VALHALLA GOLF CLUB
For Dwight Gahm (pronounced "Game"), a prominent Louisville business leader and golf enthusiast, that dream - the creation of a traditional "golf-only" facility with an outstanding championship course that would host a world-class championship event - began in 1981.
Gahm and his three sons - Walt, Gordy and Phil - commissioned Jack Nicklaus to build a private golf facility on 486 acres of rolling Kentucky terrain that would provide its members with the highest level of service. It also would be the caliber of facility that could host a major championship comfortably. Valhalla Golf Club, located approximately 20 miles east of Louisville, opened its doors in 1986. Named one of the top three new private golf courses in the U.S. in 1987, the first year it was eligible, Valhalla Golf Club remains the No. 1-ranked course in Kentucky and one of "America's 100 Greatest Courses", according to Golf Digest (2005).
After Valhalla Golf Club opened, Gahm and his sons weren't content to merely enjoy the personal golf paradise they had created. Their next challenge was to become the host site of a PGA Championship. The PGA of America subsequently conducted research on Louisville as a potential host city for The PGA Championship and made several site visits to the club.
In 1992, Valhalla Golf Club was announced as the site for the 1996 PGA Championship. Valhalla Golf Club has all the ingredients necessary for a successful PGA Championship - a world-class golf course to challenge the best players in the world, a supportive community, a top-ranked convention destination with excellent transportation, housing and entertainment services, and a central location reaching several major metropolitan cities within a 150-mile radius. The 17,500-square foot clubhouse, featuring a 45-foot Rolex 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.
Valhalla Golf Club has a front nine that is links-style, while its back nine is more traditional. The signature hole is #13, a 350-yard, par 4, requiring a tee shot to a small landing area, then an approach shot over water to an island green. Golf Digest consistently rates Valhalla as the "Best in State" and one of "America's 100 Greatest Courses". In addition, Golf Week ranks it as one of "America's 100 Best Modern Courses". Valhalla Golf Club has been the host site for the 1996 and 2000 PGA Championships, the 2002 PGA Club Professional Championship and the 2004 Senior PGA Championship. In September of 2008, golf's most illustrious event, the 37th Ryder Cup, will be contested here. With this, the facility becomes only the third such in the nation to host a PGA Championship, a Senior PGA Championship and a Ryder Cup.
