Vincent Publishing - Index

Vincent Publishing - 2008 Wachovia Championship - Index

QUAIL HOLLOW HISTORY
90
It was ten years before the current clubhouse was
completed.
Although the early membership consisted, as it does
today, of some of the city’s wealthiest and most influential
people, times were often hard financially but it
bore up and is today a plush and healthy club with a
membership so exclusive, tee times are still not necessary.
The facilities continue to grow and improve. Along
with that progress, the golf course has evolved into
one that receives what you might call rave reviews
from PGA TOUR players.
Like the club, the course got off to a shaky start.
George Cobb was hired to design it, largely on the
basis of his work in building Augusta National Golf
Club’s par-3 course. Health problems limited Cobb’s
presence on the site and eventually led to his leaving
the project before it was completed. Some members
oversaw the completion.
Cobb’s design turned out to be disappointing. It was
too plain. The bunkering was flawed and the layout
made negligible use of the big, picturesque water hazard
in the middle of it. Even Jack Nicklaus was critical
of Quail Hollow when the course was chosen as
one of three that would host tournaments in which
all eligible players were required to participate.
“I thought they (the PGA TOUR) said these designated
tournaments were going to be played on good
courses,” he said. Questioned later about his remarks,
Nicklaus offered his thoughts on how the course
could be improved.
Tom Jackson was summoned in the late 1960’s to
tighten the course up with additional bunkers and
trees, but little of what he proposed was adopted
until much later.
Arnold Palmer then redid several holes, but the
course still needed more teeth. In the mid-1990’s,
Tom Fazio was hired to renovate the entire course.
Fazio, generally thought to be the best working today,
took an aggressive approach. Among his changes was
the movement of the seventh, 14th and 17th greens
to bring water more into play. He also created a false
creek that runs alongside the 18th green that pumps
water up the fairway from the lake and recycles it
back down.
Today’s version has been mentioned by many players,
including Tiger Woods, as one of the best on the
PGA TOUR. Some say the U.S. Open could be played
at Quail Hollow just as it is.
2008 Wachovia Championship Official Event Program