Review Of The Valhalla

Top 100 Golf Course Review: One of the best and most interesting golf courses in the country. Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Ky Location Time Zone: EST.: Sure, we remember Valhalla Country Club for the 2008 Ryder Cup, with Boo Weekley horsing around and the 2000 PGA Championship, where Tiger Woods outdueled Bob May, but what also jumps out are the strategic options sprinkled throughout, notably at two terrific risk/reward par-5s, the 7th and the 18th and at the short par-4 13th, with its unique, elevated, stacked rock green. Fred Vuich / SI

Valhalla Golf Club's front nine traverses a low-lying parkland setting where 650,000 cubic yards of earth were moved to build up tees, greens and fairways to a level that would protect the course from major storm damage. Valhalla's greens, tees and fairways are a combination of T1 and Penway bent grass strains. Overall, there are 62 sand bunkers strategically positioned throughout the course. Valhalla Golf Club's slick greens feature distinct tiers and sections that provide a variety of challenging hole locations. The primary rough is Kentucky bluegrass with fescue making up the secondary rough. The incoming nine holes were carved out of higher, tree-covered terrain with a shallow creek that would come into play on four holes.

The 17,500-square foot clubhouse, featuring a 45-foot Omega clock tower and a veranda overlooking the 18th green, opened in February 1996. The clubhouse, in the traditional Louisville design, blends both Midwestern and Southern accents. The Valhalla Golf Club course record of 6-under-par was shared by Nicklaus and Larry Mize - each posting their impressive round weeks after winning respective Masters championships in 1986 and 1987. This was beaten in the 2000 PGA Championship when Jose Maria Olazabal shot a 63. Over the years Valhalla has undergone some minor layout course alterations to keep up with ever changing landscape of Championship golf. However, in the fall of 2011 Valhalla and the PGA of America embarked on a project to modernize the course, which opened in spring of 1986, by overhauling the drainage and irrigation infrastructure throughout the course. The major focus will be on the green complexes, rebuilding them from the ground up enhancing surface drainage and softening contours. For this project the PGA of America enlisted Valhallas course designer Jack Nicklaus to handle the work of modernizing the golf course for both member and championship play.

The History

I recently asked a friend of mine, he's from Bournemouth, a city down the south coast of England, about the Valhalla Golf Club. I didn't even specify to him if I meant the mythological place, I simply said Valhalla, but my friend, who is a golf fan and also a great golf player, replied instantly: 'the Valhalla, of course!'

He did not know it was in Kentucky, but that still dissipated my doubts over whether English people knew about one of the golf courses America can be more proud of.

As I have already revealed, the Valhalla owes its name to that divine place that appears in the poetic tales of the Scandinavian mythology, where part of the warriors that die in combat go meet past heroes and kings in order to train for the apocalyptic battle that would take place in the end of time. The Valhalla golf course, as you can expect, has some of the toughest, more trap-plenty and technical holes in the whole world at the moment, and only the bravest and more skilled of the golf warriors can par.

But that is not only it. The Valhalla golf course is also renowned for its beautiful setting and landscapes, and it's considered as one of the most thoughtfully constructed golf terrains in the world.

The Valhalla

The Valhalla Golf Club in itself is a massive 486 acres terrain in Kentucky, next to the city of Lexington, that was turned into a standard 18-hole golf course back in 1986, when the Club officially opened its doors to the public.

The Valhalla Golf Club is also the realization of the dream of a Louisville businessman called Dwight Gahm, who, as a golf lover, burst in desire of having a world-class golf course next to his home city, where major golf events could take place. Gahm, ultimately, made possible

the creation of a beautiful dream that could make his fellowmen proud and allow others to enjoy the sport he was passionate about.

As a whole, the Valhalla Golf Club is composed by a main building, the Country Club, where players can park their car and where there's also a bar-restaurant and a golf shop, then the 18-hole course obviously, and a Golf Maintenance place. Golf lovers will be able to find everything they may need to play inside the boundaries of the Club.

The Man Who Dreamt

Dwight Gahm was born in 1919 within a middle class family and spent his childhood and young years in his beloved city of Kentucky. After going through the miseries of the Great Depression and the Second World War, he proved himself and everyone else as an ambitious and successful businessman and entrepreneur, as he purchased a small manufacturer of kitchen cabinets and turned it into one of the nation's biggest providers.

In the late 70s, Gahm was wondering about what was the best he could do with a 486 acres terrain he owned and used to be a farm and a Boy Scout Camp. In a conversation with his oldest son, Walt Gahm, the idea of a golf course, a sport they both loved, quickly appeared for the first time.

Gahm had no problems whatsoever with thinking big, as he demonstrated by conceiving the idea of building a professional golf course that could also host championships. Now, after almost 30 years, the Valhalla is still proud to present itself as one of the best Golf Clubs in the US, and also one of the favorite and challenging golf courses as said by various professional golfers.

The Valhalla in Time

The works on the terrain began in 1981, as Gahm's business rebalanced after the crisis of 73. Gahm wanted to invest his money in something that could last through time, something glorious and beautiful. The name of it probably seemed obvious to him when he first spoke out for himself the word 'Valhalla'.

When Dwight Gahm and his three sons contacted Jack Nicklaus, they knew exactly what they wanted: a top quality golf course that could amaze people and incite golf players from all over the country to fly to Kentucky and play some golf.

History's greatest golf champion, Nicklaus, was called to evaluate a large terrain lying 20 miles to the east of Louisville. In 1983, Nicklaus said the plot was a golf designer's dream because there is a variety of terrain, vegetation and water to work with. Everything necessary for an excellent golf course is here: room for wide, tree lined fairways and spectacular golf holes.

Construction began in spring 1984, while the work before had been the consideration of all potential course routings. Nicklaus thought of a very imaginative and exciting 18-hole course that worked as two separate courses blending into a singularity. The Golf Club officially opened its doors to the public and to all golf lovers around the world in June 1986.

The Valhalla Golf Club was also designed to have the caliber to comfortably host a major golf championship, which has allowed the course to gather some of the greatest golf players of our generation on its field. The Valhalla was named one of the top three American golf courses in 1987, just a year after its overture, and it is still the number 1 course in the whole state of Kentucky and it's ranked as one of the best in the United States and in the world.

Back in 1986, it wasn't long until Mr. Dwight Gahm started nurturing some new ambitions and ideas. The Valhalla had barely been opened, but this man was already dreaming of hosting a PGA Championship. And, what a surprise, before he could even notice the PGA commission was sending people to the club and the area, to evaluate whether it was suitable for a championship of that dimensions. In 1992, the Valhalla Golf Club was announced as the site for the 1996 PGA Championship.

After a series of negotiations and accords that elongated for years, the PGA ending by purchasing the whole of the Valhalla Club. It had agreed to buy 25% of it in late 1993, it continued by buying an extra 25% of the property in 1996, after the championship, and it ended buying the remaining 50% of it after the 2000 PGA championship.

The Valhalla Today

The Valhalla golf course has experienced several minor adjustments and alterations over the last decade, in order to adapt to the new styles of game and the constantly changing preferences of professional golfers, fans and championships.

Recently, in the fall of 2011 the Valhalla personal and the American PGA embarked on a project to modernize the course, as its drainage and irrigation systems had become antiquated and almost obsolete since their building back in 1986.

This project is still going on in present times, and the person the PGA has chosen to handle such an arduous modernizing job is no other than our friend the great Jack Nicklaus.

The Valhalla Golf Club

The Valhalla Golf Club is located in the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky, and is accessible through the highway 60, heading towards Lexington from Louisville city. Its official address is 15503 Shelbyville Rd, Louisville, KY 40243. Amongst other famous places located around the Louisville area we should name the Wild Oaks National Wildlife Refuge and the Hoosier National Forest, to the North and the North West, respectively, from the Valhalla.

The Club is basically a vast 486 acres terrain, and it is mainly occupied by the 18 holes golf course. The property also disposes a Golf Maintenance place, located in the north-west part of its area, and a main building, the Country Club or the Club (the often called 19th hole), which is located in the center of the terrain, where the car parking is too.

Leaving aside the customer reception and its shops, the main building has a bar-restaurant facility golfers may enjoy after their long walk playing. We will tell you about the facilities specifically right below.

Membership and Guest Policy

The Valhalla Golf Club is a private sportsman club, and as such it will require you to become a member of its society in order to benefit from its professional facilities. There are two different types of memberships offered to the wide public, which are either the Local or the National memberships. If you want to know about their specifics (price, duration) the Valhalla Club requires you to contact them directly, which you can do by either emailing them in their contact us web page or by calling them to the following phone number: (502)245-4475.

The Valhalla Golf Club is a private club, built and thought for the sole enjoyment of its society members. Non-members will only be allowed to play or visit the resort by being a guest of a Valhalla member. They warn themselves in their webpage about the limited opportunities for guest privileges, which makes us believe that guests are most probably not allowed to play golf at their club. However, the Valhalla still kindly asks interested people to contact them for further details on this subject.

Services and Facilities

As a world-famous and a notorious PGA host golf course in several occasions, the Valhalla could not just be a set of golf courses without offering its clients a number of high quality services.

The first of these we have decided to mention, because of it being essentially a golf resort, is the Valhalla Golf Coaching Program the club offers its clients. Basically, the Valhalla Golf Club disposes of a number of professional golf teachers that will train any club's member at their requirement. Their golf instruction program has been carefully developed to focus on players' individual abilities and needs, with the golf teachers always aiming at enhancing players' technique and, maybe more importantly, to understand and enjoy the beauty of golf. The Club offers both the possibility to engage in individual and group training sessions.

The Valhalla also has a number of restaurants, hotels and restaurants in the near-by area (leaving aside the club bar-restaurant in the Country Club) that will appease all thirst and hunger accumulated in the course. The selection is also thought to suit all players. Three steak houses, two Italians, a Hilton Hotel and even a museum and a few night clubs are less than a 10 minute drive away from the club.

The Valhalla Golf Maintenance place, located to the North-West of the Club area might also be an interesting facility to consider if you are a conscientious player.

Club Information

Despite it not being a truly elitist Club, as the Valhalla offers prices affordable by a large number of the public and even week-end-only fees, the Valhalla Golf Club does take very seriously a number of strict measures it forces its members to accept and compromise over at the moment of joining its member society. To say it in another way, each member is required to meet a number of expectations.

The main of these requisites is, as it often happens, the dress code, which is taken very seriously amongst its members. The Club requires players to go with the protocol golf attire most of you are probably already familiar with, as most clubs ask for this same requisite. The code is basically made up of the following requirements (for men):

• A collared shirt is mandatory.
• Shorts must be at knee level, and cargo shirts are not allowed.
• Shirts must be tucked in and headwear worn in the standard position.

For women:

• A blouse or a collared shirt is mandatory.
• Tank tops, halters and tee shirts are not allowed under any circumstances.
• Shorts must be worn at knee level.

Denim wears are not allowed either.

Playing Golf in Valhalla

As a very large Golf Club, you can also expect the Valhalla golf course to be quite a long walk. Its 18 holes have a total length that range between 190 and 600 yards and the total length of the whole course adds up to 7540 yards and a 72 par, which only the greatest will be able to meet.

Below, we will present you a table with the complete Golf Course information, including the names of all of the holes, numerated and their length:

The golf course comprises a total of 65 sand bunkers, plus two ponds and a creek called Floyd's Fork as hazards players will need to sort out. In 2014, the par was officially down to 71.

Scorecard

The latest official scorecard presented for the Valhalla Golf Course was the one from the 2014 PGA Championship and you can check it out here in the table below:

Total 7,458 71

Schedule of Play

The Valhalla Golf Club also offers its members a flexible schedule of play that will suit most players out there. There are two different time schedules, one for playing the course and another for the practice facility.

The Club

• Monday: Closed
• Tuesday-Friday:
• Members and members with one guest are allowed to play anytime.
• Members with two to three guests are allowed to play before midday and after 1:00 pm.
• Saturdays, Sundays and festive days:
• Member and members with one guest are allowed to play anytime.
• Members with two or three guests may play after 10:30 am.

Note someone is only allowed to be a guest at the Valhalla in four occasions in a whole year.

Practice Facility

• Monday: Closed
• Tuesday: 7:30 a.m. until dark
• Wednesday: 7:30 a.m. until two hours before dark
• Thursday: 9:00 a.m. until dark
• Friday: 7:30 a.m. until dark
• Saturday: 7:30 a.m. until dark
• Sunday: 7:30 a.m. until three hours before dark

Map

We would also like to provide you with a map of the resort and the main area, as you might well be interested in it. Check it just below along with a nice picture of its Country Club.

PGA at Valhalla

Annual PGA championships are one of the greatest golf events taking place today and involving golf sport, as one of the so-called 'four majors'. Most great professional golfers participate in these championships, as you know, and they present great amusement and thrill to all golf fans around the world.

The Valhalla Golf Club has been the host for this important sportive event on several occasions, four to be precise. Dwight Gahm made sure along with Jack Nicklaus that the terrain would be more than suitable for the reception of a great public and very important golf championships, and it has always proven to be a more than suitable golf course, permitting many to enjoy from very exciting competition at the highest of levels.

It took six years, since the day the Valhalla Golf Club opened its doors to the public in 1986, up until 1992, for its owner Dwight Gahm to receive a message from the PGA commission, announcing him that his Valhalla had been selected to be the host of the 1996 PGA championship. Later that same year of 1996, after the championship had been celebrated, the PGA commission contacted Gahm again to announce him that the Valhalla had been selected again to be the host of the 2000 PGA championship.

But don't think the Valhalla's glory times were over, because in 2002 it hosted the PGA Club Professional Championship and, only two years later, in 2004, the Senior PGA championship was celebrated in the same golf club that Gahm had envisioned and that he had by then already ceded to PGA.

It wasn't until 2009 that the PGA announced that the Valhalla was going to be the host of its prestigious championship once more. This time, it was also a double announcement, as they gave out two different years: 2011 and 2014, making of the Valhalla the last golf course to have hosted the PGA championship until now.

Facts and Curiosities

• The Valhalla Golf Club has a very strict dress code that obliges its members to follow very thoroughly. It does not allow any kind of denim, for example, or any shorts that are not at knee level.
• Hole number 18 (Gahm over) is named after the original person who imagined the Valhalla, Dwight Gahm, funnily playing with the fact that Dwight's peculiar surname is pronounced 'game'. Some of its holes also mention characters from the imaginarium of the Scandinavian mythology.
• The Valhalla has been host for four PGA championships, in 1996, 2000, 2011 and 2014, as well as the 2004 Senior PGA championship and the 2008 Ryder cup.
• Three of the major tournaments that have taken place in Valhalla have required playoffs to declare a winner. Mark Brooks beat Kenny Perry in 1996 in a PGA Championship playoff, in the year 2000 Tiger Woods won the PGA in a playoff over Bob May, while at the 2011 Senior PGA; Tom Watson defeated David Eger, again in a playoff. The 1996 playoff (Mark Brooks vs Kenny Perry) was actually a sudden-death playoff, the last to be played until now in an official PGA championship.
• The very first man to have a record score in the Valhalla Golf Course was actually Jack Nicklaus, who helped creating the world-famous golf facility, by making the 18 holes with a striking score of 66 shots.