Atlanta Athletic Club (AAC), founded in 1898, is a private country 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 its 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.
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.Lowell & Campbell – nba.com – Retrieved September 11, 2009 At the time colleges, athletic clubs, and factory-sponsored clubs all competed in the same league.
It built 3 9-hole golf courses in 1967, in a then-unincorporated area of Fulton County that had a Duluth mailing address and would eventually become Johns Creek in 2006. In 1968, the AAC sold the East Lake property. 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, the annual final event of the PGA Tour.
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, and the 2021 KPMG PGA Women's Championship 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 and Highlands Courses 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. It was renovated again in 2022 by Tripp Davis.
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 fitness 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; tennis players Nat Thornton and Bitsy Grant; 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 1971 – Decision to sell Carnegie Way town club 1973 – Destruction of Carnegie Way town club 2003 - Second redesign of Riverside, by Rees Jones 2016 – Second redesign of Highlands, by Rees Jones 2022 - Third redesign of Riverside, by Tripp Davis
Scorecards
Major tournaments hosted Year Tournament Course(s) Winner1950U.S. Women's AmateurEast Lake Country ClubBeverly Hanson1963Ryder CupEast Lake Country ClubUSA - Arnold Palmer1976 U.S. Open Highlands Jerry Pate1981 PGA Championship Highlands Larry Nelson1990 U.S. Women's Open Riverside Betsy King2001 PGA Championship Highlands David Toms2011 PGA Championship Highlands Keegan Bradley2014 U.S. Amateur Riverside (stroke play)Highlands (stroke and match play) Gunn Yang2017 Arnold Palmer Cup Highlands U.S. 19.5–11.52021 Women's PGA Championship Highlands Nelly Korda
References
External links
Highlands Renovation in Preparation for 2011 PGA Championship AAC voted #1 Athletic Club