Highly ranked Georgia club plans golf course renovation to begin in 2028

AI-assisted summary
• Atlanta Athletic Club has hired Andrew Green to renovate its Highlands Course.
• The renovation is part of a seven-year master plan that includes improvements to tennis, athletic and dining operations.
• The Highlands Course has hosted several prestigious golf tournaments, including the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.

Atlanta Athletic Club has hired architect Andrew Green to renovate the facility's Highlands Course. It’s part of a seven-year master plan that will touch several key areas including the club’s tennis, athletic and dining operations. Green will plan the course renovation over the next several months and begin construction in 2028. 

The Highlands Course ranks No. 8 on Golfweek’s Best list of top private clubs in the very competitive state of Georgia. Highlands also ties for No. 129 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of modern courses in the United States. The layout opened as a nine-hole course in 1967 designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. with its second nine, designed by Joe Finger, opening in 1971. The course was most recently renovated in 2016 by Rees Jones. 

The Highlands course has hosted the U.S. Open (1976), three PGA Championships (1981, 2001, 2011), a U.S. Women’s Open (1990), the U.S. Amateur (2014) and a KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (2021). Alongside the 36-hole club’s Riverside Course, Highlands will host the 2030 U.S. Amateur, celebrating the 100^th anniversary of club member and former president Bobby Jones’ Grand Slam victories. The U.S. Women’s Amateur will be played on Highlands in 2035. 

Green has completed renovations to several top clubs around the U.S., including Inverness Club in Ohio, Oak Hill’s East Course in New York, Congressional’s Blue Course in Maryland, Interlachen in Minnesota, Scioto in Ohio and East Lake in Atlanta. 

"There are few organizations in the United States that mean this much to the game of golf,” Green said in a media release announcing the club membership’s approval of the capital expenses. “Atlanta Athletic Club has produced so many great players and has contributed immensely to growing the game. I am tremendously honored to have the opportunity to build on Atlanta Athletic Club’s legacy of greatness. 

“The Highlands Course occupies some intriguing ground. We look forward to maximizing the opportunity for unique golf that can test the world’s best while providing a canvas to enjoy the game every day at the highest level, no matter your skill level."

The club, located 25 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta in Johns Creek, hired Tripp Davis to renovate its Riverside Course in 2022.