They said all of the right things, but nothing definitive. On the eve of Louisville’s latest turn as the focal point of global golf, the leadership of the PGA of America heaped praise upon Valhalla Golf Club, and not just the course, but also its owners, its members, its history and its community.
They stopped short, however, of saying they would be back.
The 2024 PGA Championship is the fourth to be conducted at this plutocrats playground on Shelbyville Rd., but the first since the PGA of America sold the club to local owners. Though the PGA honchos who met the media Wednesday insisted Valhalla would continue to be considered as a site for future tournaments, “considered” is a long way from “committed” and that linguistic gap has only grown since two future PGA Championships were awarded to the organization’s new home course in Frisco, Texas.
With the PGA of America now free of its financial stake in Valhalla (and the favorable terms that follow), at least two seasoned members of the local media have suggested this weekend’s tournament could be the last at the club. Similarly, Golf Digest’s Shane Ryan wrote: “This week’s PGA Championship marks a kind of last hurrah – at least for the foreseeable future.”
Color the PGA leadership coy.
“They are anxious to hear that they are (assured of another tournament),” PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh told LEO Weekly. “I keep saying, ‘Let’s have the event. Let’s get married before we have the baby.’ “
Future PGA Championships are committed through 2031, and another is already scheduled for PGA Frisco in 2034. The next Senior PGA Championship yet to be awarded is in 2026; the next open Women’s PGA in 2028. The next available U.S. Open is in 2043 – may we all live that long – and there are no openings for another domestic Ryder Cup until 2040.
“We have a discipline where we don’t commit to future sites past seven to eight years,” Waugh said. “Some of our other majors have gone a little bit past that, and so we are trying to be disciplined about that. So the fact that we don’t announce something, you know, this week or next week or even next year doesn’t mean Valhalla isn’t a great venue that we are thinking about.”
This much ought to be obvious. Two days before the tournament’s scheduled start, Sports Business Journal (SBJ) reported Valhalla had set records for both general admission ticket sales and hospitality, with the four tournament day sessions selling out at $199 for Thursday’s round and $249 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. As of May 1, SBJ reported, more than 200 companies had purchased hospitality tickets.
“I am certain we will continue to bring major golf events to Valhalla,” club co-owner Jimmy Kirchdorfer said via text message. “That is one of the reasons David (Novak), Junior (Bridgeman), Ches (Musselman) and I purchased the club, and have made substantial capital improvements to the property. It creates a significant boost to our local economy and has been a source of pride for our community. The record ticket and hospitality sales (with approximately 70% of hospitality purchased by local companies) show how much this community enjoys live golf events.”
So, too, does the willingness of spectators (I refuse to call them “patrons”), who board buses at remote locations to gain entry to the grounds, where they can then pay $14 for a Michelob Ultra. (Down from $18 at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills.)
“Louisville shows up, right?” Waugh said, “and they show up in every way and that’s why we are having a record. It’s an amazing town that gets behind things, which is fantastic.”
Some of this enthusiasm should simply be ascribed to good manners. A polite guest should be quick to praise a host, especially one that has invested tens of millions of dollars in renovations. Yet while the facelift Valhalla received following the 2022 ownership change may be a little too blue-and-white for some Louisville tastes – Junior Bridgeman’s in particular – the overall aesthetic is more appealing than before, notwithstanding the continuing eyesore of elevated power lines.
At 7,609 yards, Valhalla will play 151 yards longer than when Rory McIlroy won his last major championship there in 2014. Now as then, its length should enhance the advantage of golf’s longer hitters and, in turn, punish the puny. (Entering the tournament, the three longest drivers on the PGA Tour were Cameron Champ, McIlroy and Wyndham Clark.)
“It’s a great golf course,” said Brooks Koepka, whose five career majors include three PGA Championships. “You can kind of tell by the past champions.”
Because McIlroy and Tiger Woods have won the last two PGA Championships at Valhalla, and two of the three tournaments have ended in playoffs, the venue generally rates higher in the drama department than it does as an iconic showplace. It was ranked No. 93 in Golf Digest’s most recent list of the top 100 U.S. courses, but may fare better in future installments.
“It’s a new golf course almost,” said Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America’s chief championships officer. “John Ballard, the superintendent, and his team have done an incredible job in preparing the course. An investment was made two or three years ago to switch the fairways and tees from bentgrass poa to zoysia. And as you can see, the conditioning is just second-to-none.
“The big part of that is because of the ownership group, the new ownership group who persuaded or asked the membership to basically not play the golf course since last November, and we are now into May. For any club to do that is an incredible sacrifice.”
Waugh says Valhalla’s new owners were willing to invest more than the PGA of America could justify, and that selling the course enabled the organization to redeploy funds in more lucrative investments. If the new owners caused head-scratching friction with some heavy-handed policies – notably forcing some long-standing members to choose between giving up their equity in the club or leaving it – they have positively impressed the powers that be in the PGA of America.
“The ownership group here is fabulous,” PGA of America President John Lindert said. “The golf course is fabulous. The players love it. As far as the location, May date; it’s beautiful out, more or less, if you like a little bit of weather here and there. I don’t see why this facility wouldn’t continue to be considered.”
Commitment comes later.
This article appears in May 8-21, 2024.