Atlanta Athletic Club (Riverside) – Played April 2024
- Rankings: None of my four lists
- Location: 1930 Bobby Jones Drive, Johns Creek, Georgia
- Year: 1966
- Original Architect: Robert Trent Jones
- Additional Work By: Rees Jones & Tripp Davis
- Course Access: Private
- Walking Rules: Carts Available
Score Card Information:
- Green: 7,044 yards, Par 72, 73.9 Rating/148 Slope
- Blue: 6,771 yards, Par 72, 72.6 Rating/144 Slope
- White: 6,323 yards, Par 72, 70.6 Rating/135 Slope
- White/Green: 6,071 yards, Par 72, 69.8 Rating/132 Slope
- Green: 5,734 yards, Par 72, 68.1 Rating/126 Slope (Men’s), 73.2 Rating/143 Slope (Women’s)
- Red: 4,648 yards, Par 72, 64.1 Rating/119 Slope (Men’s), 68.8 Rating/122 Slope (Women’s)
Atlanta Athletic Club and the NFL Draft are not necessarily two things you would think of together. In my case, though, they fit together well. You see, I was in Atlanta to visit an old friend for our annual tradition of watching the NFL Draft. It’s great fun and is just an excuse to see each other amid the chaos of adulthood. As with almost every one of my trips, golf made its way onto the agenda and that is how I ended up playing the Riverside course at Atlanta Athletic Club.
AAC was originally operated out of its East Lake location and thus has plenty of Bobby Jones history. The club moved to Johns Creek in the 60s and got to 36 holes by 1971. The Highlands Course has hosted numerous major championships while the Riverside Course has hosted the 1990 US Women’s Open and the stroke play portion of the 2014 US Amateur.
The Riverside course underwent a large renovation project in 2022 that tackled the routing, tees, bunkers, greens, and drainage. Let’s get into the tour to see how it looks!
Hole 1 – 547 yards – Par 5
In the excitement of getting started, I missed the photo from the tee here. This is the longest par five of the day with a generous fairway before giving way to a tricky green.
Hole 2 – 398 yards – Par 4
You can see the entirety of this hole from the tee. The farther right in the fairway you go, the better the angle to the green.
Hole 3 – 125 yards – Par 3
This is a new hole in the reconfigured routing. What we get is a short par three where hitting the green makes it much easier to make par. The bunkers are very challenging.
Hole 4 – 348 yards – Par 4
Staying away from the fairway bunkers on the left provides the best angle to the green, so that’s a win-win. If you’re successful, you can attack this green with a distinct ridge bisecting it.
Hole 5 – 540 yards – Par 5
This is another one of the new holes. You have options on the tee shot but missing to the right is not too bad.
Layups should be played up the left to get the angle to the green and avoid a tree that guards the right side.
Hole 6 – 148 yards – Par 3
This green is an ample target and misses to the right result in simple chips. Left and short are no good.
Hole 7 – 397 yards – Par 4
The big trouble on this tee shot is up the left side with the bunkers and the trees. On the approach, you must avoid missing to the right due to a runoff area.
Hole 8 – 160 yards – Par 3
If the course is firm you could try to run your tee shot up onto the green. Otherwise, a shot to the fat part of the green will serve you well.
Hole 9 – 423 yards – Par 4
Now is the time for your best tee shot of the front nine. This hole is lengthy and features fairway bunkers on each side. If you can avoid those, the green is open aside from one bunker.
Hole 10 – 362 yards – Par 4
Driver isn’t necessary on this hole. You can run through the fairway on the left and right sides with water up the left.
This is one of the cooler green sites on the course because of how it juts out into the water.
Hole 11 – 141 yards – Par 3
Make sure you don’t lose one to the left here. With a shorter club in your hand, hopefully, that isn’t an issue.
Hole 12 – 499 yards – Par 5
The centerline bunker dictates your strategy off of this tee. Additionally, a creek runs up the left side of the hole.
The second shot must account for the water hazard and bunkers near the green.
Hole 13 – 370 yards – Par 4
The namesake river on this course runs along the right side of this hole. Finding the fairway is imperative, so make that the priority.
The river still looms for the approach shot, so don’t miss to the right.
Hole 14 – 276 yards – Par 4
This driveable hole runs in the same direction as the previous one so the river is along the right. As you might expect with a shorter par four, the green is a bit challenging.
If you manage to hit the green with your tee shot you might be faced with some slope for your putt. Seems fair to me!
Hole 15 – 409 yards – Par 4
Safe tee shots will favor the left side on this hole but any direction is fine as long as it avoids the bunkers.
If you’ve found the short grass, you can attack this green. The favorable misses are short or right.
Hole 16 – 390 yards – Par 4
We’re greeted with a generous fairway even though bunkers cut into the right side. The green will be mostly obscured by the topography on the approach shot.
Hole 17 – 181 yards – Par 3
The last par three is one of the toughest on this eighteen of Atlanta Athletic Club, especially with left pins tucked behind the bunker.
Hole 18 – 508 yards – Par 5
Use the bunkers up the right side to visualize your tee shot. With the slope, a right-to-left shape fits well.
It’s reasonable to force your second shot as close to the green as you can. The bunkers are not a bad miss.
This green is large but you can get saddled with some long putts from the wrong section if you miss with your approach.
The Highlands course is the more decorated routing at Atlanta Athletic Club, but I found Riverside to be a delightful course. There was plenty of trouble to trip you up, but there were also numerous opportunities to make birdies. I’d happily return for another shot at it.