Highlands Course
Johns Creek, GA
ACCESS NOT CONFIRMED18-hole full course
NTB VERIFIED · AUG 14, 2026
ACCESSNot confirmedNo access assumption added
COURSE UNIT18 holes18-hole full course
OPERATING STATUSACTIVE / VERIFYCurrent course identity confirmed
Built from official course/provider information and available golfer signal. This is a researched NTB guide, not a claimed firsthand review.
THE COURSE FILE
What the research says.
No sales pitch.
Highlands is the “you wanted the championship course, here you go” half of Atlanta Athletic Club.
PROFILE SNAPSHOT
Johns Creek, Georgia | Parent: Atlanta Athletic Club | 18-hole full course | PRIVATE | ACTIVE — VERIFIED
OFFICIAL / HIGH-CONFIDENCE FACTS
- Atlanta Athletic Club currently identifies Highlands as one of its two full 18-hole courses.
- The club calls Highlands its championship course.
- Highlands has major-championship history including:
- 1976 U.S. Open.
- 1981 PGA Championship.
- 2001 PGA Championship.
- 2011 PGA Championship.
- 2021 KPMG Women's PGA Championship at AAC.
- Current official hole-by-hole course tour is active.
- Highlands is the more severe/championship-oriented of AAC's two regulation courses.
- The current club site also confirms the shared AAC practice campus:
- 20-acre practice facility.
- 62 hitting stations.
- two putting greens.
- four pitching/chipping greens.
- two practice bunker greens.
- practice fairway bunker.
- Full-service golf shop and R.T. Jones Jr. Instruction Center.
- Private club access. No public tee-time CTA.
- Current AAC history/news pages reference a future Highlands renovation project; do not assume future-design details are already in place.
CURRENT GOLFER SIGNAL
Outside architecture commentary consistently treats Highlands as the harder, more demanding sibling, with championship-level bunkering, water-heavy par 3s and a serious test from the back tees. Keep that as golfer/architecture signal, not official condition reporting.
THE NTB TAKE
Highlands is the “you wanted the championship course, here you go” half of Atlanta Athletic Club.
This is where the trophy-history lives. It has hosted majors, it can stretch brutally long on individual holes, and the whole personality is built around making good players hit real shots.
Our call: if you get invited, this is absolutely a course you make room for.
WHO'S THIS ROUND FOR?
- Invited guests.
- Better players.
- Major-championship history nerds.
- Golf architecture fans.
- Players who want the tougher AAC experience.
PRACTICAL STUFF
- Private/member access.
- Full AAC practice complex.
- Golf shop/instruction center onsite.
- Shared clubhouse/member amenities.
CALL FIRST / UNKNOWN
- Current guest fee.
- Current caddie/cart/walking policy.
- Current exact total yardage/rating/slope after any setup changes.
- Same-week conditions.
- Timing/scope of future Highlands renovation.
IMAGE RIGHTS
AAC photography requires permission.
SOURCES
https://www.atlantaathleticclub.org/Golf https://www.atlantaathleticclub.org/Golf/Highlands_Course https://www.atlantaathleticclub.org/History https://www.atlantaathleticclub.org/About_Us/Guest_Information
SOURCES + FRESHNESS
Here’s the paper trail.
This file is merged from the completed CORE research. Date-sensitive facts still deserve a same-week check before you make the drive.
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