foundation was also created and has used the renovation as a catalyst for revitalizing the surrounding community. In 1994, Rees Jones, son of golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, restored

' original golf course design at East Lake to its current layout. In 1998

the Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 m ...

was hosted at East Lake for the first time. In 2005 East Lake was named the permanent home of the Tour Championship. East Lake has hosted the tournament 16 times since 1998.

Today

Golf with a Purpose

All of the profits from East Lake Golf Club go to support the East Lake Foundation which in turn helps to support the health, education, safety and productivity of the East Lake neighborhood. Because of this, East Lake Golf Club's motto is "Golf with a Purpose". Based on the success of the East Lake model, a new organization,

Purpose Built Communities Purpose Built Communities is a non profit organization founded by Tom Cousins, Warren Buffett, and Julian Robertson to replicate Cousin's East Lake model of community redevelopment within other cities and areas throughout the United States. As of ...

, was established in 2009 to help fight concentrated segments of poverty in communities throughout the United States. Today, Purpose Built Communities is present in 14 cities in the US.

Charlie Yates Golf Course

In 1998 East Lake's No. 2 golf course was transformed into the Charlie Yates Golf Course, a 9-hole "executive" public course that provides golf education to children living in the city of Atlanta. The course was rated one of the top 10 short range courses in America by Golf Range Magazine and all profits from the course go to benefit the East Lake Foundation.

was an East Lake golfer who won the British Amateur at Royal Troon Golf Club in 1938. Charlie grew up on Second Avenue, the street which separated East Lake's main course from its No. 2 course. His boyhood hero was Bobby Jones, whom he knew and played with on the course at East Lake.

The Tour Championship

Since 2004 East Lake Golf Club has been the permanent location of the

Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 m ...

, the finale of the

Playoffs and the

. The Tour Championship is also one of the largest supporters of the East Lake Foundation.

East Lake Cup

In May 2015 it was announced that East Lake would be the site of a new collegiate golf tournament, the East Lake Cup. In partnership with the Golf Channel the East Lake Cup invites the top men's and women's teams from the previous season to compete in a

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

championship each November. The tournament is broadcast on the Golf Channel. The inaugural East Lake Cup was played November 2 and 3, 2015. The champions of the first year's tournament were

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

(men's) and USC (women's). The 2016 the tournament added a day of

stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...

to the competition with Illinois winning on the men's side and Duke winning on the women's side. The men's and women's winners of the 2017 East Lake Cup were respectively Vanderbilt University and the University of Southern California. The 2018 winner's were Auburn for the men's side and USC on the women's side.

Course

Course records

*Par 70 – Zach Johnson, 60 (−10) on September 15, 2007, at the

, set at . *Par 72 – Robert "Bullet" Godfrey, 63 (−9) on August 20, 2001 at the U.S. Amateur after bogeying the final two holes. The course's length was .

Scorecard

Tournaments hosted

East Lake has hosted many prestigious tournaments including: *

**2022 Rory McIlroy **2021 Patrick Cantlay **2020 Dustin Johnson **2019 Rory McIlroy **2018

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

**2017 Xander Schauffele **2016 Rory McIlroy **2015 Jordan Spieth **2014 Billy Horschel **2013 Henrik Stenson **2012 Brandt Snedeker **2011 Bill Haas **2010

Jim Furyk James Michael Furyk (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he was the FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year. He has won one major championship, the 200 ...

**2009

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), two P ...

**2008 Camilo Villegas **2007

**2006 Adam Scott **2005 Bart Bryant **2004 Retief Goosen **2002 Vijay Singh **2000

**1998 Hal Sutton *East Lake Cup **2018 Auburn University men and

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

women ***Individual medalists: Viktor Hovland (

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

men) and Albane Valenzuela ( Stanford University women) **2017

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

men and

women ***Individual medalists: Will Gordon (

men) and Robynn Ree (

women) **2016

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

men and Duke University women ***Individual medalists: Scottie Scheffler (

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

men) and Andrea Lee ( Stanford University women) **2015

men and

women * Ryder Cup **

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

* U.S. Amateur **2001 Bubba Dickerson *

U.S. Women's Amateur The U.S. Women's Amateur is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association (USGA). F ...

**1950

Beverly Hanson Beverly Hanson (December 5, 1924 – April 12, 2014) was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. Hanson was born in Fargo, North Dakota in 1924.Southern Amateur **1907 Nelson Whitney **1910 F.G. Byrd **1915 Charles Dexter **1922 Bobby Jones **1933 Jack Redmond **2002 Lee Williams *Other tournaments **1919 Southern Open won by Jim Barnes **1920 Southern Open won by

J. Douglas Edgar James Douglas Edgar (30 September 1884 – 8 August 1921) was an English professional golfer and golf writer. Early life Edgar was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He won the French Open in 1914. He coached the young player Tommy Armour, w ...

**1927 Southern Open won by Bobby Jones **1997 Western Junior won by Nick Cassini

References

External links

*
Tour Championship coverage
{{Coord, 33.743, -84.303, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title Buildings and structures in DeKalb County, Georgia Golf clubs and courses in Georgia (U.S. state) Golf clubs and courses designed by Donald Ross Ryder Cup venues Sports venues in Atlanta Golf clubs and courses designed by Rees Jones Golf clubs and courses designed by Tom Bendelow Sports venues completed in 1906 1906 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)