The families of Charles, Dan, Fran and Alan Yates met  at the East Lake Country Club this past Sunday, April 29 for a reception and lunch. East Lake was the site of many memories and momentous occasions for the four siblings because the family house was next to the club and it is not certain whether they spent more time at home or playing next door. The family created lasting golf and swimming legacies.

A little club history:

During the mid to late 1800s, the United States was experiencing an unprecedented growth in the interest of sports, especially amateur sports.  At the time, Atlanta did offer many social clubs, but there was no club organized for the purpose of promoting athletics.  Led by Burton Smith, a group of 65 men formed the Atlanta Athletic Club (AAC) in 1898. John Heisman, the Georgia Tech football coach for whom the famed Heisman Trophy was later named, directed the club’s athletic program of swimming, tennis, basketball and track. The club initially had no golf course, but the club leaders soon realized the increased interest in golf, and in 1904, acquired property  that was known as East Lake.  East Lake itself, a sparkling stretch of water surrounded by forestland, was originally the site of an amusement park in the 1890s.  It was privately owned and its chief attractions were a swimming beach, picnic tables, hot dog-popcorn-and-peanut stands, and a penny arcade.

In 1970, the East Lake Meadows public housing project was built on the site of the club’s “Number 2” course and became a center for poverty, drugs, and violence.  Middle-income homeowners fled the surrounding neighborhood, replaced by low-income renters.  By the 1980s, once proud East Lake was a tired, mostly forgotten golf course, seemingly as hopeless as the surrounding neighborhood.

This all changed in 1993 when a local charitable foundation purchased East Lake with the intent to restore it as a tribute to Bobby Jones and the club’s other great amateur golfers.  The East Lake Foundation has used the renovation as a catalyst for revitalizing the surrounding community. All profits from the club, as well as charitable donations from the club’s corporate membership, support the East Lake Foundation and its remarkable redevelopment project. The revived East Lake stands as a symbol of tradition and honor to those who know its history and were a part of its past.  But, even more importantly, it stands as a symbol of hope to those who will live in its future.

In addition to The East Lake course restoration, ELF created at short course named after Charles R Yates. This course is where local kids are able to learn the sport and traditions of Golf. Many Atlantans also find it an excellent short course for a quick tune up round. Several Yates families took part in playing the course before the reception. Click on picture at left to see more images from the golf.