80 days from PGA Championship week in Louisville, crews race to host 200,000 golf fans

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Valhalla Golf Club's new zoysia fairways are brown, lying dormant as they wait for winter to turn to spring and the world's best golfers to descend upon Louisville in pursuit of a major championship.

The PGA of America is hard at work at Valhalla, refining changes around the course, building hospitality buildings, merchandise shops and grandstands. They're even redesigning the club's iconic clubhouse perched atop the east Louisville property. It's an all-out effort to host the 2024 PGA Championship, a massive undertaking to welcome 200,000 golf fans to the course.

And Tyler Curtis, championship operations manager for the tournament, said this is a much larger operation than in 2014, the last time Valhalla hosted a major championship. There will be more spectator spaces on property and other venues to allow people to watch the best players in the world and experience the roars of one of the golf's biggest weeks.

"We're very surprised how excited people are that the championship is back," Curtis said. "With it being about seven days after Derby, we didn't know how the city would feel about it. But everyone is excited. From a hospitality standpoint, I think most of our sales are local."

In late-2021, the club began work to re-sod the entire golf course. The course was transitioned from a cool-season bentgrass to a warm-season zoysia grass, allowing for easier maintenance of the course during the warm season. John Ballard, golf course superintendent at Valhalla, said preparing the playing surface is a crucial part of their preparation.

"It's getting the golf course to wake up from its winter dormancy and then getting us online to where we put out the best playing conditions possible for these golfers," he said Friday. "That zoysia plays extremely firm and fast, and that's how we want it to be. We want it to be table-top out here."

The course has been lengthened by about 100 yards, extending tee boxes on holes 1, 12, 14 and 18. No. 1 will play 50 yards longer, and No. 12 can go 20 yards longer. No. 14 can now be played as a 250-yard par three. The grounds crew also totally reworked the green site on No. 13, further defining the rock and water features behind and to the right of the green on Valhalla's signature hole.

The 486-acre property sits off Shelbyville Road, just east of Interstate 265. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, it opened in 1986 and remains the No. 1-ranked course in Kentucky, according to Golf Digest.

Valhalla has also played host to many marquee events that drew national and international attention to Louisville:

1996 PGA Championship: Won by Mark Brooks
2000 PGA Championship: Won by Tiger Woods
2004 Senior PGA Championship: Won by Hale Irwin
2008 Ryder Cup: Won by the United States
2011 Senior PGA Championship: Won by Tom Watson
2014 PGA Championship: Won by Rory McIlroy

Just 80 days away from tournament week, the focus is almost fully on the infrastructure. Curtis said they've begun preparing spaces for fans, corporate sponsors and everyone in between.

"We're about two to three weeks in and we have about 200,000 square feet of flooring already laid," Curtis said. "... And we have 500,000 to go."

Championship tickets are sold out, but practice round tickets remain available for Monday through Wednesday. For more information on tickets and to buy yours today, click here.

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