Piedmont Driving Club
Encyclopedia
The Piedmont Driving Club is a private social club
with two club houses in Atlanta, Georgia
. It has enjoyed a reputation as one of the most prestigious private clubs in the South.
Founded in 1887 originally as the Gentlemen's Driving Club, the name reflected the interest of the members to "drive" their horse & carriages on the club grounds ((see driving club
). The club later briefly used the adjacent grounds as a golf course until it sold the land to the city in 1904 to create Piedmont Park
.
In keeping with its original purpose—the promotion of recreation and enjoyment for its members and their families—the club's current facilities include dining, golf
, swimming, tennis
, platform tennis and squash
. In May 2000, the club built a Rees Jones designed 18 hole championship golf course and executive Par 3 course several miles away from the main clubhouse at 4405 Camp Creek Parkway.
From July 2008 through December 2009, it underwent a massive renovation to its informal dining and athletic facilities.
The by-laws from the 1920s stipulate that membership was capped at 500, new members had to be vouched for by three current members and that successful candidates receive zero "no" votes from the others. A semi-annual fee of $20 was required. There was to be no open bar and no one was allowed on the premises after midnight (or be fined $50). Membership continues to reflect the diverse business and social leadership within Atlanta.
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
with two club houses in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. It has enjoyed a reputation as one of the most prestigious private clubs in the South.
Founded in 1887 originally as the Gentlemen's Driving Club, the name reflected the interest of the members to "drive" their horse & carriages on the club grounds ((see driving club
Driving club
In the 19th century, a driving club was a membership club for the recreational practice of carriage driving.- The B.D.C. :One of the first driving clubs was the Bensington Driving Club, founded in February 1807 at Bensington, Oxfordshire, also known as the Benson Driving Club when Bensington became...
). The club later briefly used the adjacent grounds as a golf course until it sold the land to the city in 1904 to create Piedmont Park
Piedmont Park
Piedmont Park is a urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's farm and residence...
.
In keeping with its original purpose—the promotion of recreation and enjoyment for its members and their families—the club's current facilities include dining, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, swimming, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, platform tennis and squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
. In May 2000, the club built a Rees Jones designed 18 hole championship golf course and executive Par 3 course several miles away from the main clubhouse at 4405 Camp Creek Parkway.
From July 2008 through December 2009, it underwent a massive renovation to its informal dining and athletic facilities.
The by-laws from the 1920s stipulate that membership was capped at 500, new members had to be vouched for by three current members and that successful candidates receive zero "no" votes from the others. A semi-annual fee of $20 was required. There was to be no open bar and no one was allowed on the premises after midnight (or be fined $50). Membership continues to reflect the diverse business and social leadership within Atlanta.