Atlanta Athletic Club begins countdown to 2011

By Stan Awtrey

For the AJC

To borrow a phrase from the NFL, the Atlanta Athletic Club is on the clock.

It is hard to believe it’s nearly been a decade since the PGA Championship was last held here. But after this week’s PGA Championship is completed at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis., all eyes will turn toward the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek.

“It was a long time looking forward and a short time looking back,” said Rick Anderson, a master PGA professional and the club’s director of golf.

In 2001 the PGA of America wasted no time making an announcement that it would be bringing the PGA Championship back to the Atlanta Athletic Club. The organization was so smitten with the club's performance and the response from the community in 2001 that a PGA official stood on the 18th green on the final day and told the fans that the event would return in 2011.

That seemed like a long time away when the announcement was made. Now it’s only a year – Aug. 8-14, 2011 -- until the championship returns to the Southeast.

“We didn’t think it was ever going to get here,” Anderson said. “That seemed like an eternity. Now when we get back from Whistling Straits, we’re next.”

And they’re ready, too.

The Atlanta Athletic Club has wasted little time getting ready for their third go-round at hosting the PGA. And the professionals who skewered the course in 20001 – David Toms shot a record 15-under par -- will find the layout has grown some teeth.

“Some people have said we’re diabolical,” said Ken Mangum, the club’s director of golf courses and grounds.

Here’s what the club has done since Toms rolled in that dramatic 12-foot par putt to beat Phil Mickelson on the 72nd hole of the 2001 PGA:

• The course is longer. Architect Rees Jones completed a renovation of the Highlands Course in 2006 and it now plays 7,486 yards to par 70. Four tees were lengthened, adding 273 yards.
• The fairway bunkers have been deepened and moved down the fairway in order to offset the length that most players possess. The bunkers have been moved ahead 10-40 yards. “If we hadn’t done that, the bunkers would have been obsolete,” Anderson said.
• The fairways are faster and firmer, as well as narrower. The surface was changed to Diamond Zoysia and Mangum said they’ll roll about nine on the Stimpmeter.
• The greens were replaced with a new strain of heat-resistant Bermuda grass known as Champion Ultradwarf. It thrives under the typically hot Georgia summers and is expected to produce greens that are firmer and more difficult to hold. Expect the greens to roll between 12 and 13.
• The rough was changed, too. The new Tifton 10 Bermuda is darker and will offer more of a contrast to the fairways. The texture is different and the ball is less likely to sink to the bottom of the rough.

The Athletic Club will be the first venue to host a major championship with this combination of grasses on its greens, fairways and rough. Organizers are confident the course will play much tougher. Anderson expects it to produce a winner in a range from 8 to 12 under par. Mangum believes it might be lower than that.

“It will be interesting to see how well they do on hard, fast greens,” said Jim Thorne, a member of the club’s executive board.

The goal is to produce an interesting championship, with the proper balance of difficulty and excitement.

“You need some excitement,” Mangum said. “It is entertainment and people like to see birdies”

Kerry Haigh, the PGA’s managing director responsible for course setup, draws praise every year for finding the proper blend. He’ll be given many options at the Athletic Club, including a potentially drivable par 4 at No. 6. No. 15, which produced Tom’s game-changing 243-yard hole-in-one in 2001, has been lengthened by 17 yards.

With no additional work expected to take place on the golf course, it won’t be long until the infrastructure begins to go up. Hospitality chalets, viewing stands, on-site scoreboards and concessions will soon start to pop up. PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka said last month that no club in the country has the physical facilities that make the Athletic Club uniquely suited to host the championship.

The quest is also underway to find the 3,500 volunteers needed to make the event a success. Tournament director Ryan Cannon expects to have volunteers from all over the country, including some from abroad.

This will be the fourth major championship that the club has hosted. The AAC wants a place in the regular PGA rotation, although Steranka was non-committal during a visit last month. The PGA and the club have a long-standing relationship. The Athletic Club already has been approved to host the 2013 NCAA Men’s Golf championship and the 2014 U.S. Amateur championship. Not only does the club want another PGA Championship – its preference is later this decade – it is asking to be considered to host the Ryder Cup, possibly for its next available slot in 2024.

“We’re very much at home hosting major championships,” said the Atlanta Athletic Club’s Tom Adderhold, the general chairman for the 2011 PGA. “It’s part of our history, which begins with Bobby Jones, and it’s something we’re comfortable with.”