East Lake Golf Club

[Bill_McBride]

My wife and I flew up to Atlanta Friday for a 3 day R&R weekend with nothing specifically in mind but a weekend in a very nice hotel, the Georgian Terrace, and a couple of nice dinners at Atlanta restaurants.  Then we realized the Tour Championship was going on at East Lake so decided to give it a go in spite of no tickets.  What a great decision!  We got out there easily on MARTA subway line, got two tickets at less than face value from a scalper, and enjoyed three hours watching great golf on a wonderful course.  The big Tudor clubhouse and the still-original holes around the clubhouse really made you think of Bobby Jones walking the hallowed ground.  The course itself is a treat, wide fairways, lots of contour with the front nine playing up the hill away from the lake and then back down on the west side of the clubhouse and lake and the back nine on the east side.  Outstanding routing with no two holes in the same direction - although it's possible the 18th could be played uphill into the setting sun late in the day. That hole is tough enough at 239 from the tips uphill to a well-sized green.  I guess one drawback to the design is that the lake is not in play as much as you'd think given its size.  For better players only the 6th, a 160 yd par 3 mostly surrounded by water, has the lake in close proximity.  The 10th and 18th holes have the line of play across the lake, but not much of a carry.  The course has primarily corporate members so I am now planning to spend part of Monday spinning through my Rolodex, figuring out how to get on that great old course.
Can anyone who has played East Lake comment on its playability, what it's like to play a round there?

[Jeff Stettner]

Bill:
A few points for you (good to see you in my old stomping grounds). I worked at east Lake for three years.

The routing, while good, has two major flaws. The stretch on the back nine (10 and 11 play the same direction, btw) from 11-16 is a simple back and forth. It can play repetitive. Also, Rees moved some tees around and made par 4's into par 5's and the reverse. The result is that all the par fives play in the same direction and can be reachable or unreachable depending on the day.

East Lake plays well, though it's all about arials with the zoysia grass. No roll here. Also, the rough can be absolutely brutal, with lost balls the norm when it grows. The greens are subtle and fun, especially number 17.

The course is really pretty good. I know I'm pointing out the negative, but the entire project started by Cousins was truly noble and, hopefully, the first of many.

[Andrew Roberts]

Jeff,
Why do they have Zoysia at EAST LAKE?
Did Jones do it or has it always been that way?
Would the course play faster most of the time if the fairways were bermuda?
If the fairways ran at faster speeds, it would probably make scores go up for most of the pros, but maybe make scores go down for the people who are hitting the fairways because they probably will have less club going into the greens.

[Bill_McBride]

Jeff, nice to hear from you.  Are you still in the SF area?
The pros were getting no roll whatsoever on the zoysia fairways, but I think it had a lot to do with the 20" of rain they've had in the past 6 weeks.  They played lift, clean, place all four days because it was so wet.  They played #10 and the other front nine par 5 as long par 4's, so there were only two par 5s.  You're right, both were west to east and downwind.  But it sure is pretty!

[D. Kilfara]

Bill, I've made some comments about East Lake in the "Tour Championship @ Olympic" thread, if you're interested. (I won't bother cross-posting them.)

Cheers,
Darren

[Jeff Stettner]

Bill:
I am still in Oakland, newly engaged with a quickly fading golf game.
Andrew:
The Zoysia is perfect grass for the East Lake member, men who're corporate, spoiled and always wants a perfect lie. I'm not saying that to be mean; it just struck me as true. The ball sits on the grass like it's on a tee. The zoysia was seeded at the same time as the Rees redesign, though I'm not sure who recommended the grass. I don't think too many members want to see the grass firm and fast though, so I don't anticipate any change.

[Robert Kimball]

Bill, I am so happy you enjoyed East Lake!!  I was out of town this weekend, or else I definitely would have been there.  
  The course is a story unto itself.  I know that you would find it hard to believe, but the now lush, green, paradise used to be in "dog track" condition.  The bordering neighborhood used to be called "little Vietnam" because of the drugs and crime.  But real estate investor Tom Cousins tore down the surronding housing projects, spent money to recondition the course, and brought in many corporate memberships.  
  I have a friend who works with Edwin Watts golf here in Atlanta, and he was able to work a deal with the Callaway group to get a tee time (Callaway is a corporate member). The best way to describe the place is this:  It is the only place I could think of where your round could be rained out and you would still enjoy the day!!  The place is a museum full of Bobby Jones' memorabilia.  All 4 of the Grand Slam trophys are on display by the fireplace, the locker room is magnificant (make sure you wear nice shoes because they will shine them while you play), and the service is great.  They just tell you to make yourself at home, and are not pretentious at all.  
   The great thing about the place is -- there are NO CART paths, NO CARTS to speak of, and experienced, professional caddies.  After the 3rd hole, I never asked for a yardage, the caddie would just hand me a club.  
  Anyway, I don't know what your business is, but if you have some corporate connections, I would start asking around, you never know!!  It sounds like you enjoyed Atlanta, which means you must not have gotten stuck in any traffic, which is a regular gripe in the city!!!  

[BCrosby]

East Lake raises lots of interesting issues.

1. It is not a perfect course. I agree with many of J. Stettner's comments. Most of the older members say they preferred the "other" Ross 18 at East Lake that is NLE since about 1968.

2. Rees hasn't restored anything. It is a largely his course. It is, however, a good venue for major tournaments and today's power game. Much like Rees's work at The Atlanta Athletic Club, is a good venue to watch the Woods' and the Howells' hit balls into low earth orbits. The course holds up against their games.

3. I think, however, that the post-Rees East Lake is less interesting from a purely architectural perspective.

By that I mean both that shot options are less varied and the course is less interesting for normal golfers. He replaced a very good hole with a mediocre hole (10th). He got the 8th messed up (though I didn't see it this year). He stuck 7 or 8 bunkers in the front of greens that did not have them previously. It is now a pure aerial golf course. The fantastic cross bunker on the 13th has been replaced by a dull set of bunkers along the left edge of the fairway that rarely come into play. I don't get the relocation of the 17th green from its perch up the hill on the right to a bowl on the left next to the lake. A much less interesting approach shot, imho.

Just some thoughts.

Bob  

[Ray Hayduk]

As one of the lucky "non-connected" Atlanta residents to play at East Lake (twice) I agree fully with Rob in that this place is about the experience including dressing in the most plush locker room you can imagine, examining the Bobby Jones memorabilia, to strolling off the first tee box, caddie in tow, with an aura of Mr. Jones everywhere.   It's a feeling that is hard to describe, but impossible to find in a standard country club setting.  As for the golf, the front nine was very memorable for me with plenty of design and shot variety and degree of difficulty, but the backside is difficult in a not so fun way and the par 4 length combined with tighter fairways becomes repetitive and hard work!  17 is completely out of place, but finishing on that much talked about par 3 was a bit different and fits the course well.  For Southern exclusivity dished out without any attitude, you can't beat East Lake.

[Mike Leveille]

As someone who plays East Lake several times a year, and played it quite a bit before the Cousins-Jones renovation, I find that East Lake is always an enjoyable day (hard to beat a walkable layout in Atlanta with caddies and all the Jones history), but I definitely enjoyed it more in the late 80s and early 90s pre-renovation.  Back then, it may have been in relative disrepair (course and clubhouse), but you could play as a guest for $35-40 and the ground game was much more of an option.  So, perhaps you had to avoid gunfire from the East Lake Meadows housing project (now gone thanks in large part to Mr. Cousins), but it sure was a great layout with significant shot options.  Now, between the Zoysia fairways that never roll and more bunkers in front of greens, it is purely an aerial course.