Here’s what you need to know about the Quail Hollow Club, host of the 2017 PGA Championship.
1. Quail Hollow Club, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, hosted a PGA Tour event from 1969-1979 (the Kemper Open) and 2003-2016 (the Wachovia and Wells Fargo Championship), and a Champions Tour event (the PaineWebber Invitational) from 1983-1988. Past champions include Tom Weiskopf in 1971, 1973 and 1977, Raymond Floyd in 1975, Tiger Woods in 2007, Rory McIlroy in 2010 and 2015, and Rickie Fowler in 2012. James Hahn was the most recent winner at the course, in 2016.
2. The Quail Hollow Club was officially founded in 1960 by 21 original members.
3. The course was originally designed by architect George Cobb, and was later modified by Arnold Palmer in 1986, and both modified and redesigned by Tom Fazio in 1997, 2003, 2013-14 and 2016.
4. Rory McIlroy set the Wells Fargo Championship scoring record at Quail Hollow in 2015, with a score of 21 under par (267).
5. The Wells Fargo Championship tends to be a pretty low-scoring event. The highest score ever to win was Derek Ernst in 2013, who shot an eight-under 280.
6. That may change at this year’s PGA, where extensive renovations have been made in the past year to toughen up the course.
7. The three closing holes at Quail Hollow are known as “The Green Mile,” and are statistically among the toughest closing holes on the PGA Tour every year. No. 16 is a 506-yard par 4, No. 17 is a 223-yard par 3, and No. 18 is a 494-yard par 4. Water comes into play on all three holes.
8. There may be a real home field advantage for 2012 U.S. Open champion and Charlotte resident Webb Simpson, who is not only a member at Quail Hollow, but also lives right off the seventh tee.
9. In 2021, another prestigious event will be held at Quail Hollow: the Presidents Cup.
10. Unfortunately, Quail Hollow is a private club, so the only way to play the course is through a current member.
