Valhalla Golf Club

Hole of Interest

No. 6, par 4, 495 yards

Playing alongside Floyd’s Fork, the sixth hole rewards those who play up the right-hand side of the fairway with a shorter, albeit still quite long, shot into the green. This green used to be closer to the water before being pushed up the hill ahead of the 2008 Ryder Cup in an effort to add yardage. Frankly, it was a better hole with the old green, as you could attempt to place your tee shot in accordance with the pin position. Today’s shot is too long to gain too much of an advantage, but the uphill second shot is one of many on the course where strong long-iron players have a chance to separate themselves from the pack. On a course that overwhelmingly favors power hitters, No. 6 is a hole that allows the best approach players to shine.

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Overall Thoughts

When Jack Nicklaus arrived at the Gahm farm that would ultimately become Valhalla, the Golden Bear’s mission was to build a course that would bring major championships to the region. To do so, he built a brawny design with a dramatic finish and plenty of room for galleries. When the PGA of America came knocking with the vision of owning courses and operating majors at these venues, Valhalla fulfilled its championship golf goal.

Mission accomplished, right?

The issue with Valhalla’s history of big-time golf is that it has almost nothing to do with the golf course’s architecture and everything to do with the people in control.

But before we get too negative here, let’s give the design some credit. The routing, while disjointed and awkward (especially to the back tees), does its best to avoid the worst parts of the property. The flattest section on the western half was largely skipped over, and the long par-5 seventh quickly gets the golfer across it. There are also many thrilling shots on the back nine that create an exciting finish, many of which require long irons from the world’s best. That certainly accomplishes what Gahm and Nicklaus wanted out of the project.

So why does Valhalla fall short of being a great, or even good, golf course?

We have to first start with the land. Valhalla’s property is divided into two distinct halves. The western half is a largely flat piece of ground with a waterway, Floyd’s Fork, wrapping around its outer boundary, while the eastern half is much more dramatic. That hillier land creeps into the center of the property, leaving a rise that falls off on three sides. If the amateur course architect in you read that description and thought “I bet they put the clubhouse on the high point in the middle, the front nine on the flat half, and the back nine on the hillier side,” you’d be correct.

An interesting carrot of the disjointed routing is the backstory found on both Valhalla’s official site and that of Nicklaus Design stating that they considered over 40 potential routings across the 486-acre property. That’s a lot of work to yield a course lacking in a cohesive flow. While navigating the massive power lines that bisect the property was certainly a large hurdle, it’s hard to believe this is the best routing of the 40 that they claim to have considered. The layout they chose segregates the first and ninth holes from the rest of the golf course, creating egregious walks from No. 1 to No. 2 and again from No. 8 to No. 9.

Instead of attempting a routing that would tell the story of the land and bring the golfer along for the ride, the design team chose to maximize the back nine and leave the front without much interest. To infuse some intrigue, they opted for shots near the land’s water hazards on Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8, while not actually pressing the holes up against the features. Water (and waterfalls) were also added down the left side of No. 7 and between the par 5’s two fairways. Why the holes don’t actually interact with the water on any shot besides No. 7 is beyond me. If you are going to use that water feature, shouldn’t it actually come into play?

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The inward nine certainly offers some exciting shots, but burly transitions are required in order for them to exist. The green-to-tee transitions are all quite bad, and the new tees added to increase total distance have only made them worse over time. Add in the lackluster front nine and it all feels like a lot to trade for some excitement down the stretch.

Still, the largest issue with the design of Valhalla is that while the land isn’t always great, the design also doesn’t take advantage of the portions of the property that present interest.

Take No. 2 for example. Presented with a terrific tributary of Floyd’s Fork on the left, the fairway is kept some 20 yards away from the hazard, with a misplaced bunker on the outside of the dogleg. There are also two bunkers short-left of the green, meaning that those who do play boldly off the tee aren’t rewarded with a better angle.

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Similarly, on the par-4 9th, players who challenge the big fairway bunker down the right in an effort to take the most direct line to the green are rewarded with a largely blind, uphill approach shot with a worse angle than those who went up the left, away from the risk.

In addition to the several holes on front that don’t utilize the water for strategic interest, four holes on the back play near a meandering creek without taking advantage. Only two (13 and 15) bring the water into play. A seemingly obvious solution for this would be to flip the 14th green with the 15th tee and shift the 16th green closer to the creek. These solutions would create more interest on the holes while providing a stronger test for professional players coming down the stretch at a major championship.

When you consider the number of golf courses built after 1980 with the purpose of hosting major championships, Valhalla has been objectively successful. Compared to the likes of Victoria National or the Cog Hill renovation, Valhalla has been the jewel of the Midwest when measured in terms of attracting majors. But it’s important to separate Valhalla the golf club from Valhalla the golf course, the latter of which fails to inspire.

With the PGA fully pulled out of any investment at Valhalla, it seems unlikely that future major championships will return to Louisville any time soon. We’ll be better off for it.

0 Eggs

(How We Rate Courses)

Valhalla’s land may have been good enough for an egg with a well-routed course, but the design and presentation leave a lot to be desired. A faster playing surface courtesy of zoysia fairways is an interesting addition and will be something to watch.

Course Tour

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