‘Not A Proper Major Championship Test’ - Why Quail Hollow Proved Controversial In PGA Championship First Round

It has not taken long for the first controversial subject of the 2025 PGA Championship to arise. But, it had nothing to do with the performance of any early-wave players in round one or how Quail Hollow looks exceptional given it has soaked up over four inches of rain in the past week.

No, it's the length of the rough - specifically, around the greens and close to penalty areas.

Typically, conditions at Major championships are absolutely brutal. The courses are as long as possible, the greens are at their firmest and any poor shots are often compounded by the ball ending up among dense grass, in bushes, or in the drink.

However, while the SubAir system has turned the greens at Quail Hollow into what seems to be bouncy houses at times and there is more than enough water to distract the players' minds, plenty of fans are frustrated at how thick and luscious the rough is - particularly the mown areas close to water hazards.

Golf Pass senior writer, Tim Gavrich noted on X how five-time Major champion, Brooks Koepka had been saved by lengthy grass near the soup three times across his first nine holes on Thursday.

Gavrich said: "Two dreadful shots by Koepka - dead pull off the tee on 14, dead pull from fairway on 16 - harmlessly stay out of the water. Insufficient punishment for poor execution. Not a proper major championship test.

"As @johndog68 noted, Koepka ended up in rough beside the water off the tee on 18, too. So he'll stay around even par alongside plenty of players who likely played to a much higher standard over their first nine holes. Luck? Maybe, but a milquetoast setup compresses the field."

Replying to Gavrich, another fan pointed out how Rory McIlroy was struggling to find the fairway off the tee and could have been forced to reload multiple times if a US Open-style set-up was in play.

An account called @jbird188 replied saying: "Same with Rory, pulled his drives at 15, 16, and 18 and no water. If the USGA ran this those banks would be shaved and those would all be water balls."

Commenting on the same pulled drive at the 15th, No Laying Up's X account posted a frustrated message which read: "Rory badly pulls a drive, gets saved by rough, is rewarded with a 7 iron into a par-5. What are we doing lol."

Jon Diforio - posting as PGA Dice on X - called the number of golf balls being saved from the water by thick rough "absurd."

He wrote: "I defended the golf course last night but I mean the amount of golf balls being saved by thick rough bordering water hazards is absurd. This is a major championship! Guys should be penalized for hitting poor golf shots."

One hole which came in for particular criticism involving the rough was the driveable par-4 14th. Measuring 311 yards in round one, the front-left pin location was designed to force players to either bail out right and face a precarious downhill chip or go for broke and risk ending in the water left. Guarding the pin was a large green-side bunker.

Yet, in reality, those who marginally missed their spot when taking the more aggressive line were not always punished. Koepka took aim at the flag off the tee at 14 and barely pulled his ball left of the hole. It bounced on the left side of the green and took off towards the water but stayed on dry land thanks to the longer grass between putting surface and hazard.

A post from Fried Egg Golf showed Koepka's shot tracer and a still of the American facing a pretty steep lie for his chipped second stroke. The LIV golfer got up and down from the position to card his first birdie of the day on a hole which was averaging almost half a stroke under par through the early wave.

Joseph LaMagna, who writes for Fried Egg Golf, later posted on X: "There’s just no severity at Quail anywhere. Zero bite."

Those who had trouble with mud on their golf balls might disagree, though, with World No.1, Scottie Scheffler and World No.3, Xander Schauffele both sending shots 40 yards off line in the preliminary stages of their first rounds.

That led to strong words from the Sky Sports Golf broadcast team and some confusion over why the PGA of America had not given the green light to preferred lies, at least for day one.

While the length of the rough will not go down this week, it remains to be seen whether strong feedback from players cause the PGA of America to change their mind on that rule.