Atlanta Athletic Club
Designed by Tom Bendelow
History
The Atlanta Athletic Club traces its lineage back to 1898, making it one of the older golfing institutions in the American South. Founded as a private club for the city’s athletic and social elite, it emerged during a period when Atlanta was rebuilding and expanding rapidly after the Civil War, and its members wanted an institution that reflected the ambitions of a modernizing city. Golf was still a young pursuit in the region at the time, and the club’s founding placed it among the earliest organized golf efforts in Georgia.
Tom Bendelow, the prolific Scottish-born architect often credited with introducing golf course design to hundreds of American communities, brought his signature approach to the club’s grounds. Bendelow worked at a breakneck pace throughout his career, laying out courses across the country during golf’s first great expansion in the United States, and his design philosophy favored accessible, playable layouts that could initiate a broad membership into the game rather than punishing the inexperienced. His involvement placed the Atlanta Athletic Club in the company of numerous other early American clubs that relied on his expertise as the game spread beyond the Northeast.
Over the decades, the club has evolved considerably from its founding footprint, eventually relocating and expanding to accommodate a membership that outgrew its original grounds, with the Johns Creek property becoming home to the club’s modern era. The club has since built a reputation as a host to major championship golf, including PGA Championships and a U.S. Open, cementing its place among the nation’s serious tournament venues. That evolution from a turn-of-the-century athletic society to a modern championship host reflects the broader arc of American golf itself, growing from Bendelow-era simplicity into a stage for the sport’s highest competitive levels.
Playing Notes
Bring your full bag and your patience — the Highlands and Riverside courses at Atlanta Athletic Club sit along the Chattahoochee River, which means low-lying holes can get sticky with humidity and morning dew well into the back nine. Water comes into play often enough that club selection matters more than swagger; laying up short of a hazard beats testing a flier lie from the rough. The bermuda greens run firm and slick in summer, so putts that look flat rarely are, and approach shots need to account for roll rather than just carry. Cart paths wind through mature stands of hardwoods that pinch several fairways, putting a premium on tee shots that favor position over sheer length. Pack sunscreen and extra water — the Georgia heat sits heavy in the river bottom, and there's little relief once you're a few holes in.