Hallowed Ground
In the rolling, picturesque valley flanking the present-day Bobby Jones Golf Course's clubhouse flows Peachtree Creek--the site of a pivotal Civil War battle. Major Gen. William T. Sherman's Union troops, driving toward Atlanta, clashed on July 20, 1864, along the creek with Lt. Gen. John B. Hood's Confederate forces.
The Rebels failed to turn back Sherman's men, suffering some 2,000 to 3,000 dead. Union soldiers buried at least 800 Confederates near the creek.
A Public Course Partnership
In 1932, Jones had begun work with renowned golf architect Alister Mackenzie on laying out Augusta National, the private course that would become synonymous with the Masters Tournament. That same year, another golf club, a public course, took shape in Buckhead. Famed landscape architect John Van Kleek and Jones wanted to offer local golfers a challenging and scenic public layout.
A Course Takes Shape
Jones and Van Kleek laid out a course along much of the same turf where Union and Confederate cannons and muskets had belched in 1864. Peachtree Battle Creek itself weaves into play on five of the 18 holes.
To take advantage of the site's hills and dip, Jones and Van Kleek placed a number of elevated tees on the course, offering vistas of open fairways. Jones, enamored of the tough, tight greens he had conquered in Britain, helped design compact, testing greens on the course bearing his name.
From the moment it opened to the public in 1932, The Bobby Jones Golf Course proved an affordable hit for locals who loved the game but lacked the means to belong to exclusive clubs.
Another Brush with History
On July 19, 1951, almost 87 years to the day that the Battle of Peachtree Creek had raged, four African-American golfers challenged the "whites-only" policy of The Bobby Jones Golf Course. The club refused to allow them to play and they sued. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case dragged on for over four years. On December 22, 1955, Atlanta finally desegregated its municipal courses. The challenge issued four years earlier at The Bobby Jones Golf Course had made civil rights history.
Jones' Legacy
Today, the City of Atlanta owns The Bobby Jones Golf Course. American Golf manages the club. Golfers will find the par-71, Bermuda grass course is "short" at some 6,000 yards, but several uphill holes require both strength and distance.
In the Jones tradition, the greens require careful reading and deft touch. The 360-yard, par-4 ninth hole is memorable, offering a splendid view of Atlanta's skyline. The hole tests players' skill with a blind tee shot driven at a tight, tree-shrouded fairway.
About The Author
Peter F. Stevens is an award-winning author and journalist whose ten books include The Voyage of the Catalpa: A Perilous Voyage and Six Irish Rebels' Escape to Freedom, which has been optioned for a major film. He is a regular contributor to a wide array of newspapers and magazines nationwide and abroad, and among the many publications to which he contributes are American Heritage, American History, Yankee, VFW, Golf, and Golf News. The NY Times frequently syndicates his work.
