Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 4
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Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 4
Charlie Yates Golf Course, home of the East Lake First Tee program, is a nine-hole executive course built on the old site of the No. 2 Course at East Lake G.C. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
Charlie Yates Golf Course - East Lake First Tee
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Charlie Yates Golf Course - East Lake First Tee
Atlanta's East Lake First Tee program is based at Charlie Yates Golf Course. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 1
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Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 1
There are three par 4s and six par 3s at Charlie Yates Golf Course. The first measures 161 yards from the back tee. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 5
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Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 5
Though it's only nine holes, you can use every club in your bag at Charlie Yates Golf Course. The fifth hole is 201 yards from the back tees. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 6
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Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 6
One of the par 4s at Charlie Yates Golf Course is the 325-yard sixth hole. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 7
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Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 7
The seventh hole at Charlie Yates Golf Course plays from 108 yards to 173 yards. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 8
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Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 8
Charlie Yates Golf Course's par-3 eighth is 205 yards from the tips, but at least it plays downhill. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 9
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Charlie Yates Golf Course - hole 9
The finishing hole at Charlie Yates Golf Course certainly plays much longer than its 322 yards. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
Charlie Yates Golf Course - practice tee
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Charlie Yates Golf Course - practice tee
Charlies Yates Golf Course is a popular place to practice. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
Charlie Yates Golf Course - Yates and Jones
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Charlie Yates Golf Course - Yates and Jones
Who was Charlie Yates? He was an East Lake legend who grew up learning the game by watching Bobby Jones (in this picture with Yates in the clubhouse). Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
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Home of The First Tee of East Lake in Atlanta, Charlie Yates Golf Course shines as a nine-hole executive

ATLANTA -- Opened in 1998, Charlie Yates Golf Course is a 1,953-yard, nine-hole executive course that serves as the home of The First Tee of East Lake program in Atlanta.

The course was designed by Rees Jones on the site of the old No. 2 Course at East Lake Golf Club, which was designed by Donald Ross. Jones also renovated the original course at East Lake Golf Club, which used to be part of the original Atlanta Athletic Club and now serves as the host course of the PGA Tour Championship as well as other important events.

As for the history of the old No. 2 course, Ross designed it in 1928 and it opened on May 31, 1930, to coincide with the final day of Jones' victorious British Amateur championship match. The course was located right across the street from East Lake's main course. Not long after East Lake hosted the 1963 Ryder Cup, though, things began to deteriorate around East Lake and its surrounding neighborhood. Atlanta Athletic Club sold the No. 2 Course to developers and moved to its present home in Duluth.

In 1993 a local charitable foundation purchased East Lake with the intent to restore it as a tribute to Jones and the club's other great amateur golfers. Rees Jones restored the original in 1994 and redesigned the old No. 2 Course in 1998. While the original course is technically private (members after 1994 are all corporate), its proceeds benefit the community and Charlie Yates Golf Course.

As for Yates, who died in 2005 at the age of 92, he grew up in a house on 2nd Avenue between East Lake's two courses. A successful Atlanta businessman, he was a two-time Georgia State Amateur Champion, National Intercollegiate Champion, Western Amateur Champion, British Amateur Champion, two-time member of the Walker Cup team and captain of the U.S. Walker Cup team. Yates, longtime Secretary of Augusta National Golf Club, was the low scoring Amateur at the Masters five times. Yates' mentor was Bobby Jones, and they both grew up playing golf at East Lake.

Mike Bailey is a former Golf Advisor senior staff writer based in Houston. Focusing primarily on golf in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America with an occasional trip to Europe and beyond, he contributes course reviews, travel stories and features as well as the occasional equipment review. An award-winning writer and past president of Texas Golf Writers Association, he has more than 25 years in the golf industry. He has also been on staff at PGA Magazine, The Golfweek Group and AvidGolfer Magazine. Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeBaileyGA and Instagram at @MikeStefanBailey.
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Home of The First Tee of East Lake in Atlanta, Charlie Yates Golf Course shines as a nine-hole executive