CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hole No. 17 at Quail Hollow Club for the Wells Fargo Championship is a gorgeous, but daunting hole.
" Very difficult, challenging Par 3 hole," club PGA Professional Scott Davenport said. "We’ve got water in front. Water left. Bailing out to the right looks like a good idea but you’re chipping back towards the water. It’s very challenging as well. Pros are going to play somewhere between 180-195 yards.
Yeah, well we’re not. Let’s move up.
"This is a prevailing wind," Davenport said. "It’s a little into us. A lot of hole here. The green is somewhat receptive. But if the ball lands beyond the middle it tends to get on the downslope and run right through the green. Very, very difficult shot.”
Carrying the water here, into that prevailing wind, is something the professionals make look very easy. But I can tell you, and you can see with a splashed ball, that it is not.
Once near the green, the challenges continue.
“You can see the grain change, see where it’s a little dark and it gets light, you know you’re going downhill, down grain," Davenport said. "So the wind is going to affect it too. So putter is a great option. So I think you’d see a lot of the Tour guys putting it from around here.”
Now two-thirds of the way through the Green Mile, but on to the wildest ride of them all, No. 18.