Atlanta Athletic Club
Encyclopedia
The Atlanta Athletic Club (AAC), founded in 1898, is a world-renowned 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 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. 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 an expansive 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
, a PGA Tour
golf tournament.
The AAC hosted the 1963 Ryder Cup
at East Lake, the 1976 U.S. Open
, the 1981, 2001, and 2011 PGA Championship
s on its Highlands Course, and the 1990 U.S. Women's Open on its Riverside Course. The Riverside course, renovated by Rees Jones
in 2002, was recognized among the top 10 new private courses in 2004 by Golf Digest
.
The 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, the AAC hosted the U.S. Open Badminton Championship. During the 1990s, the AAC hosted the AT&T Challenge, Atlanta's ATP professional tennis stop.
The AAC offers two 18-hole golf courses, a health center, indoor and outdoor tennis, a par-3 course, Olympic-sized pool, as well as fine dining.
Famous members of the AAC include golfers Bobby Jones
, Charles R. Yates, Alexa Stirling
, Mark Price
, Steve Byron, Richard Elliott, and Dan Reeves
. In the 2004 film Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius the AAC was used to film many of the golf scenes.
Bolded years^ are major championships
on the PGA Tour
. Years in italicized years# are LPGA
major championships
.
Johns Creek, Georgia
Johns Creek is a suburban city in Fulton County, Georgia, USA, which incorporated December 1, 2006. It is named for a tributary that runs through the area. The city was created out of the northeastern part of unincorporated Fulton County...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, 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
John Heisman
John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...
(the Georgia Tech coach for whom the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
was named) was hired as the AAC athletic director.
While it was downtown its team placed third in the 1921 Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
National Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
Championship defeating Lowe and Campbell Athletic Goods
Lowe and Campbell Athletic Goods
Lowe and Campbell Athletic Goods was a sports equipment manufacturer and retailer based in Kansas City, Missouri until 1931 when it was acquired by Wilson Sporting Goods....
36-31 in the third place game. 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 an expansive site in a then-unincorporated area of Fulton County
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
that had a Duluth
Duluth, Georgia
Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia and an increasingly more affluent and developed suburb of Atlanta. Unincorporated portions of Forsyth County also have Duluth as a mailing address, though this area is outside city limits...
mailing address and would eventually become Johns Creek in 2006. The vacated East Lake site became East Lake Golf Club
East Lake Golf Club
The East Lake Golf Club is located in the neighborhood of East Lake which is in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. East Lake Golf Club was the home club of the legendary golfer Bobby Jones. It is also the permanent home of The Tour Championship.-History:...
and was refurbished during the 1990s. It is now the home of The Tour Championship
The Tour Championship
The Tour Championship was historically the final event of golf's PGA Tour season. Since 2007, it has been the final event of the FedEx Cup, the competition for the first official championship trophy for the PGA Tour season. From 1987 to 1996, several courses hosted the event...
, a PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
golf tournament.
The AAC hosted the 1963 Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
at East Lake, the 1976 U.S. Open
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
, the 1981, 2001, and 2011 PGA Championship
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
s on its Highlands Course, and the 1990 U.S. Women's Open on its Riverside Course. The Riverside course, renovated by Rees Jones
Rees Jones
Rees Jones is an American golf course architect.He was born in Montclair, New Jersey the son of legendary golf course designer Robert Trent Jones and the younger brother of golf course designer Robert Trent Jones, Jr...
in 2002, was recognized among the top 10 new private courses in 2004 by Golf Digest
Golf Digest
Golf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Condé Nast Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. Condé Nast Publications also publishes the more specialized , and Golf World Business. The...
.
The AAC has hosted many non-golf events including the first two Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
men's basketball tournaments in 1933 and 1934. In 1984 and 1985, the AAC hosted the U.S. Open Badminton Championship. During the 1990s, the AAC hosted the AT&T Challenge, Atlanta's ATP professional tennis stop.
The AAC offers two 18-hole golf courses, a health center, indoor and outdoor tennis, a par-3 course, Olympic-sized pool, as well as fine dining.
Famous members of the AAC include golfers Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones (golfer)
Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. was an American amateur golfer, and a lawyer by profession. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level...
, Charles R. Yates, Alexa Stirling
Alexa Stirling
Alexa Stirling Fraser was a North American amateur golf champion.Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Alexa Stirling was coached in golf from a young age at the Atlanta Athletic Club's East Lake Golf Club course by Stewart Maiden, the club's professional, who had learned his golf at Carnoustie, Scotland...
, Mark Price
Mark Price
William Mark Price is a retired American basketball player who played for 12 seasons in the NBA, from 1986 to 1998...
, Steve Byron, Richard Elliott, and Dan Reeves
Dan Reeves
Daniel Edward Reeves is a former American football player and head coach. He has participated in more Super Bowls as player/assistant coach/Head Coach than anyone else...
. In the 2004 film Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius the AAC was used to film many of the golf scenes.
Major tournaments hosted
| Year | Tournament | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1976^ | U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
Jerry Pate Jerry Pate Jerome Kendrick "Jerry" Pate is an American golfer.Jerry Pate was born in Macon, Georgia. He attended the University of Alabama, where he played on the golf team. Pate had a distinguished amateur career. He won the U.S. Amateur in 1974, and the following year he was a member of victorious U.S.... |
| 1981 1981 PGA Championship The 1981 PGA Championship was the 63rd PGA Championship held from August 6-9 at Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course in Duluth, Georgia. Larry Nelson won his first major championship by four strokes over Fuzzy Zoeller.-Final leaderboard:-External links:... ^ |
PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
Larry Nelson Larry Nelson Larry Gene Nelson is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level.Nelson was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and grew up in Acworth, Georgia, northwest of Atlanta... |
| 1990 1990 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship The 1990 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was contested from July 12 to July 15 at the Riverside Course of the Atlanta Athletic Club, in Johns Creek, Georgia. It was the 45th edition of the U.S. Women's Open.... # |
U.S. Women’s Open United States Women's Open Championship (golf) The United States Women's Open Golf Championship, one of thirteen national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association , is one of the LPGA's major championships along with the LPGA Championship, the Women's British Open, and the Kraft Nabisco Championship... |
Betsy King Betsy King Betsy King is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won six major championships and 34 LPGA Tour victories in all.-Career:... |
| 2001 2001 PGA Championship The 2001 PGA Championship was the 83rd PGA Championship held from August 16-19 at the Atlanta Athletic Club, Highland Course in Duluth, Georgia. David Toms won his first major championship by one stroke over Phil Mickelson. Toms began the final round with a two stroke lead over Mickelson and they... ^ |
PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
David Toms David Toms David Wayne Toms is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He has won a total of thirteen events on the PGA Tour including the 2001 PGA Championship... |
| 2011 2011 PGA Championship The 2011 PGA Championship was the 93rd PGA Championship. Keegan Bradley won his first major championship, in a three-hole playoff over Jason Dufner. The tournament began on Thursday, August 11, 2011 and concluded on Sunday, August 14... ^ |
PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
Keegan Bradley Keegan Bradley Keegan Bradley is an American professional golfer who is a rookie on the PGA Tour. He has won two tour events, most notably the 2011 PGA Championship... |
| 2014 | U.S. Amateur |
Bolded years^ are major championships
Men's major golf championships
The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the Major Championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf...
on the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
. Years in italicized years# are LPGA
LPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
major championships
Women's major golf championships
Women's golf has a set of major championships which parallels that in men's golf, but the women's system is younger and has been less stable than the men's. Many professional stroke play events for women are played over three rounds , but the majors are played over four rounds , which is the...
.