East Lake Golf Club is returning to its Golden Age.
Following the conclusion of the Tour Championship next month, East Lake will close for a full year as the course undergoes a massive renovation. The aim is to make the course more closely resemble the one that Bobby Jones and others played decades ago.
Andrew Green, of A.H. Green Design, has been retained for the renovation. A recently uncovered aerial photograph from 1949 will be used to bring back the look, feel and playability of the course. There will be extensive tree removal on the property. Bunker shape and locations will be changed. There will be more mounding and greens will be redesigned to be more characteristic of the era.
Credit: Photo courtesty of East Lake Golf Club
Credit: Photo courtesty of East Lake Golf Club
Several holes will have major changes. The green at No. 9, the par-3, will be lowered and moved to the left to bring water into play. The lake that presently is part of the driving range will be extended to be more in play on No. 18. Several holes will be undergo adjustments to more closely resemble Donald Ross’ original routing.
According to the club, “all of these elements will reflect the project’s goals while at the same time appeal to all levels of play, including the PGA Tour’s best players each year during the Tour Championship.”
More details of the renovation will be announced during this year’s Tour Championship.
The project will begin Aug. 29, two days after this year’s Tour Championship. East Lake is hosting the Tour Championship for the 23rd time this year. The work is scheduled to be done by the summer of 2024, in time for another Tour Championship.
Among East Lake’s primary goals for the renovation are to reconnect the course to the one Bobby Jones, Alexa Stirling and other greats that grew to love the game at East Lake and to develop one-of-a-kind design features that harken to the architecture of Donald Ross and the original East Lake.
East Lake was first designed by Tom Bendelow in 1904. It officially opened in 1908. The course was completely redesigned by Donald Ross in 1913, changing the original routing and hole orientations. The course went some changes before the 1963 Ryder Cup. After Tom Cousins purchased the club in 1993, Rees Jones was hired to restore the course. In 2008, the putting surfaces were changed from Bentgrass to Bermudagrass and the greens at No. 8 and No. 16 were repositioned.
In 2016, the nines were reversed and the course now ends with the par-5 18th as opposed to the par-3 9th.
“East Lake Golf Club is at the heart of golf,” Green said in a statement. “Its legacy encompasses all that is great about the game and its history. From fostering Bobby Jones and Alexa Sterling to shaping its neighbors in Atlanta with the vision of Mr. Cousins to hosting the world’s best in the Tour Championship, the mission of East Lake has always portrayed excellence and purpose. As we strive to further connect the golf experience to the foundation set forth by Donald Ross and protect the course for decades to come, I look forward to working with the membership and leaders of the Club. It is a tremendous honor and I can’t wait to uncover the journey ahead.”
Green has worked with many Donald Ross-designed courses. He currently is working at Interlachen Country Club in Minneapolis where Bobby Jones won the third leg of his Grand Slam in 1930.
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