Piedmont Driving Club

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The Piedmont Driving Club is a private country club located at 1215 Piedmont Avenue, Ne., 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. 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 — including the only North American doubles squash court in the Southern United States. In May of 2000, the club built a new, 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.

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.