Bobby Jones Golf Course in Atlanta, managed by Bobby Jones Links, has been selected as the 2025 Jemsek National Course of the Year by the National Golf Course Owners Association.
Regional winners were chosen from the East, Midwest, South and West sections of the United States. Bobby Jones Golf Course was named South Region Course of the Year, and from these regional winners, the NGCOA Board of Directors chose the acclaimed Georgia property as the 2025 Jemsek National Course of the Year.
The NGCOA’s Jemsek National Course of the Year Award recognizes a facility that epitomizes exceptional course quality and management excellence, makes important contributions to its communities and the game, and is a model of operations to its peers.
“Through the leadership and hard work of President Marty Elgison and the non-profit Bobby Jones Golf Course Foundation, the BJL management and leadership, and our staff who works tirelessly to make the golf experience here unforgettable and truly accessible to everyone, this property has become a tremendous source of pride for our team, the city of Atlanta and the golf industry,” said Bobby Jones Golf Course General Manager Joshua Deal. “Our entire staff is proud and humble – it is an incredible and meaningful honor to be able to deliver every day on the Foundation’s mission to ‘Make a Difference Through Golf,’”
As the result of a $33 million redevelopment project that began in 2011, the course was transformed from a poorly conditioned, obsolete, and underutilized property into a facility that not only features a unique reversible 9 hole layout designed by the late Bob Cup and a state of the art driving range, but is now an integral part of the local golf community and a shining example of how a course can enrich the lives of people throughout a community. For example, through its PGA Hope program, a free initiative that teaches golf to active-duty military and veterans, BJGC has made a significant impact in the lives of countless service people – with four different six-week clinics that are free to veterans and active-duty military.
The Foundation’s focus on junior golf is exemplified by BJGCs’ PGA Junior League program, which had more than 250 children participate last year. The weekly matches were on Sunday afternoons, which is prime real estate for tee times, demonstrating the course’s commitment to junior golf. More than 6,000 juniors have come through the course in the past five years and the Youth on Course program allows juniors to play the course at any time for $5.
The facility’s Dan Yates Putting Course and Cupp Links, a five-hole par-3 course, can each be played free of charge, as can the practice putting green and chipping green. Bobby Jones Golf Course also has the only outdoor publicly accessible range in Atlanta using Trackman Range technology, which debuted there in 2024. The property’s centerpiece – the Murray Golf House – serves multiple roles. It is the clubhouse and is home to the Georgia State Golf Association, Georgia PGA Section and Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. Boone’s restaurant was originally designed to be a grab-and-go food center but has turned into an upscale experience that features American cuisine with beautiful views of the course and the Atlanta skyline.
“To take a property from an under-utilized, virtual afterthought in the local golf market to a prototype of how public golf courses everywhere should function and serve their surrounding communities is just incredible,” said BJL Founding Partner Steve Willy. “The programming there has galvanized a community, brought more people into golf, and the clubhouse, course and practice facilities are genuinely a desirable and fun place to spend time. No matter how many lunch and dinner meetings we have in Boone’s restaurant, it’s still exhilarating and humbling to walk into the Murray Golf House and appreciate the splendor of it all, how far this place has come, and what it now means to so many golfers in Atlanta.”
Added Elgison, who oversaw the redevelopment of the facility and remains in charge of its day-to-day decision making: “It has turned out better than I ever expected it to be. It has become a model for the renovation of municipal golf courses across America.”
Each year, the NGCOA recognizes the most outstanding members of the past year, and the individuals and organizations that have helped preserve the tradition of the game while embracing the challenges and opportunities of the golf business. The winners will be recognized throughout NGCOA’s Golf Business Conference, Jan, 20-22, 2025, in Orlando.
“We will be recognizing an outstanding lineup of golf industry leaders during NGCOA’s Golf Business Conference 2025,” said Cathy Harbin, Owner of Pine Ridge Golf Course and Board President of the NGCOA. “All of our award recipients have made incredible impacts on golf, especially within their communities, and we’re thrilled to celebrate such a deserving group.”
Bobby Jones Links is a privately owned club management company offering hands-on, turnkey operations management and advisory services to select daily fee, private and semi-private clubs. Based in Atlanta with an office in Naples, FL, the company supports more than 30 properties in 12 states, including Bobby Jones Golf Course, Hope Valley Country Club, and Travis Pointe Country Club.
Photos: Bobby Jones Golf Course (Bobby Jones Links)