By the Decade

Better By the Decade A CLOSER LOOK AT 1898-1917

IMPORTANT DATES AT A GLANCE August 15, 1898 Organized September 5, 1898 Incorporated April 15, 1899 Town Club opened at 56 Edgewood Avenue November 27, 1902 Town Club opened at 37-39 Auburn Avenue July 4, 1908 AAC’s East Lake Country Club Course and First Clubhouse opened May 8, 1915 AAC’s East Lake Country Club Second Clubhouse opened

Presented By The Heritage Committee IN HONOR OF THE 125 TH ANNIVERSARY

It all started... In August of 1898 with 65 Atlanta businessmen in the office of Burton Smith. The charter, which was signed on September 5, was signed by all 65 men. The purpose of the club was stated briefly in the

charter: “The object of this corporation is not for pecuniary gain, but the formation of a social club, the special purpose of which is preparing and maintaining a gymnasium and enjoying physical exercise.” The initiation fee was $25 and annual dues were $24. Burton Smith served as the Club’s first president. Pictured: Burton Smith

1904 AAC purchased land from AAC Club Member Mr. Henry Atkinson for a nominal price to create the AAC’s East Lake Country Club. George W. Adair was a real estate developer and was instrumental in the creation of AAC’s East Lake Country Club. He is known as the “Father of Atlanta Golf.”

Pictured: Alex Smith, left, and Jimmy Maiden, right

1906-07 After winning the 1906 US Open, Alex Smith becomes the first golf professional at AAC’s East Lake Country Club. He is followed by Jimmy Maiden in 1907.

1898 AAC incorporated on September 5th. Burton Smith is elected 1st President.

1902 Bobby Jones born on March 17th. Club moved to Auburn Avenue. Southern Bell installed club’s first telephone line.

Pictured: George W. Adair

1908 Bobby Jones plays his first competitive golf tournament. Stewart Maiden becomes the Golf Professional and mentor to Bobby Jones and Alexa Stirling.

1905 The AAC had teams competing in basketball, swimming, baseball, track, tennis, handball, and cross country, often competing against college teams.

1900 AAC won the City Baseball Championship.

AAC’s Tennis Champion From 1901-1918 , Nat Thornton wins 20 singles and doubles tennis tournaments throughout the U.S. In addition, Thornton also played on AAC’s Baseball and Basketball Teams.

Pictured:The 1908 AAC Baseball Team

1909 AAC basketball players become a rough and rugged team, coached into winning form by John Heisman, AAC’s physical director and coach.

1916 Alexa Stirling breaks into prominence winning the first of three U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships.

Pictured: Alexa Stirling and the Robert Cox Trophy

Pictured: John Heisman

1911 AAC hires new physical director and coach, Joe Bean. The now dominant AAC Basketball Team becomes nicknamed “The Bean Boys.”

Pictured: Bobby Jones, Age 6, and Stewart Maiden

Pictured: Clubhouse destroyed in fire

Pictured: AAC Men’s Basketball Team and coach Joe Bean

Ups and Downs... were common in this era for AAC. While the baseball, basketball and tennis teams thrived and the highly anticipated course opened, the club was also plagued by setbacks such as the 1914 fire that destroyed the clubhouse. The golf course renovations, by Donald Ross, created the fire, halting all renovation work. Despite this, AAC and its loyal members continued to perservere and became a haven, especially once WWI began in 1914.

Meanwhile... Many important historical moments happened across the country & the rest of the world during this period.

Henry Ford’s first “Model T” rolls off the production line (1908)

First long distance telephone call coast to coast occurs between Alexander Graham Bell in NYC and Thomas Watson in San Francisco (1915)

US Post Office issues first book of stamps (1900)

Wizard of Oz musical opened in Chicago (1902)

Federal Income Tax is Established (1913)

First Baseball World Series, First Tour de France, First Wright Brothers aircraft flight (1903)

US National Park Service is created(1916)

Presented By The Heritage Committee IN HONOR OF THE 125 TH ANNIVERSARY

Better By the Decade A CLOSER LOOK AT 1918-1937

AAC HISTORY AT A GLANCE

1924 Club purchases the Lyric Theatre building for $275,000 and remodels it. 1925 A fire destroys the East Lake clubhouse and with it the original Havermeyer Trophy. June 15, 1926 The downtown club on Carnegie Way opens. The 10-story building

Pictured: Bobby Jones was the only person to be honored with two ticker-tape parades in New York City (1926 and 1930)

measured 140,000 square feet and included athletic facilities, exercise rooms, and 45 guest rooms. The purchase and renovation cost $1.25M.

August 1926 The third East Lake clubhouse opens designed by architects Hentz, Reid & Alder .

The Roaring Twenties The Roaring 20’s marked Atlanta Athletic Club’s Golden Age of Sports with champions like Bobby Jones, Alexa Stirling, Watts Gunn, Perry Adair and tennis champ Bitsy Grant, the “Mighty Atom.” The Great Depression in the 1930’s began the “Lean Years” of the Club that lasted until 1945. Thanks to the leadership of the Club’s longest serving president, Scott Hudson, the Club survived and later thrived.

1928 AAC buys an undeveloped tract of land and hires Donald Ross to design the No. 2 course. May 31, 1930 AAC opens the No. 2 course at East Lake to much fanfare, but the growing financial crisis quickly made apparent that the AAC, like most clubs in America, was going to struggle to remain solvent.

A Pause for War...

With many golf tournaments suspended due to the U.S. entering World War I, three AAC champions Perry Adair, Alexa Stirling, and Bobby Jones, toured the country as “the Dixie Whiz Kids” playing exhibition golf matches at clubs and courses to large enthusiastic crowds raising money for the Red Cross to aid the war effort.

1926 Bobby Jones wins 1st British Open Bobby Jones wins 2nd U.S. Open. He’s the first man to win both Opens in the same year. Bobby Jones, runner-up, U.S. Amateur, Baltusrol CC (NJ)

1923 Alexa Stirling, runner-up, U.S. Women’s Amateur, Westchester CC (NY) Bobby Jones wins 1st U.S. Open

1919 Alexa Stirling wins 2nd U.S. Women’s Amateur Bobby Jones, runner up, U.S. Amateur, Oakmont CC (PA)

1924 Bobby Jones wins his 1st U.S. Amateur

Pictured: Bobby Jones and Watts Gunn

1922 Bobby Jones, runner-up, U.S. Open, Skokie CC (IL)

1925 Bobby Jones loses in playoff, U.S. Open, Worcester CC (MA) Alexa Stirling, runner-up, Canadian Women’s Amateur Alexa Stirling, runner-up, U.S. Women’s Amateur, St. Louis CC (MO) Bobby Jones wins 2nd U.S. Amateur, defeats Watts Gunn in the final round, THE only time two members from the same club have met in the finals.

1921 Bobby Jones withdraws, British Open, Old Course, St. Andrews Alexa Stirling, runner-up, Canadian Women’s Amateur Alexa Stirling, runner-up, U.S. Women’s Amateur, Hollywood GC (NJ)

Pictured: Alexa Stirling

with U.S. Amateur Trophy

1920 Alexa Stirling wins Canadian Women’s Amateur Alexa Stirling wins 3rd U.S. Women’s Amateur

Hitting His Stride Bobby Jones hit his peak in golfing during this decade, as did several other AAC golfers. The Masters tournament also

kicked off amidst numerous world happenings, including the Great Depression. Jones retires in 1930 at age 28 and becomes a full-time lawyer, and creates 18 educational films entitled “How I Play Golf.”

Pictured: Bobby Jones with All Four Trophies

1933 AAC’s Dot Kirby wins Georgia

1927 Bobby Jones wins 2nd British Open Bobby Jones wins 3rd U.S. Amateur

1930 Bobby Jones wins the British Amateur, British Open, US Open and US Amateur to complete what is known as the “Grand Slam.” He also captained the winning Walker Cup team, which included Francis Ouimet.

Women’s Amateur at age 13. This was the first of three in a row and six overall in her career.

Pictured: First Masters

1934 Horton Smith wins the 1st Masters. Winner’s check was $1,500

Pictured: Dot Kirby

1929 Bobby Jones wins his third US Open

1932 George Sargent is hired by Bobby Jones to be the head professional at AAC. Sargent previously won the US Open in 1909 as was later the third President of the PGA of America.

1928 Bobby Jones wins his fourth US Amateur in dominating fashion. His last three matches were all won by double digits.

Pictured: George Sargent

The Mighty Atom... Bitsy Grant wins the US Clay Court Championship in 1930 and repeats in 33, 34 and 35. He wins the Southern Tennis Singles in 33,35, 38, 39 and 40. In 1936, he ranks third in the national amateur rankings and is named to the Davis Cup team in 1937.

Pictured: Bitsy Grant

Meanwhile... Many important historical moments happened across the country & the rest of the world during this period.

1918 Armistice Day, World War I Ends – A cease fire is declared at the 11th hour, on the 11th day on the 11th month of 1918 – and later becomes known as Veterans Day in the United States as a day to honor living and deceased veterans. 1918 The Spanish Influenza pandemic kills 50-100 million people worldwide.

1928 Amelia Earhart becomes the 1st woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean (1928) Her plane was later lost over the Pacific while trying to circumnavigate the globe in 1937.

1928 Georgia Tech wins NCAA football championship with a 10-0 record. 1929 Black Tuesday, which triggers the Great Depression occurs on October 29. 1934 Astronomer Edwin Hubble takes a photo that shows “as many galaxies as the Milky Way has stars!” 1936 Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at the Berlin Olympic Games.

1919 Prohibition of alcohol was signed into nationwide law with the 18th amendment and later repealed by the 21st amendment in 1933.

1927 Charles Lindberg completes first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Pictured: One of the most well-known photographs of the depression era is this portrait of Florence Thompson by photographer, Dorothea Lange, known as the pioneer of documentary photography.

The Great Depression The Great Depression lasted from 1929 until 1939 and unemployment at times was over 25%. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President in 1932 and instituted several New Deal economic programs to help weather the unemployment crisis, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps which at one time employed 500,000. Social Security was enacted in 1935, and in 1937, the Federal minimum wage was set at $0.25 per hour. Scott Hudson was the Club President from 1919 to 1937 and is credited with saving the Club from foreclosure.

Presented By The Heritage Committee IN HONOR OF THE 125 TH ANNIVERSARY

Better By the Decade A CLOSER LOOK AT 1938-1957

A NEW ERA: AMATEUR GOLF CHAMPIONS AT A GLANCE Amateur golfers continue to thrive at AAC in this era. Charlie Yates, Dot Kirby, Tommy Barnes, Sr., and Charlie Harrison continue the legacy set by Bobby Jones and Alexa Stirling

Georgia Women’s Amateur Champion, 1941 National Titleholders Champion, 1941 and 1942 US Women’s Amateur Champion, 1951 One of the most consistent golfers, 1940’s and 1950’s Atlanta City Junior Champion, 1947 Atlanta Amateur, 10 Time Champion AAC Championship, 9 Time Champion Atlanta Country Club Championship, 6 Time Champion US Amateur, 16 Time Qualifier

British Amateur Champion, 1938 US Walker Cup Team, 1938 US Walker Cup Captain, 1953

Charles Yates

Dot Kirby

Georgia Amateur Champion, 1941 Pan-Am Champion, 1944

Southeastern Amateur Champion, 1938 and 1946 Southeastern PGA Open Champion, 1946 Southern Amateur Champion, 1947 and 1949

Tommy Barnes, Sr.

Charlie Harrison

was front and center for everyone during this decade. Many members of AAC were serving in the military or were directly impacted by wartime. Golf and other sports served as a much needed distraction during this period. Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor, The Battle of Midway, and several other historic battles become everyday background events for Americans at home and abroad. World War II

1947 George Sargent retires as head pro. His son, Harold Sargent, takes over his duties

1942 Henry C. Heinz serves as Club President. 156 AAC members are in the Armed Forces, including Bobby Jones

1938 Charlie Yates wins the British Amateur Championshp at Royal Troon Golf Course AAC is the only club to have two members win the British Amateur

1945 AAC membership reaches a record high number of 3,300

Pictured: George and Harold Sargent

Pictured: Bobby Jones in military uniform

1946 By December, all people on the waiting list are now Golfing Members at AAC

1942 Tommy Barnes wins Southern Four-Ball for the second time

Pictured: Charlie Yates with British Amateur trophy

1948 AAC celebrates its Golden Anniversary of 50 years as a private club

1941-1942 Dot Kirby wins two consecutive National Titleholders Championships and one North South Tournament, both considered major tournaments at the time

Pictured: Tommy Barnes

1951 Dot Kirby wins U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship Water shows begin at the City Club pool which includes a special dinner. Tickets cost $1.25 and become a big family night dinner

Pictured: Dot Kirby with U.S. Women’s Amateur trophy

1957 Bingo starts at Eastlake for the first time. Cocktails and a buffet precede Bingo. Between East Lake and Downton City Club, members now have access to golf, a health club, a swimming pool, and various social events.

Pictured: Carnegie Pool

1949 The City Club undergoes remodeling. A fourth floor is added for events and makes it the city’s finest social club

Pictured: East Lake Clubhouse in 1950

1956 The AAC Mermaids win first place in the Amateur Athletic Union synchronized swimming

competition, a national event.

Pictured: Clubhouse dining

Pictured: Downtown club interior illustration

Fabulous 50’s were full of socializing and celebrating at AAC. Newly completed renovations allowed for many memorable events to take place. AAC members enjoyed access to sports, recreational activities, facilities, and entertainment events. In the decade following WWII, the Club continued to expand and enjoy athletic achievements by many talented members on the national stage.

Meanwhile... Many important historical moments happened across the country & the rest of the world during this period.

1939 Considered the best year for films, Gone with the Wind is released and earns 10 Academy Awards. Wizard of Oz, the first technicolor, is also released.

1952 Queen Elizabeth II becomes monarch of the British Commonwealth and reigns for 70 years until her death in 2022

1940 PGA established Golf Hall of Fame.

1953 The DNA double helix is discovered.

1954 Supreme Court rules that segregation is illegal in

1945 World War II ends in Europe after Germany signs an unconditional surrender.

Brown vs. Board of Education decision 1955 Ray Kroc founded McDonald’s Vietnam War begins and lasts until 1975

1945 In August, the U.S. drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force surrender of Japan. 1947 The Cold War begins and lasts until 1991. 1950 The Korean War kills 3 million people, mostly civilians and lasts until 1953. 1951 The 22nd amendment is ratified limiting the President to two terms.

1956 Elvis Presley appears on the Ed Sullivan Show Interstate Highway System is formed under President Eisenhower

1957 Soviet Union launches Sputnik and begins the Space Age/Race

Presented By The Heritage Committee IN HONOR OF THE 125 TH ANNIVERSARY

Better By the Decade A CLOSER LOOK AT 1958-1977

A VISIONARY MOVE Atlanta Athletic Club’s move north to Duluth (now Johns Creek) in the 1960s was part of a century long trend of suburbanization. With the advent of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway system, many of the Club’s members began to move out of the city. With the establishment of the Yacht Club at Lake Lanier and the sale of both East Lake and the downtown club, the AAC entered a new era. All eyes turned north…

The 1960s and 1970s were a period of renovations and significant changes for the Atlanta Athletic Club and its facilities and membership. Where members once brought their families to play East Lake during the day and stay for dinner, in the early 1960s few remained on site after a round of golf. As fine as East Lake was, it was clear that it was not where the future was going to be. The geographical center of the membership was to the north of the city, in the suburbs of Marietta, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Dunwoody, Alpharetta and Duluth, what developers called “the Golden Crescent.” Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

1966 AAC commissioned Robert Trent Jones to build a 27-hole course for $650,000.

Pictured: Yacht Club

1960 H.C. “Hickie” Allen begins to investigate the viability of purchasing property in north Fulton County. 1963 AAC purchases 614 acres for $420,000 from Ben

1967 May 17, 1967 River Bend CC opens and holds a contest to “Name the Nines: Big Bend, Waterloo and Long View.” 1968 At the April 2 Stockholder’s meeting, a Club-wide vote is taken and members vote 900 to 551 to sell the East Lake property. Bob Jones supported the selling of East Lake as members were not using it now that River Bend had opened.

Pictured: East Lake Aerial View

Summerour, who grew corn and cotton. The property is called “River Bend.”

1958 Lake Lanier Yacht Club opens on July 4, 1958. East Lake adds a 164-foot swimming pool and renovated the bathhouse and expanded the clubhouse and tennis courts.

1965 East Lake No. 2 course is sold to help finance the building of AAC’s River Bend Country Club.

1963 AAC hosts the 15th 1963 Ryder Cup championship at its East Lake Course. The American team is captained by Arnold Palmer and win by a score of 23 to 9.

Pictured: Arnold Palmer with Ryder Cup Trophy

Buz McGriff is named Athletic Director and serves the Club for 32 years.

Pictured: Buz McGriff

Pictured: Riverbend

Pictured: Carnegie Way building implosion

Read All About It!

1971 The AAC downtown building on Carnegie Way is sold for $1M to investors, who intended to build a hotel. In 1973 the building is demolished, the first building to be imploded in Atlanta.

1976 The U.S. Open is played in June on the Highlands Course. PGA tour rookie Jerry Pate wins his only major championship with the “Shot Heard Around the World.” This is also the first year players are allowed to have their own caddies at the U.S. Open.

1970 On June 17, the Athletic Center opens with an Olympic swimming pool and 5 outdoor tennis courts.

1974 The St. Andrews ballroom is added to the clubhouse.

Pictured: Athletic Center

1969 Paul Grigsby and 25 other AAC members pledge $1.6M to purchase the East Lake property. Membership dropped from over 2000 to less than 200. In September the Clubhouse is complete; the AAC downtown location on Carnegie Way is losing $25K per month and the Club votes to sell the property. Members rename the River Bend Country Club, Atlanta Athletic Club.

1973 A free standing Athletic Center is opened with basketball, volleyball, badminton, squash, a weight room and exercise room.

Pictured: Jerry Pate, U.S. Open

A Final Wish In 1971, Bobby Jones wrote a letter on November 16 to the USGA, “I would be most happy if my old club should become host for my favorite golf tournament.” Thirty-one days later, Jones dies on December 17, 1971. In 1972, the USGA awards AAC the 1976 U.S. Open Championship.

Pictured: Completed AAC Clubhouse

Meanwhile... Many important historical moments happened across the country & the rest of the world during this period.

1959 Hawaii becomes the 50th U.S. state

1968 Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, TN by James Earl Ray 1969 Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon 1970 Gas is 35 cents per gallon

1961 JFK is sworn in as the 35th and youngest president elected. In his inaugural address he challenged Americans to be active citizens: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” He announces the U.S. goal of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade.

1974 Richard Nixon resigns as President of the United States as a result of the Watergate scandal

1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I have a dream” speech 1963 U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, TX

1976 U.S. celebrates its bicentennial

1976 Apple computer is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

1964 Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan Show, beginning the “British Invasion”

1977 Star Wars opens in cinemas; Elvis Presley dies at age 42

1964 The Civil Rights Act is signed into law. 1965 Two of the top 10 highest grossing films of all time are released: The Sound of Music and Dr. Zhivago

The Vietnam War e 60s and 70s were greatly influenced by world events, one of the most significant being the VietnamWar which lasted 20 years, from 1955 to 1975. President Kennedy and then

Lyndon Johnson sent US troops into the war without formally declaring. The war tore the country apart with many young people becoming protestors of the war and conscientious objectors to the draft. In 1973, Richard Nixon withdrew the United States from the VietnamWar with the Paris Peace Accord. The accord was broken immediately and fighting continued for two more years until the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam to North Vietnam in the fall of Saigon in April 1975. The war created “the Vietnam Syndrome,” an aversion to the United States involvement in overseas military operations.

Presented By The Heritage Committee IN HONOR OF THE 125 TH ANNIVERSARY

Better By the Decade A CLOSER LOOK AT 1978-1997

A NATIONAL SPORTS HUB Atlanta Athletic Club becomes known as THE club for hosting national sporting events and celebrates sports stars with the establishment of the Buz McGriff Award in 1976 and AAC Hall of Fame in 1995. Several legendary sports celebrities were awarded the Buz McGriff Award including Arnold Palmer, Vince Dooley, Herschel Walker, Billy Payne and Ted Turner. AAC hosted the 1981 PGA Championship, several badminton competitions, tennis championships and other sporting events. The Club won multiple awards for its facilities and quickly became a destination for athletic spectacles, far and wide.

AAC acquires the four "Grand Slam" replicas in 1995; replicated by the Queen's Jewelers, Garrards of London, now housed in the Jones Museum.

1982 AAC hosts the Junior World Cup won by Jose Maria Olazabal and Nacho Gervas

Pictured: Rick Anderson

1989 Rick Anderson is named Director of Golf and serves 32 years Seven members of the AAC are inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame: Bob Jones, Jr., Tommy Barnes Sr., Alexa Stirling Fraser, Watts Gunn, Dorothy Kirby, Harold Sargent and Charlie Yates

Pictured: Jack Sargent

1979 Jack Sargent succeeds his brother Harold as the Head Golf Professional and serves until 1985, continuing the Sargent family dynasty at the Club

Pictured: 1983 AAC Clubhouse

1983 Grand Opening of newly designed AAC Clubhouse AAC hosts first Pro Invitational & Pro-Am Tennis Tournament 1984 AAC hosts the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship won by Michael Podolak of Canada AAC hosts the National Badminton Championships

Pictured: Larry Nelson

Pictured: Arnold Palmer

1981 AAC hosts the 63rd PGA Championship won by Larry Nelson of Marietta, GA

1989 April 9th was dedicated as Arnold Palmer Day as he played the signature round on the newly designed Highlands course

Pictured: PGA Championship Program

Pictured: Michael Podolak

Pictured: Robert L. Johnson and Bob Lassiter

Pictured: Georgia Amateur winners Neal Hendee, Charlie Harrison, Tommy Barnes, Sr., Watts Gunn

1994 AAC hosts the Eastern Women’s Amateur Championship won by Stephanie Neill 1996 The Robert T. Jones Golf Instruction Center opens

1993 AAC began hosting the ATP AT&T Challenge featuring Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors, the Club hosted it until 2000

1991 AAC member, Neal Hendee, wins the Georgia Amateur W.R. “Buz” McGriff retires after 30 years as Athletic Director

Pictured: First inducted Hall of Fame Class

Pictured: Betsy King

Pictured: Agassi and Sampras

1995 The Club establishes the AAC Hall of Fame for members who have established themselves in the sports world

1992 AAC hosts the 75th anniversary of the professional golf Atlanta Open, won by Don Shirley, Jr. AAC member Charlie Harrison, and former AAC head golf professional Jack Sargent are inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame

1990 AAC hosts the U.S. Women’s Open Championship won by Betsy King

Award Winning Facilities In 1991, AAC was voted best tennis facility in Georgia by the Georgia Professional Tennis Association. Now, the Club has 6 outdoor clay courts, 6 hard courts, 4 indoor courts, and is in the process of renovating the stadium court into a state-of-the-art pickleball complex with 8 outdoor courts.

Meanwhile... Many important historical moments happened across the country & the rest of the world during this period.

Ronald Reagan was elected 40th President of the United States in 1980 and served from 1981 to 1989. His term saw a restoration of prosperity at home with a goal of achieving “peace through strength” abroad. His economic policies became known as Reaganomics and emphasized reducing reliance on government, cutting taxes and government spending. His tough stance on the Soviet Union brought about the end of the Cold War.

1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre – Chinese troops kill nearly 1000 protestors who are demonstrating for democracy Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H.W. Bush declare the Cold War over and the fall of the Berlin Wall occurs on November 9. In 1990 wrecking cranes begin tearing down the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate, reuniting East and West Germany. 1990 Nelson Mandela is released after 27 years imprisonment in South Africa 1991 Operation Desert Storm begins, with US-led coalition forces bombing Iraq, during the Gulf War Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his ideas for the World Wide Web and WWW debuts as a publicly available service on the Internet 1994 Nelson Mandela sworn in as South Africa’s first black president 1997 Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash in a road tunnel in Paris

1981 Sandra Day O’Conner is sworn in as the first woman to serve on US Supreme Court

Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer First year the word “Internet” is mentioned 1985 Michael Jordan named NBA “Rookie of the Year”

1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explodes on January 28, 73 seconds into flight killing all on board including teacher Christa McAuliffe 1987 October 19th –stock market crashes and becomes known as “Black Monday” Reagan delivers his Berlin Wall Speech “Tear Down this Wall” 1988 Margaret Thatcher becomes the longest-serving British Prime Minister this century

The Soviet Collapse 1991 marked the Soviet Collapse, the internal disintegration within the USSR which ended the existence of the country and federal government as a sovereign state. Fifteen republics gained full independence on December 26, 1991. The Soviet Union had experienced internal stagnation and ethnic separatism. By late 1991, amid a catastrophic political crisis, with several republics already departing the Union and the waning of centralized power, the leaders declared that the Soviet Union no longer existed. Gorbachev resigned in December 1991 and what was left of the Soviet parliament voted to end itself.

The Soviet Red Banner being lowered from the Kremlin for the last time and replaced with the Russian tricolor on 25 December 1991, moments after Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation.

Presented By The Heritage Committee IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 125 TH ANNIVERSARY

Better By the Decade A CLOSER LOOK AT 1998-2023

WHERE HISTORY HAPPENS For over a century, Atlanta Athletic Club has been recognized as one of the best clubs in the nation, evidenced by its selection as a venue for tennis tournaments, major golf championships and dozens of regional sporting events. Though impressive, these accolades are not what make the Club great. The AAC’s legacy is rooted in the collegiality of the membership. The decision to join AAC reveals something important about the essence of the Club: Atlanta Athletic Club is a place where history happens, but also where families make memories and members make lifelong friends.

“No one can honor a club like this. The honor lies in belonging to it. I am prouder of being a member of this Club, than I could be of winning all the championships there are.”

-Bobby Jones

Photo of Bobby Jones Statue and AAC Clubhouse

Pictured: Bobby Jones Statue

2001 The Robert T. Jones Jr. statue in Centennial Garden is dedicated The 83rd PGA Championship is hosted on Highlands August 16-19. David Toms bested Phil Mickelson by one stroke. PGA is so pleased with attendance that it announces the PGA Championship will return to AAC in 2011, making AAC one of only five clubs to host three or more PGA Championships.

Pictured: Chris Borders, Gaylord Coan and Rene Cote

Pictured: Phil Mickelson and David Toms on 18th hole of final round

1998 The AAC Centennial Celebration takes place with events yearlong, culminating in a black tie Gala AAC debuts the 2,500 seat tennis stadium and hosts the 13th annual AT&T Tennis Challenge featuring Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang

2005 AAC celebrates the 75th anniversary of golf ’s greatest achievement, Bobby Jones Grand Slam in 1930 Dr. Catherine Lewis, member and historian writes “A Host to History: The Story of Atlanta Athletic Club”

Pictured: 75th Grand Slam celebration dinner

Pictured: 2,500 seat tennis stadium

2004 Martha Kirouac captains the victorious Curtis Cup Team, which was the youngest ever with teenagers Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie and Jane Park

1999 The Athletic Center is remodeled

Pictured: 2004 Curtis Cup Team

Pictured: Charlie Beljan

2008 The Great Recession causes financial difficulties resulting in a significant reduction in membership at AAC

2002 AAC hosts the 55th USGA Junior Amateur Championship, played on Highlands and won by Charlie Beljan

Pictured: remodeled Athletic Center

2018 Members Brett Barron and Bailey Tardy win the Men’s and Women’s Georgia Amateur Championship

2013 Chris Borders retires after serving as Club and General Manager for 35 years. In 2014, he is the first manager in Georgia to be inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.

2020 Club closes at outset of the COVID 19 pandemic creating significant changes in protocol and club services. After re-opening, club usage increases significantly.

Pictured: Chris Borders with Hall of Fame plaque

2014 AAC hosts the 114th U.S. Amateur Championship won by Gunn Yang of South Korea with Richard Grice on his bag

2023 AAC celebrates its 125 years with home and home golf matches with East Lake Golf Club, a Sunset Soiree at East Lake Golf Club, Founders’ Day events and a black-tie Gala

Pictured: Gunn Yang with trophy

2021 AAC hosts the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship won by Nelly Korda. She also won the gold medal at the Olympics held that year and catapults to #1 in the world.

2017 AAC hosts the Arnold Palmer Cup won by Team USA. APC players include Collin Morikawa, Victor Hovland and Sam Burns.

Pictured: Nelly Korda with trophy

2011 AAC hosts the 93rd PGA Championship won by Keegan Bradley in a 3-hole aggregate play-off with Jason Dufner Pictured: Keegan Bradley with PGA trophy

Pictured: Palmer Cup Team USA

Look to the Future USGA announces that AAC will host the 2025 Junior Girls Championship, the 2030 US Amateur Championship and the 2035 US Women’s Amateur Championship. In 2030, it will be the 100th anniversary of Bobby Jones winning the US Amateur and completing the Grand Slam.

Meanwhile... Many important historical moments happened across the country & the rest of the world during this period.

9/11 and the War on Terror – On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists attack the United States using four hijacked passenger aircraft: two that crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City; a third aircraft into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia; while the fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania following a passenger revolt. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and instigated the multi-decade global war on terror. President George H.W. Bush declares war on terrorism and invades Afghanistan where the leader of al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden was believed to be hiding. Security increases for all aspects of American life. After a 10-year manhunt, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden was killed by American special forces in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 1, 2011.

1998 Microsoft becomes the largest company in the world valued at $261 billion on the New York Stock Exchange

2008-2009 The Great Recession – major Wall Street firms fail and interest rates are cut to historic lows 2009 Barack Obama is elected as the 44th President and is elected for a second term in 2012. He is the first African American President. 2015 American Pharoah becomes the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 2016 Donald Trump is elected 45th President Britain votes to leave the EU 2021 The Atlanta Braves win the World Series

2000 The dot-com bubble bursts and thousands of dot-coms go bust

Tiger Woods becomes the youngest player to win a career Grand Slam 2003 The space shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon re-entry over Texas, killing all seven astronauts onboard 2004 Facebook is launched as a social networking site open only to students at Harvard

2005 Hurricane Katrina strikes Louisiana; the surge and levee breaks cause New Orleans to flood and 1600 perish 2007 Apple introduces the iPhone on June 29th The US Housing bubble bursts causing increasing numbers of foreclosures

2022-2023 UGA wins back-to-back national Championships

The 2020 COVID 19 pandemic caused severe social and economic disruption around the world, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression. Widespread supply shortages, including food shortages, were caused by supply chain disruptions and panic buying. Reduced human activity led to an unprecedented decrease in pollution. Educational institutions and public areas were partially or fully closed in many jurisdictions, and events were cancelled or postponed during 2020 and 2021. Many white-collar workers began working from home. Misinformation circulated through social media and mass media, and political tensions intensified. The pandemic raised issues of the balance between public health imperatives and individual rights. Pandemic Panic