Club Times Digital : October 2021

A Year of Change and Champions A LETTER FROM THE GOLF COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN

As we transition into the Fall golf season at the Atlanta Athletic Club, I would like to take a minute to send our membership an update from the AAC Golf Committee. Back in March of this year, our long-time Director of Golf, Rick Anderson, retired after 32 years of service at the AAC. I hope that most of you were able to wish Rick a fond farewell after many years of excellent leadership at our fine Club. Rick was the consummate professional, and he left a tremendous legacy for the next director to follow. David Sheppard and the Board of Directors were challenged with conducting a national search and identifying qualified candidates to fill some big shoes in our Golf Department. We were looking for an individual that had passion and knowledge for leading a well-established golf department, but also someone that would bring renewed energy and a great vision to our overall golf experience at the AAC. Well, I believe that we luckily found the perfect Director of Golf in Bud Taylor. Bud came to the AAC from Greensboro Country Club in North Carolina, where he was the Director of Golf on their golf facility, also covering 36 holes of golf. I hope most of you have encountered Bud in action at our Club because his service level and enthusiasm for the AAC membership has been refreshing to experience. Bud’s attention to detail has been evident in all facets of the golf experience at our Club, and his work ethic is contagious. We hope that you have noticed a significant difference in the golf presentation and service level from our entire golf staff. Bud has hired four new Assistant Golf Professionals (John Breedlove, Dan Shana, Glenn Scapin, and Eric Steele), and a new Director of Golf Instruction (Shawn Koch) and a new Director of Retail (Kristen Everard) - to provide our golf shop with the latest apparel and style. As you know, this has been an exciting, yet challenging, year with all of the various golf events, tournaments, and continued protocols – especially as we navigate this continued pandemic. The entire AAC staff has done a great job adjusting to these new standards and procedures to ensure that members continue to enjoy a safe environment while on campus at AAC. The staff also did an outstanding job while the AAC hosted the KPMG PGA Championship. I hope that our membership was proud to see the praise that our golf course and the entire staff received from the PGA and the national media – the golf course was outstanding. Thank you to all of our members for sacrificing two months of hitting off of mats on Highlands. We had the opportunity to deliver excellence in course condition rather than “good”, and the world recognized this excellence – and this is a credit to our outstanding membership. Throughout the remainder of this year, tournament play will continue to be a highlight for the golf membership with continued strong participation in virtually all events. The Men’s Invitational in both the Spring, and the upcoming Invitational for the Fall have experienced full participation. The Club Championship for both Men’s and Women’s programs have been well attended. Congratulations to Nick Cassini and Ava Merrill for their victories in their respective Men’s and Women’s Championships divisions, and congrats to Brett Barron for earning Low Professional honors. Their victories are quite the accomplishment considering the outstanding golfers that

participate in these Club Championship events. Interest in the AAC Junior Golf Program continues to be strong with over 300 junior golfers participating in instruction, daily clinics, weekend Par 3 events, and a multitude of golf tournaments. Congratulations to Ava Merrill and Bruce Murphy for their victories in the Junior Club Championship this year. Wow…Ava has now won five straight Junior Championships while also winning four straight Women’s Club Championships. This was Bruce Murphy’s second victory at the Boy’s Junior Champion. Congrats to all participants! As we embark on our Riverside Renovation Project, I want to encourage our membership to keep a very positive and encouraging mindset towards a successful project. Past renovations to Riverside (17+ years ago) resulted in today’s Riverside course which we have all grown to love and cherish. This Riverside Renovation Project will further enhance the beauty and playability of Riverside. During the renovation period, the golf department will be available to assist with reciprocal golf arrangements at a selected number of courses in the area. My last order of business is to continue to encourage first- class etiquette for all members of our outstanding Club. Our responsibility as a membership is to maintain a high level of decorum while on campus at AAC, including being mindful of wearing proper attire, especially while on our golf courses and using our practice facilities. This etiquette also includes monitoring pace of play, repairing ball marks (even additional ball marks), filling divots, and raking bunkers. Our responsibility as a membership is to care for “our” golf courses with the focus on leaving the conditions better than we found them on each hole. I hope that each of you enjoy the Fall weather and that you enjoy the golf courses as the weather begins to change. Thank you for all the support and encouragement you have afforded Bud Taylor and his new staff during their transition to our outstanding Club. Thanks for all of the support and encouragement that you have afforded Bud Taylor and his new staff as they have made the transition to our outstanding Club. I have always been told that the best part of the membership experience is the people that you encounter at the AAC each day. We have the friendliest membership and most encouraging staff under David Sheppard’s leadership. It should make us all proud to be members at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

Sincerely, Brad Kuehn Board of Directors Golf Committee Chairman