The golf course where Bobby Jones grew up and was trained hosts the Tour Championship this week, the tournament that defines the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup. 

In February 2016, my return to Augusta to attend the Masters was confirmed. This time, having planned it with more time, I wanted to try to play at East Lake Golf Club. I have a special adoration for Bobby Jones, and I felt I had to visit his home and learn a bit more about what his club was like.

The first attempt was not good, as writing to the Club we received the response that there were no tee times available that week, which was a great disappointment. As a consolation, we had secured Atlanta Athletic Club (where Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship in 2011), but deep down I knew it wasn’t enough. It’s one thing to play a great course like AAC, and another to enter a museum like East Lake.

A plaque in tribute to the first hole-in-one Jones achieved in his career.

But then a miracle occurred. One day in the office, it occurred to me to write to a friend who is a member of Oak Hill Country Club (PGA Championship 2013) to see if he knew anyone, and it turned out that 15 minutes later, we had a time to play at East Lake at 9:28 AM. Absolute happiness, but we also had to decide what to do with AAC, and we chose to walk 36 holes after a 10-hour flight. It was worth the effort!

We left Ezeiza on March 31 to land in Atlanta at 6 AM on April 1. Once we saw that the clubs arrived, we picked up the car and from there, straight to East Lake, where we arrived while it was still dark and with a light drizzle at 7 in the morning.

After checking in at the club, the first thing we did was go to the locker room where we were assigned our lockers, the same ones used by the 30 who qualify for the Tour Championship. Inside the place, among paintings, photos, framed scorecards, and much more memorabilia, we realized we were in a true museum. And what happens at East Lake is that every employee knows the history of the club perfectly and any of them can take you around the club telling you anecdotes and pieces of history. We were taken to a special locker room, separate for the Tour Championship winners with their own locker.

A portrait of Bobby Jones in the East Lake clubhouse.

Breakfast already showed us that in addition to very good gastronomy, the club has all its employees trained to make visitors feel at home. The friendly waiter who served us while we waited to be served told us some stories and showed us some of the collection pieces, such as the scorecard from Bobby Jones’ last round, which is framed in one of the club’s corridors. And from the clubhouse itself, he pointed out the place from which Bill Haas hit that memorable approach from the water to win the FedEx Cup in 2011. And somewhere we saw the phrase that clearly indicates the spirit of the club: “Golf with a purpose.”

The time for golf arrived: the course was damp from the rain and the oaks had not yet bloomed due to the harsh winter they had had, but we still felt we were before a true gem. The dwarf bermuda greens were flying and presented an immaculate state, so we were assured a nice challenge.

Some postcards of Bobby Jones in the East Lake clubhouse. 

Helped by an excellent caddie, we walked those 18 holes along with a friend from the area, playing a match to give it a little incentive and try to play more concentrated. And on every hole Charlie (the caddie) had something special to tell us. His eyes would light up when he recounted each of his experiences. For example, on hole 6 (15 during this year’s course, the oldest island green in the USA) he showed us the tee from which the pros play and it truly intimidates. When we reached the 9th (the par 5 that was the 18th) we knew we wouldn’t be able to play it because they were finishing repairs, but we were able to walk it and the view of the second shot to the green is possibly the best shot on the course. It was a great move to have rotated the nines to add excitement.

Tee of the par 3 9th hole, which until a few years ago was the 18th hole. 

We reached the 11th and found a plaque for Bobby Jones’ hole-in-one and the emotion was already high. Between 12 and 15 (which was the front nine in the 2016 Tour Championship) you are at the highest point of the course and the tall buildings of Atlanta are visible, which on the front nine are not seen due to the height of the trees. And it was clear that what we most wanted to see was the place of Bill Haas’ shot, and believe us you can’t see the top of the flag, it was crazy how difficult it was, and in the face of such pressure we saw one of the best shots in the history of the event.

To summarize what the course is like, we can say the following: a classic parkland, with greens very complicated to read and extreme speed, a lot of doglegs that make it necessary to handle both shapes with the driver and where hitting from the fairway, avoiding the extremely tough bermuda rough, is a huge advantage.

Bobby Jones’ locker is displayed in the East Lake clubhouse. 

Once the round was over, we had lunch at the club and were shown the entire clubhouse, its lounges, memories, and the truth is it’s the closest I’ve ever been to a golf museum. Bobby Jones is an icon, perhaps the best player in history, and every corner of the club remembers him.

In the afternoon, and tired, we played Atlanta Athletic Club before driving to Augusta, but the special thing had been that morning. East Lake may not be the best course, the newest design, or the most picturesque, but it is a piece of history that was a pleasure and a pride to visit. And seeing it on TV this week having been there made it even more special, because one remembers their own shots when seeing the best play there and sees the difference there is with them.