BridgeMill Athletic Club

BridgeMill Athletic Club in Canton was designed by Larry Mize and Desmond Muirhead and opened in 1998 as a par-72 layout in Cherokee County. Masters champion Larry Mize collaborated with the veteran designer Muirhead to create a demanding course through the rolling north Georgia foothills, where the landscape transitions between Piedmont and Ridge-and-Valley geology.

BridgeMill Athletic Club in Canton, Georgia opened in late 1998 as among the ambitious private golf and athletic communities in the North Atlanta market. The golf course was co-designed by Desmond Muirhead and Larry Mize — an unusual collaboration between one of golf architecture's most conceptually distinctive practitioners and one of Georgia's most celebrated professional players. Desmond Muirhead had built an international reputation for courses that challenged conventional design thinking, including Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California, which hosted the LPGA Nabisco Championship, and his role as a consultant to Jack Nicklaus on the design of Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. Muirhead's approach to course design was influenced by art history, symbolism, and spatial philosophy — he often described holes in terms of narrative or thematic concepts. Larry Mize, the 1987 Masters champion from Columbus, Georgia, who became famous for his chip-in to defeat Greg Norman in the playoff on Augusta National's 11th hole, contributed the playing perspective and regional knowledge that grounded Muirhead's more conceptual tendencies. The resulting course stretches to 7,110 yards from the championship tees to a par of 72, carved into the rolling Cherokee County terrain with bentgrass greens and Bermuda fairways.

The 16th hole — an island-green par — is frequently cited as among the visually recognized holes in the Atlanta metropolitan area, providing a signature moment within the overall layout. BridgeMill opened to considerable local attention, described at the time as among the well-balanced tests of golf in Atlanta. Beyond golf, BridgeMill Athletic Club developed one of the largest racquet and paddle sport facilities in the Atlanta area, with 33 courts including 10 pickleball courts alongside hard and clay tennis surfaces.

This extensive non-golf programming gives the club an identity as a comprehensive athletic destination rather than a golf-centric private club. Canton, the county seat of Cherokee County, has grown substantially since BridgeMill's 1998 opening as the northern Atlanta suburban market expanded up the I-575 corridor. The club serves a membership drawn from Cherokee County and the broader North Atlanta residential market, with the Muirhead-Mize golf course remaining the central attraction of the facility.