Old Map Reveals Something Beneath Golfers' Feet on Atlanta Course's Fifth Green

Golfers might have more on their minds when reading the green at the fifth hole at North Fulton Golf Course in Atlanta. An old map recently revealed there are up to 84 graves just below the grass.

Ray Mock, the operations director at the Chastain Park Conservancy, told WSBTV-TV he knew the graves were somewhere nearby, but it wasn't until recently that a map confirmed the exact location of the burial site used by those living in two poorhouses before the golf course was made in the 1930s.

Using sonar, officials marked each grave they found with an orange flag.

Sonar revealed air pockets in the ground, which indicated where a person is buried. The sites were then marked with flags. (Image source: WSBTV)

"As we started the survey, and Len was traveling around with his machine, he kept putting flags in the ground, and flags and more flags, and I felt a little excitement," Mock told the news station of working with Len Strozier with Omega Mapping Services. "It's like discovering something for the very first time."

"When I come to places like this, this is holy ground," Strozier said. "This is a special place. Think of the families who would come here regularly to attend to their family. It really means a lot to me, it really does."

A map revealed the exact location of the graves in the golf course. (Image source: WSBTV)

According to WSBTV, the Chastain Park Conservancy plans to leave the graves alone but is considering plantings or signage that explains that area of the park.

Watch WSBTV's report about the discovery:

(H/T: New York Daily News)