Quail Hollow low in rankings, high on popularity lists

What does it say that the Quail Hollow Club is not ranked among the top 100 golf courses in the United States by either Golf Digest or Golf Magazine, but 27 of the top 30 players in the world are playing here this week in the Wachovia Championship?

"It says everything (about one) and nothing about the other," PGA Tour player Lucas Glover said.

Exactly.

In our list-obsessed society, everybody and everything has to rank somewhere.

Quail Hollow so far hasn't gotten a sniff on the prestige lists. Well, it did rank 37th in Golfweek's list of modern courses, but it was ranked second in Charlotte behind Longview in another poll.

And those voters won't be asked back to Quail any time soon.

What says more than any rankings list is the attendance of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and their mates here this week and the substantial fact the USGA and the PGA of America are interested in hosting future major events at Quail Hollow.

It doesn't mean they will, but they're interested.

Club President Johnny Harris believes if the U.S. Open is played in North Carolina, it should be played at Pinehurst No. 2. He's right about that. Pinehurst No. 2 has tradition, is the St. Andrews of American golf, and the national championship should be there on a regular basis.

But Harris has never made a secret of wanting to host a major championship at Quail Hollow. That was the idea before the Wachovia Championship was born.

The idea of hosting a PGA Championship and a Ryder Cup—perhaps five years apart—puts a twinkle in some eyes.

Plus, there is no promise the Wachovia Championship will be at Quail Hollow forever. It's at Quail through 2010, and beyond that is open to conjecture.

It's also no secret Quail Hollow is a work in progress. It was originally designed by George Cobb in 1961, but it wasn't a great layout. It was tweaked a few times, but it wasn't until Tom Fazio put his attention to it that Quail Hollow was transformed.

"We don't have the burden of what we were to deal with or what we are," Harris said. "We have an obligation and burden of what we can be. You're going to see more changes in the next few years."

By this time next year, it's likely the par-4 third hole will have a different look, with its green moved down and to the right from where it now sits.

The dry creek bed that runs along the trees on the right side of the third hole will be filled with water again and will slice in front of the par-3 second green, too.

The green at the par-4 eighth, the one funky spot on an otherwise classic-looking course, will probably be softened.

It's also possible that, a couple of years from now, the famous Green Mile finishing stretch will look different.

It's not hard to imagine the 16th green sitting on the edge of the adjacent lake.

If Quail Hollow suffers in the eyes of some purists who prefer their courses to be something other than the hybrid created by Cobb, Arnold Palmer and Fazio, that's their opinion.

Like so many things, it's about perceptions.

But evidently Tiger, Phil and the people in the business of major championships like what they see at Quail Hollow.

Provider:
Knight-Ridder / Tribune Business News / Charlotte Observer, The (NC)