Special Places - East Lake Golf Club

The final leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs is here at last and the top 30 make their way to East Lake Golf Club for the Tour Championship. The winner of the title will collect $1,350,000 plus a five-year Tour exemption and the possible bonus of $10 million if they also win the FedEx Cup. Also, there will be a new name on the trophy as two-time winner Tiger Woods and 2008 title-holder Vijay Singh failed to make the final field for this fourth edition of the event.

The permanent home of the Tour Championship, East Lake is a flagship project of the PGA Tour with the East Lake Foundation having benefited to the tune of more than $20 million to transform and revitalise one of the most disadvantaged areas in the US. The club is located less than 10kms from downtown Atlanta, Georgia, and the original Tom Bendelow designed course officially opened for play on 4th July 1908. Five years later in 1913, famed golf course architect Donald Ross redesigned the course along the lines we see today.

East Lake Golf Club also has a special place in golfing history, as it was the home course of golfing legend Bobby Jones. Urban decay in the late 1960’s after the club hosted the 1963 Ryder Cup saw the course and the once popular surrounding residential area fall into neglect and disrepair. Then, in 1993, a local charity purchased the property to restore it as a tribute to Bobby Jones and the club’s other great amateur golfers. Rees Jones was engaged in 1994 to restore Donald Ross’ original layout, and the Tudor-style clubhouse was also returned to its 1926 design and condition.

The golf course is 6700 metres and is the second longest par 70 on the PGA Tour. Although driving distance and accuracy will be vital, the battle will be won by the player who conquers the slick and undulating Bermudagrass greens that will reach 12+ on the Stimpmeter if the weather stays dry and sunny. All the holes, especially the long par 4’s, will demand precision on the approach shots as there are pin positions on every green that are virtually inaccessible.

The back nine plays longer and tougher than the front nine, and the final three holes – two difficult par 4’s and unusually, a finishing par 3 – always provide a drama-filled conclusion. Mature oaks and tall pines are scattered around East Lake’s scenic parkland layout, and this challenging, traditional-style golf course will provide a stiff test for the thirty players trying to win golf’s biggest paycheque.