The Ryder Cup 2008 will be played at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, the third week in September.
The choice of Valhalla for the venue is an interesting one. In Norse mythology, as those who study such things know, Valhalla is the the place where the Viking heroes go when they die – Viking Heaven, in fact. Actually, it’s the Great Hall of Odin, the chief of the Norse gods. Odin is the Norse god of war, battle, death and wisdom. So, our Valhalla in Kentucky seems to be an appropriate choice as the place where the gods of golf will come to do battle later this year.
The first hole, seen here in the photograph, is designed to be "a gentle introduction that begins to ease into the golf course." Most of the pros will use 3-wood or driver off of the tee and play to the right center of the dogleg. The idea is to set up a mid to short iron approach to the slightly elevated green. The first green also features a five-foot swale on it's front left designed to gather in any shots landing short. This is a great opening hole, and it played surprisingly tough in the 78th PGA Championship.