Valhalla provides a championship stage for our members to experience golf at its finest.

Valhalla, the great hall described in Norse mythology where the souls of Vikings feasted and celebrated with the gods, is now the namesake of a modern paradise for championship golf. Valhalla Golf Club is the culmination of Dwight Gahm's dream to build a world-class course capable of hosting a major golf championship. Our vision is to become one of the premier golf clubs in the country with a Championship golf experience unlike any other in the world. Our mission is to provide a memorable golf experience that gives you a taste of championship history and southern hospitality you can only get in Kentucky. Valhalla is a Jack Nicklaus-design that has ranked among Golf Digest's "America's 100 Greatest Courses" for almost 30 consecutive years. With nearly 500 acres stretching across rolling hills and a breathtaking golf theater, it has become one of golf's most storied venues hosting numerous major championships. The golf course and property showcase the Commonwealth of Kentucky with our horse fencing along Bluegrass Way, our exposed natural limestone (which makes the bourbon smoother and our horses faster in Kentucky), and the distinctly Southern attributes of our clubhouse to name just a few.  We present a fast, firm, and fun on-course experience for our members and their guests with a unique brand of Kentucky Southern hospitality.

1981-1983 - Working with the Golden Bear

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.  Mr. 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. With Nicklaus’ vision, it would be the caliber of facility that could host a major championship comfortably and provide the members with an incredible golf haven. Nicklaus, described the site in 1983 as 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."

1984-1987 - Early Development

In the spring of 1984, after considering 40 potential course routings, construction began and the final product opened for play in June of 1986.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.  After Valhalla Golf Club opened, Mr. 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 of America Championship and made several site visits to the club.

1992 - Valhalla Tabbed to Host PGA Championship

In 1992, Valhalla Golf Club was announced as the site for the 1996 PGA Championship. Valhalla Golf Club had 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, and 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. Later that year PGA of America Chief Executive Officer Jim Awtrey paid another visit to Valhalla Golf Club and walked the course with Mr. Gahm. Mr. Gahm shared his long-held desire to see Valhalla Golf Club grow and establish its own outstanding tradition of excellence in major championship golf. Awtrey told Mr. Gahm of The PGA's dream of owning and operating a limited number of high-quality golf facilities that could host golf's major championships. It was a time when shared visions became one.

1993 - The PGA of America Purchases Valhalla

In November 1993, an agreement was negotiated whereby The PGA of America agreed to a portion of Valhalla Golf Club. Spectators have found some of golf's most spectacular viewing areas in Valhalla Golf Club's natural amphitheaters. The scenic par-5, 542-yard 18th handled 20,000 spectators. The area surrounding the green on the par-4, 422-yard 17th accommodated a gallery of more than 8,000. Since then, the course has become known for its climactic finishes among championship events and its amphitheater views.  

1996 - 78th PGA Championship

In 1996, Valhalla hosted the PGA Championship. Mark Brooks’ focused game plan proved the key to victory as the PGA Championship celebrated its first visit to Valhalla Golf Club. The field featured 81 of the top 100 Sony world-ranked players. Brooks, 35, capped a dramatic final round by making two birdies within 20 minutes on the par-5, 540-yard 18th hole. He knocked home a five-foot birdie putt in regulation play and then joined Kentucky-born favorite Kenny Perry for the 14th playoff in PGA Championship history. From the 18th tee in the playoff, Brooks’ tee shot split the fairway while Perry’s drive found the left-hand rough. Perry failed to get out of the rough until his fourth approach shot crept on the putting surface. Brooks calmly hit a 229-yard 3-wood approach to the green then two-putted, making a four-foot birdie putt to claim victory. Brooks’ steady play included handling Valhalla’s slick greens and keeping his drives out of the rough: Brooks ranked first in putting among the elite field, needing only 104 putts, and was tied for 21st in driving accuracy. After the successful conclusion of the 1996 PGA Championship, The PGA of America assumed majority ownership in the club and announced it would return to Valhalla Golf Club in 2000 to play the 82nd PGA Championship. 

2000 - 82nd PGA Championship

Tiger Woods had chased Bob May’s Southern California junior golf records, but they’d never faced each other in competition. That drought ended on the world stage in the 82nd PGA Championship in 2000, where they dueled through the final round and into a three-hole playoff. Both played brilliantly down the stretch, each posting a bogey-free 31 on the back nine. Woods pushed to the limit, reached for something extra, and birdied the final two holes in regulation and the first hole (the 16th) in the Championship’s first-ever three-hole aggregate score playoff; Memorable par saves on the final two holes earned his second Wanamaker Trophy. Woods became the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three major titles in one year. He also erased a PGA jinx by capturing back-to-back Championships, the first to do so since Denny Shute (1936-37) and the first to repeat in the stroke (medal) play era that began in 1958. Woods was tested from the beginning, losing his one-stroke margin through 54 holes, with a rare bogey on the par-5 second hole. He didn’t clinch his fifth major championship until May missed a 30-foot birdie putt by inches on the final hole of the playoff.  At the conclusion of the 2000 PGA Championship, The PGA exercised the right to purchase the remaining interest in Valhalla. 

2004 - 65th Senior PGA Championship

In 2004 Valhalla hosted the Senior PGA Championship. Hale Irwin stroked a memorable 40-foot lag putt up a steep crest in the 18th green then tapped in a one-foot birdie putt and closed another chapter for one of golf’s most amazing performers. Irwin, who celebrated his 59th birthday three days later, earned his fourth Senior PGA Championship and seventh senior major, after a marathon week of weather delays, nearby tornadoes, and more than seven inches of rain saturating the course. Irwin overcame three back-nine bogeys by sinking a clutch 12-foot birdie on the 13th hole, making a “gut check” six-foot par putt at the par-4 15th, and finishing with his birdie at the 18th. He posted an even-par 71, for a 72-hole total of 8-under-par 276. Champions Tour rookie Jay Haas, who pushed a six-foot birdie putt on the 18th to lose by one stroke, closed with a 70. Craig Stadler, who pitched in for eagle on the 18th for a 69, was third at 279, and Tom Watson, England’s Mark James, and Canada’s Dave Barr shared fourth at 282. The Monday finish was the third in Senior PGA Championship history, following Doug Tewell’s victory in an abbreviated 54-hole Championship in 2000, and the late Fred Haas Jr., who won in 1966, after the first round was postponed.

2008 - 37th Ryder Cup Matches

In 2008 Valhalla had the esteemed honor to host the Ryder Cup. With their initial champagne drenching finished, teammates Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan, and Boo Weekley charged down the stairs, bubbly bottles in hand, to meet the “13th Man” as Captain Paul Azinger aptly nicknamed the adoring Louisville galleries. “Staying on point,” as Azinger repeated throughout what became a remarkable team-building effort, a gritty, grinding, 12-member USA Team – six of them rookies – toppled Europe, 16 1/2 to 11 1/2, in the 37th Ryder Cup.  Every member of the USA Team contributed at some point to snap a nine-year victory drought, and in the process, made a statement about the future of American golf. At Valhalla, the Americans eased the sting of consecutive routs in 2004 and 2006, which left the golf world pondering the commitment and passion of U.S. professionals. The U.S. won 7 1/2 out of a possible 12 points in the singles, led by Kim’s opening 5-and-4 conquest of Sergio Garcia. The rookies on the USA Team – Ben Curtis, J.B. Holmes, Kim, Mahan, Kenny Perry, Steve Stricker, and Weekley – combined for an 11-5-9 record, including five wins and a tie in singles. Conversely,  Garcia, Padraig Harrington, and Lee Westwood didn’t win a match for Europe all week.

2011 - 72nd Senior PGA Championship

In 2011 Tom Watson holed a short birdie putt on the first playoff hole, to defeat David Eger and capture the 72nd Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid. Both players had finished at 10-under-par 278 after 72 holes at Valhalla Golf Club. The 61-year-old Watson, trailing Eger by one stroke with four holes left in regulation, became the oldest player to win a major since the Champions Tour began in 1980. He also became the second-oldest winner of the Senior PGA Championship, behind Jock Hutchison who was 62 in 1947. Watson, who won his first Senior PGA Championship at Ridgewood Country Club in 2001, also matched Hutchison in capturing two Championships a decade apart. In the playoff, Watson went for the 535-yard, par-5 18th green with his second shot. His approach caromed off the ridge of the green and landed in the deep front bunker. Eger hit a wedge approach to 10 feet but missed the birdie attempt. After blasting out of the sand to three feet, Watson calmly stroked in the winner.

2012 - Greens Renovation

In 2012, the golf course underwent a renovation that saw improvements that included rebuilding all 18 greens with a more heat-tolerant bentgrass, adding or renovating 12 bunkers, expanding the practice range, installing a new irrigation system, and addressing drainage problems.  Also, the layout of some holes was modified.

2014 - 96th PGA Championship

In 2014, Valhalla once again hosted the PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy emerged from a four-man race to outlast Phil Mickelson and the darkness to capture his second straight major championship. McIlroy’s closing 3-under 68 made him the fifth player to win four majors at 25 or younger. The others: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Bobby Jones, and “Young” Tom Morris. Trailing by three shots heading to the back nine, McIlroy rallied to take the lead and then birdied No. 17 for a two-shot advantage. Because of a two-hour rain delay, and with darkness falling quickly, it wasn’t certain that McIlroy would be able to finish until he got the invitation from Rickie Fowler at the No. 18 tee to hit his tee shot before Fowler and his playing partner, Mickelson—both two shots behind—had reached their drives. McIlroy came within a yard of driving into a hazard right of the fairway before getting permission from a PGA of America Rules Official to hit his second shot. Trying to force a tie, Fowler missed a 50-foot eagle attempt before Mickelson’s eagle chip came within inches of the hole. McIlroy’s second found a bunker, then he two-putted from 35 feet for a one-shot victory. Mickelson (66) finished runner-up for the ninth time in a major while Fowler became the first player in history to finish in the top five in all four majors in a single year without winning any of them. Valhalla was also inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.

2016 - Dwight Gahm Passes

On March 7, 2016, Dwight Gahm passed away, leaving behind a fantastic legacy that includes our facility. Many tributes poured in for Mr. Gahm, including this great summary in the Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville. 

2017 - Clubhouse Renovation

In 2017 Valhalla wrapped up the $3.8 million project, which included a significant reconfiguration of the 15,000-square-foot facility's lobby, dining and bar area, locker rooms, and meeting spaces. The project melded the traditional touch of an upscale golf experience with modern features and flourishes that make the space more inviting.

2018 - 43rd Boys Junior PGA Championship

In 2018 Valhalla played host to a junior event for the record books.  Since 1976, there has never been a back-to-back winner in the Boys Junior PGA Championship. Well, go ahead and add yet another “never before” to Akshay Bhatia’s name. Bhatia, 16, of Wake Forest, North Carolina, holed out a slow-moving, sidewinding 40-foot chip for eagle from off the 18th green, at Valhalla Golf Club—to miraculously rally from one-down over runner-up Tommy Stephenson, of Carlsbad, California and clinch the 43rd Boys Junior PGA Championship on the 72nd hole. In the process, he became the first-ever back-to-back Champion, as well as the first two-time victor. Valhalla Founder Dwight Gahm’s own great-grandson, Campbell Kremer competed in the event finishing T35 with a total of 4-over-par.

2021 - 45th Girls Junior PGA Championship & Course Renovation

In a post-pandemic world, Valhalla had an extremely busy 2021, hosting the 45th Girls Junior PGA Championship and taking on a massive course renovation. In the Girls Championship, 15-year-old Anna Davis of Spring Valley, California posted an impressive tournament from start to finish for a 7-shot victory and an equally stunning, 15-under-par total. Not only was the field for the event elite, but there were also 79 NCAA Collegiate coaches on hand to spectate and find their next star female golfer. Renovation work began on August 3, 2021, and the scope included resodding the fairways and tees to Zeon Zoysia grass, bunker restoration, and some additional cosmetic work around the property. A grand total of 1,313,500 square feet of Zeon zoysia grass was successfully transported and installed from Soperton, GA to Louisville, KY.  All bunker sand was excavated and reinforced with the Better Billy Bunker system and almost 2,000 tons of new sand was added. Three new Championship tees were constructed on holes 1, 12, and 14. Curbing was added along holes 2, 15, and 16. Four miles of Turf Drain was installed. Over 40 acres of primary rough was addressed for bent and bermudagrass contamination and seeded. Also, over 60 dead and decaying trees and brush were cleared to open up views, airflow and provide more sunlight to specific areas.

2022 - New Ownership

On June 1, 2022, Valhalla Golf Club was purchased from the PGA of America by a small group of prominent Louisville businessmen. All four men are long-time members of the club. Jimmy Kirchdorfer, Ches Musselman, Junior Bridgeman, and David Novak could not bear the thought of Vahalla being sold to a group that wasn't local to Kentucky and did not appreciate the rich history the club has accumulated over its short existence. Thus beginning "Chapter Three" of Valhalla Golf Club. Their vision for Valhalla is to become a premier club in the country with a golf experience unlike any other in the world.  Valhalla presents a fast, firm, and fun on-course experience for our members and their guests with the unique brand of Southern Hospitality which can only be found in Kentucky. It is slated to host the 2024 PGA Championship and as history has shown above, spectators and fans are in for a truly fantastic championship golf experience.