| Club information | |
|---|---|
  Location in the United States | |
| Location | 15503 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, Kentucky |
| Established | 1986 |
| Type | Private |
| Owned by | Valhalla Golf Partners, LLC[1] |
| Total holes | 18 |
| Events hosted | PGA Championship (1996, 2000, 2014, 2024) Ryder Cup (2008) Senior PGA Championship (2004, 2011) |
| Website | valhallagolfclub.com |
| Designed by | Jack Nicklaus |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,458 yards (6,820 m)[2] |
| Course rating | 76.4 |
| Slope rating | 148 [3] |
| Course record | 63: José María Olazábal (2000) |
Valhalla Golf Club, located in Louisville, Kentucky, is a private golf club designed by Jack Nicklaus, opened in 1986.
In 1992, Valhalla was selected to host the 1996 edition of the PGA Championship, one of golf's four majors. The following year (1993), the PGA of America purchased a 25% interest in the club. After the championship in 1996, the PGA of America raised its stake to 50% and announced that the event would return to Valhalla in 2000. At its conclusion, the PGA of America exercised an option to purchase the remaining interest in the club. Later that year, it announced that the Ryder Cup would be held at Valhalla in 2008.
Valhalla also hosted the PGA Club Professional Championship in 2002 and the Senior PGA Championship in 2004. The PGA Championship was originally scheduled to be played at Valhalla in 2004, but the PGA of America switched it to Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.[4]
In 2009, the PGA of America announced that the Senior PGA Championship and the PGA Championship would return to Valhalla in 2011 and 2014, respectively. in November 2017, the PGA of America announced that the PGA Championship would return to Valhalla in 2024.[5]
On June 1, 2022, the club and the PGA of America jointly announced that the club had been sold to a group of club members led by Jimmy Kirchdorfer, CEO of locally based piping supplier ISCO Industries. Other group members include former Yum! Brands CEO David Novak, businessman and former NBA player Junior Bridgeman, and hotelier Chester Musselman.[1]
The course sits on a 486-acre (2.0 km2) property on Shelbyville Road (US 60) in the eastern portion of Louisville just outside the Gene Snyder Freeway (I-265) It was envisioned by local business leader Dwight Gahm (pronounced "game") and his three sons in 1981, and opened five years later. Steve Houg is the head professional as of March 2016.
Major tournaments hosted[edit]
Mark Brooks won the 1996 PGA Championship in a playoff, winning his only major with a birdie on the first extra hole, the par-5 18th. Franklin native Kenny Perry was the runner-up in the event's final sudden-death playoff. Four years later, the 2000 PGA Championship also went to a playoff; Tiger Woods won by one stroke over Bob May in the revised three-hole format. Woods had a 3-4-5=12 to May's 4-4-5=13 on the course's final three holes. It was Woods' second consecutive PGA Championship, his fifth major title and his third of his eventual "Tiger Slam" of four consecutive major titles – the PGA Championship was preceded by the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and the 2000 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews and then followed by the 2001 Masters at Augusta National.) Valhalla hosted its third PGA Championship in 2014, when Rory McIlroy beat Phil Mickelson also by one stroke.[6] Beforehand, the course had undergone a major "modernization" after it hosted the Senior PGA Championship in 2011, which included the rebuilding of all 18 greens.[7]
In addition, Valhalla hosted the Ryder Cup in 2008, with the United States defeating Europe 16½ to 11½ for the first U.S. win since their comeback victory in 1999 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Perry and another native Kentuckian—J. B. Holmes of Campbellsville, who made the team as one of American captain Paul Azinger's four picks—were part of the victorious Team USA and accounted for a combined five points.
The club will host the 2024 PGA Championship, marking the fourth time as host site for that major.
| Year | Tournament | Winner | Winning Score | Margin of
Victory |
Runner(s) Up | Winner's Share ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | PGA Championship |  Mark Brooks
|
277 (-11) | Playoff | Kenny Perry
|
430,000 |
| 2000 | PGA Championship | Tiger Woods
|
270 (-18) | Playoff | Bob May
|
900,000 |
| 2004 | Senior PGA Championship | Hale Irwin
|
276 (-8) | 1 stroke | Jay Haas
|
360,000 |
| 2008 | Ryder Cup | United States
|
161/2 to 111/2 |  Europe
|
N/A | |
| 2011 | Senior PGA Championship | Tom Watson
|
278 (-10) | Playoff | David Eger
|
360,000 |
| 2014 | PGA Championship |  Rory McIlroy
|
268 (-16) | 1 stroke | Phil Mickelson
|
1,800,000 |
| 2024 | PGA Championship | TBD | ||||
Scorecard[edit]
Course setup for the 2014 PGA Championship
| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cut the Corner | 446 | 4 | 10 | Turns | 590 | 5 | |
| 2 | The Ridge | 500 | 4 | 11 | On the Edge | 210 | 3 | |
| 3 | Floyds Fork | 205 | 3 | 12 | Odin's Revenge | 467 | 4 | |
| 4 | Short 'n Sweet | 372 | 4 | 13 | The Island | 350 | 4 | |
| 5 | Fade Away | 463 | 4 | 14 | Two Tears | 217 | 3 | |
| 6 | The Bear | 495 | 4 | 15 | On the Rocks | 435 | 4 | |
| 7 | Players Pick | 597 | 5 | 16 | Down the Stretch | 508 | 4 | |
| 8 | Thor's Hammer | 174 | 3 | 17 | No Mercy | 472 | 4 | |
| 9 | The Rise | 415 | 4 | 18 | Gahm Over | 542 | 5 | |
| Out | 3,667 | 35 | In | 3,791 | 36 | |||
| Source:[2][8] | Total | 7,458 | 71 | |||||
| Tee | Rating/Slope | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | 76.4 / 148 | 450 | 530 | 210 | 375 | 460 | 495 | 600 | 190 | 415 | 3725 | 595 | 210 | 470 | 355 | 220 | 435 | 510 | 475 | 545 | 3815 | 7540 |
| Black | 74.1 / 143 | 415 | 500 | 210 | 350 | 405 | 475 | 505 | 170 | 415 | 3445 | 555 | 190 | 450 | 355 | 220 | 400 | 440 | 430 | 490 | 3530 | 6975 |
| Green | 71.6 / 138 | 390 | 475 | 170 | 325 | 405 | 450 | 490 | 150 | 400 | 3255 | 520 | 190 | 420 | 325 | 165 | 380 | 405 | 390 | 490 | 3285 | 6540 |
| Green / Blue | 70.4 / 135 | 390 | 475 | 170 | 325 | 385 | 430 | 490 | 150 | 400 | 3215 | 520 | 165 | 400 | 290 | 140 | 345 | 345 | 350 | 490 | 3045 | 6260 |
| Blue | 69.8 / 129 | 350 | 450 | 170 | 285 | 385 | 430 | 490 | 150 | 400 | 3110 | 480 | 165 | 400 | 290 | 140 | 345 | 345 | 350 | 490 | 3005 | 6115 |
| SI | Men's | 13 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 12 | |||
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 72 | |
| SI | Ladies' | 11 | 5 | 15 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 8 | |||
| Silver | 70.8 / 124 | 315 | 420 | 115 | 215 | 315 | 350 | 480 | 130 | 310 | 2650 | 430 | 150 | 350 | 210 | 130 | 290 | 310 | 300 | 415 | 2585 | 5235 |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "PGA of America Sells Valhalla Golf Club to a Local Group of Club Members" (PDF) (Press release). PGA of America. June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ a b "Course tour". Valhalla Golf Club. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
- ^ "Course Rating and Slope Database: Valhalla Golf Club". USGA. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
- ^ "Lexington Herald Leader: Search Results".
- ^ "2024 PGA Championship, 2018 Boys Junior PGA Championship to be contested at Valhalla Golf Club".
- ^ "PGA Championship". pga.com. PGA/Turner Sports Interactive. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
- ^ Sokeland, Justin (August 4, 2013). "Green light at Valhalla: Renovation of putting surfaces draws praise one year out from PGA Championship". Louisville Courier-Journal. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
- ^ "PGA Championship: course tour". PGA of America. 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Nicklaus.com Valhalla Golf Club
- 2008 Ryder Cup: course description
- Louisville Courier-Journal: course map for 2008 Ryder Cup
38°14′31″N 85°28′19″W / 38.242°N 85.472°W
