A consultant working for the Mecklenburg County Assessor’s Office rated Quail Hollow Club as only an “average type private course” — despite Golf Digest rating the south Charlotte club as one of the nicest in the nation.
The designation will likely save the club tens of thousands of dollars on the club’s tax bill, as Quail Hollow saw its tax value fall from $13.5 million to just under $10 million. The club paid $130,000 in city and county taxes last year, according to its latest tax bill.
The tax assessor’s office, working with the consultant Kenneth Voss and Associates, assigns golf courses a grade of 1 through 6.
A "1" is of “minimal quality.”
A "6" is an excellent course, with “numerous private amenities.”
Quail Hollow Club was deemed a "4." That means it’s a “better semi-private and average private type course ... with a recognized architect.”
But Golf Digest has said Quail Hollow is the sixth nicest course in the state, and among the top 100 in the country. And professional golfers agree: It hosts the annual Wells Fargo Championship each year, and it will host the 2025 PGA Championship.
While the top-rated courses are valued at $1.1 million per hole, the county says clubs rated a "4" are usually worth about $405,000 per hole.
Mecklenburg assessor Ken Joyner has defended the valuations of private golf clubs, many of whom saw their valuations fall.
Joyner has said Quail Hollow and other clubs are valued based on their income, rather than on the hypothetical market-rate value of a property like private residences. Quail Hollow sits on almost 260 acres in south Charlotte. But Joyner said the club just didn’t make that much money.
(WFAE reviewed the consultant’s report on the tax values of golf country clubs. The income for each club was redacted, in accordance with state law.)
Joyner also said the clubs like Quail Hollow also likely have restrictions on their land, making it difficult for such clubs to be redeveloped.
“What you have to look at is: Are those properties ever to not be country clubs?” Joyner said on Charlotte Talks on Monday. “It would take years for a property to move from being a country club into some other area.”
But Commissioner Laura Meierhas asked for a public review at the April 4 meeting of how the values were determined.
“I understand the public outcry,” Meier said last week. “Because on the surface it looks like country clubs are not paying their fair share. But we have to understand it to fight it. And if people want to fight it, they understand it.”
Other prominent clubs also saw declines in their assessments:
- Charlotte Country Club in Plaza Midwood fell from $18.8 million to $12.3 million — a more than 30% decline.
- Carmel County Club’s value fell by more than 25%.
- Piper Glen fell by more than 50%, from $10.7 million to $5.3 million.
Some golf clubs in Charlotte have closed over the past decade to be redeveloped, as growth in the game stagnated. The Waverly mixed-use development, south of Providence Road and Interstate 485, was built on the defunct Charlotte Golf Links site. Ballantyne Corporate Park closed its nine-hole course and replaced it with a park and event space that now hosts outdoor festivals.
Some clubs saw their values stay flat or even increase.
Myers Park Country Club, which recently renovated its clubhouse, saw its value remain at $16.5 million.
Raintree Country Club in south Charlotte saw its value increase by 30%, from $8.5 million to $11.3 million.
