East Lake Golf Club Facts: 8 Things To Know About The Tour Championship Venue

East Lake Golf Club holds a particularly special place in the PGA Tour schedule as the long-term venue of the final FedExCup Playoffs event, the Tour Championship.

However, there is far more to East Lake than the big event it hosts, with a long and checkered history that includes a brush with closure, several redesigns, philanthropy and a strong link with one of the all-time greats.

So, what exactly is there to know about the famous layout? Here are eight things about East Lake Golf Club you may not be familiar with...

More Than A Century Of History

East Lake was established in 1904 after the Atlanta Athletic Club, which was formed six years earlier, bought the land.

In 1906, seven holes were completed, with a further two coming later that year.

In 1907, the course was expanded to 17 holes, with the 18th following soon after. It hosted its first significant tournament, the Southern Amateur, that year.

Evidence of its origins can be seen at East Lake today, with the crest of Atlanta Athletic Club - which is now located at Johns Creek - on the front of the clubhouse.

The Home Course Of Bobby Jones

East Lake will forever be synonymous with one of the all-time greats – Grand Slam winner Bobby Jones.

He grew up across the street from the course and is said to have played his first and last rounds of golf there, the latter coming in 1948.

Jones and his father, "Colonel" Robert P. Jones, were also at the grand opening of the clubhouse and 18-hole course in 1908, while at the age of six, Jones won his first tournament at East Lake.

Jones’ father was also the president of East Lake between 1937 and 1942, a role Bobby took on between 1946 and 1947.

The clubhouse has replicas of the four trophies from Jones’s 1930 Grand Slam and a replica of his famous Calamity Jane putter, as well as other memorabilia.

Long-Time Host Venue Of The Tour Championship

East Lake has been the permanent home of the Tour Championship since 2004, but its history with the tournament goes back further.

It first hosted the event in 1998, when Hal Sutton beat Vijay Singh in a playoff. It was also the venue for Phil Mickelson’s win in 2000 and Singh’s 2002 victory.

Could the Tour Championship at East Lake soon become a thing of the past, though? That’s a possibility after the PGA Tour unveiled a new-look Tour Championship to take place across two weeks at different venues.

However, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp also confirmed East Lake would remain on the radar, saying: “East Lake is very much in the consideration set for future Tour Championship events for sure.”

A Ryder Cup Venue

The Tour Championship is not the only big event hosted by East Lake. Most famously, it was also the venue for the 1963 Ryder Cup, where Arnold Palmer’s US team beat John Fallon’s Great Britain 23-9.

It remains the last Ryder Cup with a playing captain, with Palmer taking on both roles that year.

East Lake was also the host venue of the 1950 US Women’s Amateur and the 2001 US Amateur. In 2015, it began hosting collegiate tournament the East Lake Cup.

Multiple Redesigns

The course’s first architect was Tom Bendelow, but in 1913, five years after the grand opening, Donald Ross redesigned it. One of his changes was to ensure each nine finished near the clubhouse, which is still the case today.

Another redesign took place before the 1963 Ryder Cup, with George Cobb entrusted with making it more demanding.

Then, after a period of decline, Rees Jones restored and modernized the course in 1994 using Ross’ original design as his blueprint.

In 2023, the course underwent its latest extensive redesign at the hands of Andrew Green.

Using an aerial photograph from 1949 and on-the-ground photography from before the Ryder Cup renovation, he reshaped the greens, repositioned bunkers and restored the natural contours.

An Island Green

TPC Sawgrass' island green may be the most famous in the US, but East Lake has one of the oldest.

In fact, it is thought to be the oldest island green still in continuous use after the demise of an older one at Baltusrol.

The green is on the par-3 15th and, like the island green at TPC Sawgrass, it is actually a peninsula.

The green complex dates to Tom Bendelow’s original East Lake course, but as part of Andrew Green's redesign, he removed a bunker on the green, leaving a greater possibility of balls running down the slope and finding the water.

From Decline To Revival

East Lake very nearly disappeared. In the late 1960s, the neighborhood surrounding the course fell into decline, ultimately leading to the Atlanta Athletic Club to sell its No.2 course and relocate to its current home at Johns Creek.

The former No.2 course was developed into a public housing project, but further urban decline hit the area in the 1980s, with the course falling victim to the malaise and all but forgotten.

It was revitalised after local businessman Tom Cousins purchased East Lake in 1993 and set about restoring the course and the surrounding area.

Philanthropic Mission

That ambition is still evident today via the East Lake Foundation, whose work supports public housing projects in the city.

Thanks to Tom Cousins’ vision, profits from the club go to the East Lake Foundation.

That’s something Brian Rolapp doesn’t see changing, even when East Lake is no longer the permanent home of the Tour Championship.

He said: “I would say this bluntly about the East Lake Foundation. Wherever the competitive format in the Championship Series ends up, we are going to continue our support of East Lake Foundation.

"So I think - I'm hoping that with our new model, we are able to do it better and more impactful.”