The 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla
An early look at the Louisville course that will play host to next year's 2nd Major
15 days until the 2024 season tees off!
Part three of four, looking ahead to the 2024 Majors. Today we’ll head to Bourbon Country (saving Scotch for next week) and take a look at a course that has hosted a few major tournaments but has been out of the rotation for a spell. If you missed ‘em, here are the early looks we took at Augusta and Pinehurst.
As you can see, the last time we played here, Rory was still winning majors and it was of course part of the torrid stretch Tiger had right around the turn of the century. Not a Ryder Cup I recall all that well for some reason, I may have to go back and watch some highlights of the Americans taking care of business in ‘08
As is well documented, my favorite thing in the world of golf is any course that takes the time to name all its holes. Some cool Norse mythology tossed in here and a nice nod to the late founder of the club, Dwight Gahm.
The official website lists completely different names for the holes (these may be unique to the 2014 PGA?), a mystery I promise to solve by May.
Again, there WILL be a more detailed preview this summer, but here’s an excerpt from Ron’s early look at the course for your reading pleasure:
Valhalla Golf Club
In preparation for the tournament, Valhalla’s new ownership group has made numerous updates to the course. Included in those are the renovation of the clubhouse, adding a new agronomy center, a waterfall on the 13th hole, and new tee boxes on the first, 12th, 14th, and 18th holes. The entire course has also been re-sodded from Bentgrass to Zoysia, a warmer-season turf. This should allow for easier maintenance of the course during the summer. The course will play about 100 yards longer than it did in 2014. The first hole is 50 yards longer, and No. 14 can be played as a 250-yard par three.
For the PGA Championship, Valhalla will play as a par 71 measuring over 7,400 yards. It has the reputation of being somewhat of a “bombers” course with wide fairways and players able to blast away off the tee on many of the holes. Back in 2014, it played as the longest par-71 course in PGA Championship history. Said Tour veteran Brandt Snedeker about the course, “You’ve got to drive the ball in play there, first and foremost, if you’re going to have any chance at all of being successful. Par 5s are a key factor. If they’re reachable for guys like me, the medium hitters, then I have a good chance. If they’re not, the big hitters have a huge advantage.”
It is a typical “Nicklaus design” in that it places a huge premium on precise second shots. It’s also a shotmakers course. Greens are firm and fast. Said Phil Mickelson back in 2014, “The fairways are always generous. But the biggest thing is coming into the greens, you want to hit a lot of shots high and soft. There are a lot of collection areas. You’ve got to carry a lot of bunkers and get the ball stopped quickly. The higher and softer you hit the ball, you seem to be able to make a lot more birdies at Valhalla. So that will be the biggest thing.”
As for the course itself, the easier front nine is more wide open with slightly undulating fairways that pitch and roll through a low-lying valley. Along with being more difficult and having more imaginative holes, the back nine is a much more traditional tree-lined layout that also has plenty of hazards and changes in elevation. Overall, the par 3s are challenging. There is also a good mix of longer and shorter holes for each of the par types.
Current Odds
Familiar names at the top, and young Ludvig at 26/1 👀
News Dump
New Faces
Five golfers got their tour cards last weekend via Q-School. Read how Q-School works.
LIV Bound?
There are rumors that Jon Rahm’s new LIV team is starting to assemble.
JT Bounceback Year
I got to sit in on the presser with JT up at the 3M and follow him around a bit during the week. He’s way too nice to root against, I’m hoping he does a little better with his 2024 goals.
As always, be good, have fun, bet responsibly even if it’s not golf, and have a great holiday weekend!
Want to get me something for Christmas? All I want is for you to share this newsletter with someone you know who enjoys betting on golf.
Check out our: YouTube | Twitter | Written Content | Discord
Need some NFL betting content for the weekend? Check out our other newsletter:
Already have tickets for Valhalla. Pumped to revisit this post to prep for it.