Special Places - Quail Hollow Club

The PGA Tour touches down this week in Charlotte, North Carolina - the second largest US financial centre after New York City - for the Wells Fargo Championship hosted at the private member Quail Hollow Club. The golf course was laid out in 1961 by architect George Cobb whose most famous creation is the par 3 course at Augusta National. Cobb’s original design here has undergone extensive renovation and reconstruction work over the years, most notably by Tom Fazio and Arnold Palmer. Quail Hollow is rated as one of the finest courses in the Southeast United States, a ranking supported by its selection to host the PGA Championship in 2017. But it is not without its critics, among them last year’s runner-up Phil Mickelson, who after the third round commented, “As beautifully designed as this golf course is tee-to-green, the greens are by far the worst-designed greens we play on tour.”

This 6800m par 72 layout was designed to capture the natural beauty and challenging terrain of this part of the expansive Piedmont plateau region. Mature pines and oaks line the fairways of the immaculately manicured course, and the pristine greens that follow the unusual contours of the hills ask demanding questions of the sharpest short game. Highlights of the course include the tight driving but reachable par 5 7th hole with a creek running down the entire right side, and the exciting risk and reward driveable par 4 8th. The three closing holes – dubbed The Green Mile and comprising the 195m par 3 17th with its peninsular green sandwiched between two 440m par 4s– are consistently the toughest finishing stretch on Tour and just staying bogey free here will gain shots on the field.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy will be looking to put his meltdown at the Masters behind him and draw on the great karma from last year’s closing round of 62. World number two Martin Kaymer is also in the field together with new FedEx Cup points leader Bubba Watson going for back to back wins, and Phil Mickelson tuning his game up for next week’s Players Championship, the so-called fifth Major.