Special to Spike on Golf and Travel
It has been more than half a decade since the $33 million redevelopment project at Bobby Jones Golf Course was completed and stakeholders at the 144-acre facility adjacent to Atlanta Memorial Park often huddle to assess whether they believe they have fulfilled their lofty mission.
The original course opened in 1932 as a tribute to Bobby Jones and the City of Atlanta transferred ownership of the property to the State in 2016. It reopened in late November 2018 – no public funds were used – transforming the 18-hole course into a nine-hole reversible layout. It took two more years to complete the other complimentary facilities.
“We opened our doors, and we didn’t really know what was going to happen,” said Jason Kuiper, Director of Instruction at the Grand Slam Golf Academy at the golf course. “We had a vision with junior golf and adaptive golf and serving veterans. We wanted to create this public golf atmosphere with all these different, innovative ideas for golf.
“We were going to try to redesign what urban golf redevelopment was and hopefully be successful to the point where other projects similar to this would look at us as the first one to do it.”
TRANSFORMATION
Kuiper and other leaders from Bobby Jones Golf Course and Bobby Jones Links (BJL), the Alpharetta-based management company that oversees operation of the course and roughly three dozen other public and private golf properties across the country, meet frequently and constantly ask themselves if they are on the right track.
“To take a property from an under-utilized, virtual afterthought in the local golf market to a protype of how public golf courses everywhere should function and serve their surrounding communities is just incredible,” said BJL Founding Partner Steve Willy.
“The programming at Bobby Jones Golf Course has galvanized a community, brought more people into the game and the clubhouse, golf 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 the tremendous, welcoming 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.”
Marty Elgison is the President of the Bobby Jones Golf Course Foundation, which oversaw the redevelopment and remains in charge of its day-to-day decision making. He is overwhelmed by early success stories.
“It’s turned out better than I ever expected it to be,” Elgison said. “It really has become a model for the renovation of municipal golf courses across the country.”
TEAM BUILDING INSPIRES COMMUNITY BUILDING
The logical question is, how has Bobby Jones Golf Course been able to come so far so quickly? What are the keys to its overall success?
The simple answer is that there is something at the facility for anyone who is interested in playing the game. And much of it is free to the public. The Dan Yates Putting Course is free. Playing at Cupp Links, a five-hole par-3 course, is free. A new practice putting green and chipping green can both be used for no charge.
Bobby Jones Golf Course is the only outdoor publicly accessible range in the Atlanta area that uses the innovative TrackMan Range technology, which debuted there in 2024. TrackMan Range’s golf-ball tracking and tour-proven analytics make range sessions more dynamic, fun, and focused on game improvement. Its data- and graphics-driven Virtual Golf, Practice, and Entertainment modes turn practice into a gamified experience and the Bobby Jones clientele enjoys the elevated experience TrackMan technology brings.
“Bobby Jones Golf Course means a great deal to so many golfers in the Atlanta area” said Jake Southards, Southeast Regional Manager for Trackman Range. “It has the perfect practice facilities for Trackman Range technology, with golfers of all skill levels now being able to benefit from a more rewarding and entertaining practice experience. Josh Deal and his team operate a first-class facility, so introducing our industry-leading technology has been a perfect fit.”
Bobby Jones Links offers perpetual staff training, business management and an innovative approach to programming and day-to-day operations. Bobby Jones Golf Course General Manager Joshua Deal also instills best practices and empowering leadership to the Bobby Jones Golf Course team.
A shining example of how the course stands apart from other public facilities is Kuiper’s Grand Slam Academy, which is equipped with all the latest state-of-the-art cameras, software, and technology.
BJL’s best-practices playbook, a robust programming schedule and buy-in from every employee is another major determining factor in the course’s success. There are junior golf programs, adaptive golf programs, sessions for veterans, clinics for new golfers and women’s clinics, just to name a few. It is important that everyone marches in the same direction.
LIFE-CHANGING IMPACT
Bobby Jones Golf Course’s PGA Hope program, a free initiative that teaches golf to active-duty military and veterans, has made a significant impact in the lives of countless servicepeople. The course’s PGA HOPE program boasts four different six-week clinics that are free to veterans and active-duty military. Kuiper has nine certified PGA of America professionals on staff who help with HOPE (helping our patriots everywhere). The course also does a similar clinic with the Salute Military Golf Association.
Dr. Funmilayo Aranmolate, a former Air Force optometrist and recovering stroke victim, has gained a great deal from being involved in PGA HOPE’s instructional sessions.
“My experience has really been life-changing because it is making me get outside. I got into the program because I had a stroke, and one of the therapies was adaptive golf. And someone – one of the stroke survivors – at the Georgia State Golf Association adaptive golf told me about their other programs for veterans, including PGA Hope. I went to the clinic and, from there, I started volunteering with an adaptive golf program. PGA Hope has made me a better golfer and allowed me to realize I could play golf – despite my disability. The biggest thing is that it has helped me with my confidence. I was an athletic person, but I didn’t know where sports could play a part in me being able to do something athletic.”
Bobby Jones’ PGA Junior League program had more than 250 children participate last summer. The weekly practice was on Sunday afternoons, which is prime real estate for tee times.
“What other golf course is going to give up three hours on a Sunday?” Kuiper asked. “Most courses would say absolutely not, but we do because we have the support of the foundation to make junior golf a priority.”
More than 4,000 juniors have come through the course in the last five years and the Youth on Course program allows juniors to play the course at any time for $5.
PRESERVING HISTORY AND ADVANCING GOLF’S FUTURE
The centerpiece for the property is the Murray Golf House, which serves many roles. It’s the clubhouse for Bobby Jones Golf Course 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.
“Five years in you catch wind of other projects,” Kuiper said. “They visit us and want to learn about how we did this. How did you create a nonprofit, how did you raise the money? These are the things they want to know.
“There’s at least a handful of other projects that were born out of this idea. That’s a cool story.”
Bobby Jones Golf Course has come a long way in a short time and is pleased with its position in the “grow the game” conversations. But there is so much more left to do, and so many more people to serve. Collectively, Bobby Jones Links, the golf course staff, and the Bobby Jones Golf Course Foundation maintain a vision to keep this golf course at the forefront of making the game accessible and enriching for all who step on the grounds.
“We’re going to continue to innovate and we’re going to stay at the forefront of golf and golf technology, both in terms of instruction and entertainment,” Elgison said, all as part of our mission to make a difference through golf.”
Photos Courtesy of Bobby Jones Links