East Lake Golf Club

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Courtesy of Jon Cavalier

Overview

Tom Bendelow actually laid out the original course at East Lake, back when it was known as Atlanta Athletic Club, and that was the layout upon which Stewart Maiden taught the game to the now-legendary Bobby Jones. Donald Ross basically built a new course on the same spot in 1915, which remained untouched until changes were made before the 1963 Ryder Cup. When Atlanta Athletic moved to the suburbs in the late 1960s, the intown East Lake location fell on hard financial times until being rescued in the 1990s by businessman Tom Cousins, who made it a sterling fusion of corporate and inner-city involvement. In the past two decades, Rees Jones has redesigned most holes, and after the PGA Tour reversed the nines for the 2016 Tour Championship (flipping the unpopular par-3 finish into the ninth hole), the club made the new routing permanent for regular play.

About

Holes 18

Length 7374

Slope 142

Facility Type Private

Designer Tom Bendelow/(R) Donald J. Ross, ASGCA/George W. Cobb, ASGCA

Awards

Ranking history:

Second 100 Greatest: Ranked since 2013.
2023-'24 ranking: 150th.
Previous ranking: 129th.

100 Greatest: Ranked from 1997-2012.
Highest ranking: No. 60, 2001-'02.

(Course was listed on the original 1966-1968 ranking of America's 200 Toughest Courses.)

Best in State: Ranked third, 2011-'20. Ranked fourth, 2021-'22. Ranked inside the top 5, 1997-2010, 2023-2024.
Current ranking: 5th.

Panelists

Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists

3.9

100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES

Shot Options

7.3214

Character

7.885

Challenge

7.4844

Layout Variety

7.1485

Fun

7.3206

Aesthetics

7.288

Conditioning

7.5053

Reviews

1 / 9

Review

“Undulating course with rolling hills, thick Bermuda rough, and a variety of tee boxes for players of all skill levels. Many uphill blind approach shots call for distance control. Fast, firm greens are surrounded by thick rough. Well placed deep bunkering in landing areas and green surrounds. Creativity can be used to chip and putt around the undulating greens. Very well conditioned."

2022

2 / 9

Review

“The rich history and tradition of the club always makes playing East Lake a treat. Greens are always perfect and the rough doesn't have to be long to be extremely challenging and penal. It makes the course play tough given fairways that are fairly narrow by today's standards. However, the variety in the layout is lacking (far too many "straight" holes) with many just going back and forth, side-by-side."

2022

3 / 9

Review

“What a cool setting routing the course around the All World clubhouse. The downhill par 4s on the back nine are outstanding (12,14,16). Good set of par 3s, although three of the four have Eden properties. All 4 par 5s run in the same direction. Just a rock solid course that oozes history. You can almost feel Bobby Jones's presence as you go up to the locker room. Oh and perhaps the coolest driving range I have seen."

2021

4 / 9

Review

“East Lake has an all world ambience and atmosphere, as the historical significance of this course is unprecedented. "

2021

5 / 9

Review

“Standout holes include the island green 15th, the uphill & dogleg right par 5th sixth hole, the downhill and dogleg right par 5 14th, and the 9th hole a long downhill par 3 that fronts the clubhouse. Some of the toughest bermuda rough one will ever encounter. Design variety suffers a bit as the line of play off the tee generally directs you towards fairway bunkers on most par 4's & par 5's as well as all par 5's go the exact same direction. Incredible clubhouse displays of Bobby Jones articles and replica trophys worth spending a chunk of time to view and read about. Generally the club will not allow players to play from the "tour" tees used for Tour Championship. "

2020

6 / 9

Review

“East Lake is traditional Donald Ross design with deep bunkering guarding fairways and greens. Many holes are very similar with not much movement left or right. Course travels up and downhills in variety of distances. Par 3s include forced carries. Course can really be extended for the professional tournament and create many different looks than the traditional amateur player will experience. Greens have subtle breaks that break more than you think and tough to read. This is the definition of ambience with all of the rich history that engulfs the club. Course has a great variety of varying length holes that require you to be long off the tee occasionally but also require accurate approach shots to greens heavily guarded by bunkers. Course remains playable for the higher handicapper due in part to the length of the course from the upper tees. The switch in 9s really has an impact on the finish of the round. Course is very tough on the front with all of the traveling up and down hills so the back 9 is a little easier to walk. At the same time, the course ends on a risk reward par 5 that can change the course of a round if trying to make up strokes. Tree lined fairways help frame the holes creating excellent sight lines."

2019

7 / 9

Review

“The clubhouse at Eastlake exudes incredible history and the course is just as classic. The layout is fairly simple and straight forward with little major variation in holes. However, there are subtle differences which do create some shot variety. From the back tees it becomes a great challenge, but looks like a fun test if playing farther up. The front routing is generally back and forth with some subtle changes in angles. The back side has a better routing and creates more variety in holes. "

2019

8 / 9

Review

“This is where the legendary Bobby Jones got his start in the game and he would be very happy to see what it's like now after a total refurbishment 20 years ago. It hosts the best players in the world each year at the Tour Championship, the final event in the Fedex Cup Playoffs."

2018

9 / 9

Review

“Walking the course is the preferred way to experience this Donald Ross gem. By walking you can appreciate the challenge of the course's numerous elevation changes and rolling terrain. Reversing the nines back so the 18th is now the par 5 (and not a par 3) makes for a more interesting and fulfilling golf experience. "

2018