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Valhalla Golf Club
View on WikipediaLocation in the United States | |
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| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Location | 15503 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, Kentucky |
| Elevation | 620 feet (190 m) |
| 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 | 71 |
| Length | 7,458 yards (6,820 m)[2] |
| Course rating | 76.4 |
| Slope rating | 148 [3] |
| Course record | 62: Xander Schauffele & Shane Lowry (2024) |

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.[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 just north of 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
[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 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]
| Year | Tournament | Winner | Winning Score | Margin of
Victory |
Runner(s) Up | Winner's Share ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | To Par | ||||||
| 1996 | PGA Championship | 277 | –11 | Playoff | 430,000 | ||
| 2000 | PGA Championship | 270 | –18 | Playoff | 900,000 | ||
| 2004 | Senior PGA Championship | 276 | –8 | 1 stroke | 360,000 | ||
| 2008 | Ryder Cup | 161/2 to 111/2 | N/A | ||||
| 2011 | Senior PGA Championship | 278 | –10 | Playoff | 360,000 | ||
| 2014 | PGA Championship | 268 | –16 | 1 stroke | 1,800,000 | ||
| 2024 | PGA Championship | 263 | –21 | 1 stroke | 3,300,000 | ||
| 2028 | Solheim Cup | N/A | |||||
Scorecard
[edit]Course setup for the 2024 PGA Championship
| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Post | 484 | 4 | 10 | Big Red | 590 | 5 | |
| 2 | Winning Colors | 500 | 4 | 11 | Holler | 211 | 3 | |
| 3 | Honest Abe | 208 | 3 | 12 | Sting Like A Bee | 494 | 4 | |
| 4 | Mine That Bird | 372 | 4 | 13 | The Limestone Hole | 351 | 4 | |
| 5 | The Sun Shines Bright | 463 | 4 | 14 | On The Rocks | 254 | 3 | |
| 6 | Long Shot | 495 | 4 | 15 | Julep | 435 | 4 | |
| 7 | Genuine Risk | 597 | 5 | 16 | Homestretch | 508 | 4 | |
| 8 | Float Like A Butterfly | 190 | 3 | 17 | Straight Up | 472 | 4 | |
| 9 | Twin Spires | 415 | 4 | 18 | Photo Finish | 570 | 5 | |
| Out | 3,724 | 35 | In | 3,885 | 36 | |||
| Source:[2][9] | Total | 7,609 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 76.4 / 148 | 495 | 530 | 210 | 375 | 460 | 495 | 600 | 190 | 415 | 3,770 | 595 | 210 | 490 | 355 | 255 | 435 | 515 | 475 | 575 | 3,905 | 7,675 |
| Black | 74.1 / 143 | 415 | 500 | 200 | 350 | 405 | 475 | 505 | 175 | 410 | 3,430 | 555 | 200 | 445 | 350 | 215 | 410 | 440 | 430 | 540 | 3,585 | 7,015 |
| Green | 71.6 / 138 | 390 | 475 | 170 | 325 | 400 | 450 | 500 | 160 | 385 | 3,255 | 520 | 190 | 420 | 325 | 165 | 380 | 400 | 390 | 480 | 3,270 | 6,525 |
| Blue | 69.8 / 129 | 345 | 455 | 160 | 300 | 380 | 420 | 490 | 150 | 400 | 3,100 | 475 | 165 | 385 | 285 | 155 | 350 | 355 | 360 | 440 | 2,970 | 6,070 |
| 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 | 310 | 410 | 115 | 205 | 305 | 340 | 460 | 130 | 295 | 2,570 | 410 | 150 | 330 | 210 | 135 | 290 | 315 | 280 | 395 | 2,515 | 5,085 |
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.
- ^ LPGA Communications (August 13, 2024). "Valhalla Golf Club to Host 2028 Solheim Cup". Solheim Cup USA. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ "PGA Championship: course tour". PGA of America. 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.[dead link]
External links
[edit]Valhalla Golf Club
View on GrokipediaLocation and Overview
Site and Facilities
Valhalla Golf Club is located at 15503 Shelbyville Road in Louisville, Kentucky, within Jefferson County, approximately 20 miles east of downtown.[7][1] The site has a total elevation change of 60 feet across the property, making it readily walkable.[1] The club occupies a 486-acre property bordered by Shelbyville Road (US 60) to the south and just east of Interstate 265 (Gene Snyder Freeway), featuring rolling terrain characteristic of the region's transition from urban to rural landscapes.[7][8] As a private facility, it includes an 18-hole championship golf course, a clubhouse for members, and extensive practice areas such as a double-sided driving range spanning 350 yards.[1][9] The environmental setting integrates seamlessly with Kentucky's Bluegrass region, encompassing mature trees that frame the corridors, meandering creeks like Floyd’s Fork and Brush Run affecting several holes, and lush bluegrass rough that enhances the natural parkland feel.[1][7] This wooded, undulating landscape provides both aesthetic appeal and strategic challenges while supporting the club's emphasis on environmental stewardship.[10]Membership and Access
Valhalla Golf Club has operated as a private golf club since its opening in 1986, maintaining an exclusive membership limited to approximately 275 local members from Kentucky and around 35 national members who reside more than 100 miles away.[11] The club's membership is drawn from elite local business leaders and prominent national figures, with no corporate memberships offered and a policy prohibiting unaccompanied guest play to preserve its private character.[11] Access to the course is restricted to members and their accompanied guests, who must adhere to strict dress codes, pace-of-play rules, and etiquette guidelines, including silenced cell phones on the course and charges billed directly to the member's account.[12] Public access is unavailable for regular play, with non-members unable to book tee times or visit independently outside of special events.[13] Membership involves a high-end fee structure, including an initiation fee of $125,000 for local members (increased from $75,000 following ownership changes) and $25,000 for national members, alongside monthly dues of $1,000 for locals and approximately $500 for nationals.[11] Exact figures are not publicly disclosed by the club, but these costs reflect its status as one of the premier private facilities in the region.[11] While the club does not offer public courses or open days beyond tournament periods, it plays a significant role in the local community through the economic impact of hosting major events, such as the PGA Championship, which drew an estimated 200,000 visitors and generated nearly $80 million in economic activity for Louisville in 2024.[14] During these tournaments, public access is facilitated through ticketed entry, providing limited opportunities for spectators to experience the venue.[15]History and Ownership
Founding and Development
Valhalla Golf Club was envisioned in 1981 by Louisville businessman Dwight Gahm and his three sons, Walt, Gordy, and Phil, who sought to establish a premier private golf facility on 486 acres of rolling terrain southeast of the city.[2][16][17] The Gahm family's vision emphasized a "golf-only" club that could rival the world's best courses, prioritizing championship-caliber play over additional amenities like tennis or swimming pools.[2] Construction commenced in the spring of 1984, following extensive site evaluation and routing considerations, with the course fully opening for play in June 1986.[18][7] The name "Valhalla" was chosen to evoke the grandeur of Norse mythology's great hall where fallen warriors were honored, symbolizing prestige and eternal achievement in golf.[19] Built explicitly as a private club with the potential to host major professional events, it quickly positioned itself as a venue capable of accommodating elite competition from its inception.[1] The club welcomed its inaugural members in 1986 shortly after opening, fostering an exclusive community focused on high-level golf.[2] By the early 1990s, the PGA of America had begun scouting Valhalla for tournament suitability, culminating in its selection in 1992 as the host site for the 1996 PGA Championship.[20]Ownership Changes
Valhalla Golf Club remained under the primary ownership of its founder, Dwight Gahm, and his family from its opening in 1986 until 1993, when the PGA of America acquired a 25% stake in the club as part of an agreement to secure rights for hosting major tournaments.[8] This initial partnership allowed the PGA to invest in the facility while retaining Gahm's controlling interest. Following the successful hosting of the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla, the PGA of America increased its ownership by purchasing an additional 25% stake, bringing its total to 50% and assuming majority control.[18] By 2000, after the club's second PGA Championship, the PGA exercised its option to buy the remaining 50% from the Gahm family, achieving full ownership of the property.[21] This transition solidified Valhalla as a key asset for the PGA, enabling consistent use for high-profile events without divided decision-making. In June 2022, the PGA of America sold the entire club to Valhalla Golf Partners, LLC, a group comprising longtime members including Jimmy Kirchdorfer (CEO of Commonwealth Commercial Partners), David Novak (former Yum! Brands CEO), Ches Musselman, and the late Junior Bridgeman (former NBA player and businessman, who passed away in March 2025).[18] The transaction marked a return to private ownership, shifting control from a national golf organization to local stewards deeply invested in the club's Louisville roots. Under this new structure, the owners have committed to maintaining Valhalla's role in major championships, as evidenced by their hosting of the 2024 PGA Championship, thereby preserving its legacy as a premier tournament venue.[22][23]Course Design
Architectural Features
Valhalla Golf Club was designed by Jack Nicklaus, the 18-time major champion renowned for his expertise in crafting strategic, risk-reward layouts that test a golfer's precision and decision-making.[24] Nicklaus approached the project on the club's 485-acre site in Louisville, Kentucky, viewing it as a "golf designer's dream" due to its diverse terrain, vegetation, and water features, which allowed him to integrate natural elements seamlessly into the course's architecture.[18] His philosophy emphasized utilizing the land's rolling contours to create undulating fairways and greens that reward accurate shot-making over sheer distance, while incorporating strategic hazards to present calculated risks on approach shots.[1] The course's standard par-72 layout stretches 7,645 yards from the back tees with a course rating of 77.5 and slope rating of 154, though tournament configurations, such as the PGA Championships, adjust to par 71 and lengths up to 7,609 yards (as in 2024).[25][26] Strategic bunkering, totaling 62 evenly distributed between fairways and greens, constricts landing areas and funnels players into risk-reward decisions, such as carrying hazards for shorter approaches or opting for safer lines that demand greater accuracy.[1] Water hazards, including the meandering Floyd's Fork creek and surrounding wetlands, come into play on seven holes, enhancing the strategic depth by punishing errant shots and influencing shot selection, particularly on the front nine where the creek borders multiple fairways and greens.[1] Nicklaus drew inspiration from Scottish links-style golf for the front nine, featuring wide, boldly contoured fairways that ribbon through open valleys with minimal tree interference, promoting a fast, firm playing surface reminiscent of coastal courses.[7] The back nine shifts toward an American parkland aesthetic, with denser tree-lining, steeper elevation changes up to 60 feet, and more pronounced wetland integration, creating a varied, visually dramatic progression that blends natural amphitheaters with undulating greens guarded by subtle slopes and runoffs.[1] This fusion of styles not only highlights the site's floodplain heritage—half of which was originally low-lying—but also ensures the course's enduring appeal as a championship venue that prioritizes thoughtful play.[27]Layout and Specifications
Valhalla Golf Club is an 18-hole course measuring 7,645 yards from the back tees, with a par of 72.[26] For the 2024 PGA Championship, the course was configured as a par 71 layout stretching 7,609 yards from the championship tees.[1] The course rating from the Gold tees is 77.5, with a slope rating of 154.[26] The standard layout features a front nine totaling par 36 (4-5-3-4-4-4-5-3-4) and a back nine at par 36, though tournament setups may adjust pars on select holes, such as converting the second hole from par 5 to par 4. Below is the scorecard breakdown from the Gold tees.| Hole | Par | Yards (Gold) | Handicap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 495 | 13 |
| 2 | 5 | 530 | 9 |
| 3 | 3 | 210 | 11 |
| 4 | 4 | 375 | 15 |
| 5 | 4 | 460 | 3 |
| 6 | 4 | 495 | 1 |
| 7 | 5 | 600 | 5 |
| 8 | 3 | 190 | 17 |
| 9 | 4 | 415 | 7 |
| Out | 36 | 3,770 | |
| 10 | 5 | 595 | 6 |
| 11 | 3 | 210 | 16 |
| 12 | 4 | 490 | 2 |
| 13 | 4 | 355 | 14 |
| 14 | 3 | 255 | 18 |
| 15 | 4 | 435 | 10 |
| 16 | 4 | 515 | 4 |
| 17 | 4 | 475 | 8 |
| 18 | 5 | 545 | 12 |
| In | 36 | 3,875 | |
| Total | 72 | 7,645 |

