Architect aims to introduce more shot options and incorporate half-par holes on club’s Highlands course
By Richard Humphreys |
Atlanta Athletic Club (AAC) in Georgia has unveiled details of Andrew Green’s renovation plan for its Highlands course, with work expected to begin in July 2027.
The layout hosted the 1976 US Open, the 1981, 2001 and 2011 PGA Championships, the 1990 US Women’s Open Championship, the 2014 US Amateur Championship, and the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“I wanted to make the future of Highlands timeless, meeting the level of such an important club in the history of the game,” said Green. “I honed in on the idea of what did Bobby Jones [the Major champion was a lifelong member of AAC] think of the game of golf, because this club fostered him the entire way.
“Articles that were written about Jones, Alister MacKenzie and Augusta National started to speak to me. Combining MacKenzie’s 13 principles of golf architecture with the thoughtfulness of Jones and what he said about what they were going to try to achieve, and did achieve, at Augusta. I thought if that’s what Jones thought was most important, that should be an inspiration for us on Highlands.”
Green is aiming to bring a better balance between the natural constraints of the property and what Jones would value in today’s game. His plan includes redesigning greens, incorporating some ‘half-par’ holes, shortening walks between greens and tees, and reworking the course to introduce more shot options.
Green’s plans for holes fourteen and eighteen. The fourteenth is a new par three located on land formerly occupied by the eleventh (Images: Andrew Green)
“Golfers will be able to hit every club in their bag,” said Green. “They’ll be able to have shots that move right to left and left to right, that play uphill and downhill, with a greater rhythm to the round. Also, the par threes were a huge concentration point for me, which are something both MacKenzie and Jones believed in deeply. I tried to give each its own personality.”
Green references a 1931 article from the Augusta Chronicle in which Jones described the then-new Augusta National. “He said he didn’t want to embarrass his friends but also create a true test of golf. Those are things that still make sense today.”
The renovation is expected to be completed by autumn 2028.
Read more: Tripp Davis completed a renovation of the club's Riverside course in 2022.