Quail Hollow Club is an annual stop on the PGA Tour except for the years in which it hosts the PGA Championship. Obviously, 2025 is such a year as the second major of the year heads to Charlotte and this venue for the second time. However, ahead of the tournament, six-time PGA Tour-winner Hunter Mahan was none too kind to the golf course and all but said that it's nothing close to what a major championship venue should be, saying that it's "like a Kardashian" and lacks a soul.
In an interview with Gabby Herzig of The Athletic ($), Mahan perfectly described why Quail Hollow, which has a knack for producing top-tier champions but also being heavily criticized by golf architecture enthusiasts, fails to inspire some fans and even many of the pros who compete on the course.
"I guess I would say Quail Hollow is like a Kardashian," Mahan said. "It’s very modern, beautiful and well-kept. But it lacks a soul or character."
Tell us how you really feel, Hunter!
While that criticism is certainly biting of both Quail Hollow and the Kardashians alike, it's also not entirely wrong when it comes to the golf course. For as often as we see the North Carolina venue and with it hosting its second PGA Championship, it fails to inspire in the way that many other major championship hosts do.
Ex-PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan rips Quail Hollow ahead of PGA Championship
One of the biggest criticisms of Quail Hollow — and why many people are so bullish on both Rory McIlory and Bryson DeChambeau at the PGA Championship — is that it can simply be overpowered by the longest drivers in professional golf. The fairway bunkers meant as a deterrent for some players are consistently sailed over by such drivers of the ball. And though the rough is thick for a major venue, the distance advantage is still overtaken in that capacity as well.
But what Mahan is really getting at is the seminal question when it comes to a great golf course: What is the defining trait of Quail Hollow? Some would probably argue that the finishing stretch coloquially known as "The Green Mile" would be that, but are two relatively long Par 4s and a 223-yard Par 3 really all that interesting when there aren't many tough decisions to be made? Many would argue that The Green Mile is more overrated and contrived than it is a defining trait.
That idea permeates throughout the rest of the golf course as well. Now, to be sure, Quail Hollow does offer more of a stern test than last year's PGA Championship venue, Valhalla. We should see lower scores and a tight finish in Charlotte for the second major on the calendar. At the same time, though, having those venues back-to-back when neither have the ineffably great qualities of a Southern Hills or Oak Hill or Kiawah Island is not the best outcome for golf fans.
Mahan seems like he might've been holding onto his Kardashian metaphor for quite some time and I'm not nearly in the world of celebrity enough to judge whether that part of the comparison is apt. When it comes to Quail Hollow, however, there's a lot of evidence that the ex-PGA Tour winner is hitting the nail on the head and is starting a conversation that will only continue throughout the week.