Valhalla Golf Club

Last updated
Valhalla Golf Club
Club information
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Icona golf.svg
Location in the United States
Location15503 Shelbyville Road,
Louisville, Kentucky
Elevation620 feet (190 m)
Established1986;38 years ago (1986)
TypePrivate
Owned byValhalla Golf Partners, LLC [1]
Total holes18
Events hosted PGA Championship
 (1996, 2000, 2014, 2024)
Ryder Cup   (2008)
Senior PGA Championship (2004, 2011)
Website valhallagolfclub.com
Designed by Jack Nicklaus
Par 71
Length7,458 yards (6,820 m) [2]
Course rating 76.4
Slope rating 148 [3]
Course record62: Xander Schauffele & Shane Lowry (2024)
Statue of Jack Nicklaus and Dwight Gahm by Zenos Frudakis at Valhalla in 2008 Zenos Frudakis Jack Nicklaus Louisville.jpg
Statue of Jack Nicklaus and Dwight Gahm by Zenos Frudakis at Valhalla in 2008

Valhalla Golf Club, located in Louisville, Kentucky, is a private golf club designed by Jack Nicklaus, opened in 1986.

Contents

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.

Major tournaments hosted

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 hosted the 2024 PGA Championship, marking the fourth as host site for that major. Later that year, it was announced as the venue for the 2028 Solheim Cup, making it just the fourth course after The Greenbrier, Muirfield Village and the Gleneagles Hotel's PGA Centenary to host both the Ryder and Solheim Cups. [8]

YearTournamentWinnerWinning ScoreMargin of

Victory

Runner(s) UpWinner's Share ($)
TotalTo Par
1996 PGA Championship Flag of the United States.svg Mark Brooks 277–11Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Kenny Perry 430,000
2000 PGA Championship Flag of the United States.svg Tiger Woods 270–18Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Bob May 900,000
 2004  Senior PGA Championship Flag of the United States.svg Hale Irwin 276–81 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Jay Haas 360,000
2008 Ryder Cup Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 161/2 to 111/2Flag of Europe.svg  Europe N/A
2011Senior PGA Championship Flag of the United States.svg Tom Watson 278–10Playoff Flag of the United States.svg David Eger 360,000
2014 PGA Championship Ulster Banner.svg Rory McIlroy 268–161 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Phil Mickelson 1,800,000
2024 PGA Championship Flag of the United States.svg Xander Schauffele 263–211 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Bryson DeChambeau 3,300,000
2028 Solheim Cup N/A

Scorecard

Course setup for the 2024 PGA Championship

HoleNameYardsParHoleNameYardsPar
1The Post484410Big Red5905
2Winning Colors500411Holler2113
3Honest Abe208312Sting Like A Bee4944
4Mine That Bird372413The Limestone Hole3514
5The Sun Shines Bright463414On The Rocks2543
6Long Shot495415Julep4354
7Genuine Risk597516Homestretch5084
8Float Like A Butterfly190317Straight Up4724
9Twin Spires415418Photo Finish5705
Out3,72435In3,88536
Source: [2] [9] Total7,60971
Valhalla Golf Club
Tee Rating/Slope 123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Gold76.4 / 1484955302103754604956001904153,7705952104903552554355154755753,9057,675
Black74.1 / 1434155002003504054755051754103,4305552004453502154104404305403,5857,015
Green71.6 / 1383904751703254004505001603853,2555201904203251653804003904803,2706,525
Blue69.8 / 1293454551603003804204901504003,1004751653852851553503553604402,9706,070
SI Men's139111531517761621418104812
Par453444534365344344453672
SI Ladies'115151791313761621418124108
Silver70.8 / 1243104101152053053404601302952,5704101503302101352903152803952,5155,085

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "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.
  2. 1 2 "Course tour". Valhalla Golf Club. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  3. "Course Rating and Slope Database: Valhalla Golf Club". USGA. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  4. "Lexington Herald Leader: Search Results".
  5. "2024 PGA Championship, 2018 Boys Junior PGA Championship to be contested at Valhalla Golf Club".
  6. "PGA Championship". pga.com. PGA/Turner Sports Interactive. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  7. 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.
  8. LPGA Communications (August 13, 2024). "Valhalla Golf Club to Host 2028 Solheim Cup". Solheim Cup USA. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  9. "PGA Championship: course tour". PGA of America. 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.

38°14′31″N85°28′19″W / 38.242°N 85.472°W / 38.242; -85.472