In his 1998 novel A Man in Full, Tom Wolfe captured how some see the architecture of Atlanta’s social order with a single observation about the Piedmont Driving Club: “You might have the grandest house in all of Buckhead and the summer place on Sea Island and the biggest private jet and the ranch or two in Wyoming, every toy a man could possibly long for—and yet your failure to make the roster of the Piedmont Driving Club would always be hanging over you, like a reproach.”
Past the boutiques of Buckhead Village, beyond the high-rises of Peachtree Road, exists another layer of the neighborhood—one accessed not by GPS coordinates, but by introductions, referrals, and occasionally, a secret phone number. These clubs span a remarkable spectrum: from institutions with century-long legacies to speakeasies that didn’t exist five years ago. Whether you’re a longtime resident curious about what lies behind that unmarked door you’ve passed a hundred times, or a newcomer decoding how this city works, here’s your guide.
The Old Guard
The Capital City Club, chartered in 1883, counts among its earliest members Robert Woodruff and Bobby Jones. The downtown clubhouse remains a temple of old Atlanta elegance, while its Brookhaven location offers championship golf. The Buckhead Club, perched 26 floors up in the Sovereign building, represents the city club tradition with panoramic skyline views and curated networking events.
If any single institution anchors Buckhead’s private club culture, it’s Cherokee Town and Country Club. Founded in 1956 when a group of young couples decided Atlanta’s northwest quadrant deserved a social club of its own, Cherokee now operates two locations: the Country Club with a golf course along the Chattahoochee River in Sandy Springs, and the Town Club on West Paces Ferry Road—the geographic and symbolic heart of Buckhead. The Town Club occupies the Grant Estate, a residence built in 1917 that has been greatly expanded over time as membership grew (another significant expansion is in process). Today, Cherokee sits just down the road from the Governor’s Mansion, named the “Very Best Private Country Club” in America, its membership invitation-only and its waitlist measured in years.
Just beyond Buckhead’s borders sit two clubs whose influence on Buckhead is substantial…