The National Golf Course Owner’s Association this week recognized Bobby Jones Golf Course in Atlanta as the organization’s 2025 Jemsek National Course of the Year.
The 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.
Bobby Jones Golf Course features a reversible nine-hole layout and a state-of-the-art range. Beginning in 2011 the facility underwent a $33 million renovation led by Bob Cupp that replaced a tired 18-hole course and transformed it into a community asset with a focus on junior golf and military veterans. The reversible course is called Magnolia in one direction and Azalea in the other.
The facility also features a five-hole par-3 course named Cupps Links and the Dann Yates Putting Course, both of which can be played free with donations encouraged. The clubhouse is named the Murray Golf House and is home to the Georgia State Golf Association, Georgia PGA Section and Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.
“To take a property from an underutilized, 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 Steve Willy, founding partner of Bobby Jones Links, the privately owned company that manages Bobby Jones Golf Course. “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.”
The facility opened in 1932 as a tribute to Bobby Jones, the famed golfer, and was owned by the city of Atlanta. Ownership transferred to the state of Georgia in 2016, and the course reopened in 2018 after the renovations. No public funds were used in the renovation, which was completed under the guidance of the Bobby Jones Golf Course Foundation.
Check out a selection of photos of Bobby Jones Golf Course below.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Photos: Bobby Jones Golf Course in Atlanta wins prestigious award
