Ryder Cup Question #3: How About Valhalla?
by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 22, 2008 11:56 AM EDT
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PrintPeople have a wide variety of opinions on Jack Nicklaus' Valhalla. Many think the course's greens are designed like a putt putt course and feel contrived. A lot of folks criticize #13 because it doesn't fit the land and it looks like the green is on a bed of rocks. The holes are very long and some people don't like that.
The reality is that you can't please everyone by picking a course for this event. But, there were a lot of positives about Valhalla and how it was set up for this event. The course allowed for a lot of birdies, which is critical for excitement in match play. The course wasn't too long. The greens appeared to be in great shape even if they were missing a few clown's mouths. Overall, though the course is labeled as a gimmick, it produced perfect match play results thanks to some incredible play.
It lends itself to a larger question. Does it matter what course the Ryder Cup is played on at all? Would we have had the same kind of fun if this were playing on a muni course? If so, this could be a great way to "grow the game" by taking events like this to places that don't normally see great golf tournaments.
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who is saying these things ?
“…the course’s greens are designed like a putt putt course and feel contrived. A lot of folks criticize #13 because it doesn’t fit the land and it looks like the green is on a bed of rocks. The holes are very long and some people don’t like that.”
What “people” ?
It’s not like this is the first time anyone has seen Valhalla – it has hosted majors and has been the scene of some very good golf.
undulating greens are how golf courses are built these days. Pros have gotten too good to have regular flat greens to put on, and the undulations separate the greens into sections to force these guys to land their approach shots in the right place. Obviously the big hump on 17 didn’t bother Hunter Mahan too much on Sunday. :-) And if I hear Johnny Miller say “this is a really easy putt” one more time – I am going to yank his microphone cord myself !
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Haha
Most of the critiques come from architecture geeks like myself. The greens just don’t seem natural and fit the land. 13 and 18 are just gimmick holes. BUT, does it really matter if you get a fun match?
exactly
13 is a short par 4 – an iron and a wedge to an intimidating looking green. change of pace – no big deal
18 is a par 5 – played as a 3-shot hole, it’s a short wedge to anywhere on the green – that bunker is a great challenge if you go for the green. the hole isn’t long enough to make pros sweat, so you have to give them something to think about.
Valhalla sits in rolling hills with rock outcroppings. They had to move some dirt to make the greens because of the shallow land.
Besides – it’s Nicklaus trying to make a course difficult.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
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