Inside the course: East Lake Golf Club

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Sep. 23, 2008
By Jamie Batey, Special to PGATOUR.COM

East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., is where the final playoff tournament takes place. Here is all you want to know about the course.

Fast facts

Original architect	Tom Bendelow (1904), Donald Ross (1914) and George Cobb (1959)
Original architect	Rees Jones (1994 and 2008)
Number of TOUR events as host venue	8 (including 2008)
Course ranking	Ranked 49 (out of 55) in difficulty on the PGA TOUR in 2007
Yardage history	6,980 yards (1998-2002)
	7,141 yards (2004)
	7,154 yards (2005-2007)
	7,300 (2008)
Grass	419 Bermudagrass/Meyer zoysiagrass (tees, fairways, rough); Bermudagrass (greens)
Tournament Stimpmeter	12 ft
Sand bunkers	72
Water hazards	3
Course tour	Click here

Course record

Player
Zach Johnson

Year
2007

Round
3rd

Finish
T2

Holes-in-one

There has been 1 ace recorded during THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

Player	Hole	Year
Jerry Kelly	11th	2002

2007 Rankings

Most Difficult Hole

	The par-4 520-yard 5th The first of two par 5s that have been shortened to play as par 4s for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, this 520-yard hole will play much shorter than the yardage as the drive will pitch forward on the downslope of the fairway. The second shot will be a long iron from a downhill lie making it tough to get to tight hole locations. 2007: 0 eagles, 10 birdies, 80 pars, 29 bogeys, 1 double bogey, 0 others.
Easiest hole in 2007
	The par-5 495-yard 15th Three tall pines on the right side of the fairway force players to hit a fade to the best position in the fairway. With a good drive, players can reach this short par 5 in two. A well-bunkered green poses problems if missed long or short. One of the easiest holes at East Lake, a par here will drop a shot to the field. 2007: 14 eagles, 65 birdies, 39 pars, 2 bogeys, 0 double bogeys and 0 others.

East Lake GC			2007 rankings		Last 7 years
Hole	Par	Yards	Avg. Score	Rank	Avg. Score	Rank
1	4	424	3.925	10	4.010	8
2	3	214	3.017	5	3.026	7
3	4	387	3.883	12	3.880	16
4	4	440	4.000	6	3.998	9
5	4	520	4.175	1	4.191	2
6	3	168	2.992	8	2.960	13
7	4	394	3.875	13	3.930	14
8	4	405	3.800	16	3.966	12
9	5	600	4.600	17	4.687	17
10	4	469	4.100	3	4.179	3
11	3	187	2.900	11	2.978	11
12	4	391	3.817	15	3.909	15
13	4	439	4.000	6	4.091	6
14	4	442	3.842	14	3.983	10
15	5	495	4.242	18	4.397	18
16	4	481	4.117	2	4.232	1
17	4	453	4.067	4	4.095	5
18	3	235	2.975	9	3.149	4

NOTES: The 15th hole on the course was ranked the easiest hole out of all the holes on the PGA TOUR in 2007.
• The 5th hole, which ranked the most difficult on the course, was the 202nd most difficult hole of all the courses on the PGA TOUR in 2007.
• East Lake GC was ranked the sixth easiest course on the PGA TOUR in 2007.
• In the last seven years, the hardest and easiest holes have both been on the back nine.

Course origins

The oldest golf course in Atlanta, East Lake was Bobby Jones' home course. He learned the game at East Lake Golf Club and played his last round of golf at the club. East Lake is the only club to have two members play against each other in the U.S. Amateur final match (Bobby Jones vs. Watt Gunn), won by Jones in 1925.

So many great golfers came out of East Lake in the first half of the century that the club was often referred to as the St. Andrews of the U.S.

The par-3, sixth hole is the signature hole at East Lake. The 167-yard downhill shot from the tee to a peninsula green with water left, right and in front of the green, as well as part of the backside. A small bunker is also in the front left and the green wraps around it. Golf Digest called this green the oldest continuous use island green in the U.S.

East Lake Golf Club closed after THE TOUR Championship in 2007 for extensive renovations and did not open until the 2008 event. East Lake switched to MiniVerde, an ultradwarf bermudagrass, because it is better suited for Georgia's hot summers. It provides an excellent putting surface with fine leaf blades, short internodes and high shoot density. MiniVerde produces deep roots and is quick to recover from cultural practices, allowing a tight, fast and consistent putting surface.

In 2007, when the championship moved up almost two months in the TOUR's schedule from late October or early November to mid-September for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup finale, there was not enough time for the bentgrass greens to adequately recover from Atlanta's hottest summer on record in the midst of a drought.

Twenty-eight of 31 days in August 2007 were above 90 degrees and 10 days were above 100 degrees. The average high for the month was 96.5, nearly 10 degrees higher than the normal average for August and the average low for the month was 75.2, more than five degrees higher than the normal average for August (which is what was the most challenging because soil temperatures are cumulative and without being able to cool off during the night, the soil temp just keeps building each day with that kind of heat). Only three days the entire month were cloudy and direct sunlight also increases soil temperatures.

Georgia's drought continues today as the state has restricted East Lake's water use 35 percent. GCSAA's Georgia chapter has been working with state government to ease water restrictions for the golf industry and assist golf courses to employ best management practices for responsible water use. -- Source: Golf Course Superintendents Association of America

Tournament course history

Course	Location	Years
Oak Hills CC	San Antonio, Texas	1987
Pebble Beach GL	Pebble Beach, Calif.	1988
Harbour Town GL	Hilton Head, S.C.	1989
Champions GC	Houston, Texas	1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003
Pinehurst	Pinehurst, N.C.	1991-1992
Olympic Club	San Francisco, Calif.	1993-1994
Southern Hills CC	Tulsa, Okla.	1995-1996
East Lake GC	Atlanta, Ga.	1998, 2000, 2002, 2004-present