In November 1993, the PGA of America bought 25 per cent of Valhalla GC as an investment in the future. Three years later, after the 1996 USPGA Championship had been staged there, they increased their equity to 50 per cent. And by next week, they will become the sole owners of this Jack Nicklaus designed layout, 20 miles east of Louisville, Kentucky.

Jim Awtrey, chief executive of the PGA of America, views it as the realisation of his organisation's dream to own and operate "a limited number of high-quality golf facilities that could house golf's major championships." Which explains why it has been chosen as the venue for the 2007 Ryder Cup, the next staging after The K Club.

Prior to 1981, this city of 500,000 inhabitants was best known in a sporting context as the birthplace of Cassius Clay, who revelled in the sobriquet of "The Louisville Lip", before recreating himself as Muhammad Ali. Then local businessman Dwight Gahm bought 476 acres of flood plain, horse pasture and a surprise - and commissioned Nicklaus to build him a golf course of championship quality.

The surprise? "Shortly after I bought it, the police called one night," said Gahm, a sturdy 81-year-old who once played off scratch. "They found a field of marijuana growing where the second hole now sits."

Valhalla takes its highly evocative name from Norse mythology, as the great hall in which the souls of dead Vikings feasted and celebrated with the gods. After opening its doors in 1986, it was nominated as one of the top three new private clubs in the US the following year and remains the number-one ranked course in Kentucky, according to the leading American magazine, Golf Digest.

Though many would consider Mark Brooks to have been a decidedly moderate winner of the 1996 USPGA Championship when it was staged here, the fact remains that the field contained 81 of the top 100 ranked players in the world. And as a venue, it showed itself to be more than capable of handling record crowds for the event.

Then there is the fact that the top-10 finishers included Steve Elkington, Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Phil Mickelson, Nick Price and Lee Janzen.

It is also clear that the 20,000 spectators who crowded onto the spectacularly banked surroundings of the 18th green, enjoyed the view down this scenic, 542-yard par five.

The spacious, 17,500 square-foot clubhouse, which was opened in February 1996, features a 45-foot clock tower and veranda, overlooking the 18th green.

Though a waiting list remains, despite a recent increase in the entrance fee to

$45,000, members flatly reject any accusations of elitism. In fact they take pride in having strictly a golf club with no swimming pool, no tennis courts and no dinner dances. And a third of the members have single-figure handicaps.

The front nine at Valhalla is set on low-lying river flats where 650,000 cubic yards of earth were moved to raise tees, greens and fairways to a level which would protect the course from major storm damage. Higher, tree-covered terrain characterises the homeward journey where a shallow stream comes into play on four holes.

Nicklaus considers the 470-yard 12th to be the strongest hole on the course and it is followed by an island green at the par-four 13th. A water-filled rock quarry separates the landing areas for second shots to the 18th with its wide, shallow green.

There are 42 bunkers on the course and quite a deal of Scottish-type heather which is indigenous to the area. And in typical Nicklaus fashion - as visitors to Mount Juliet will be aware - the greens feature distinct tiers and sections providing a variety of challenging pin positions. Meanwhile, a number of minor changes have been made for this week's staging.

According to the organisers, these have been done not necessarily to lengthen the course to 7,167 yards, but to encourage players to use their driver or longer clubs from the tee if they are to reach the primary landing areas. To this end, new tees were built on the first, second and sixth holes while existing tees were extended on the fifth and 12th.

In addition, the "island" fairway on the seventh hole will now be available to players who are prepared to risk the more direct route to this impressive, 597-yard par five. And a fairway bunker has been added to the left side of the ninth.

It is interesting that the original course record of 66 should have been set by Nicklaus only weeks after he had captured his sixth US Masters title at Augusta in 1986. And that it should have been equalled by Larry Mize, only a short time after he had succeeded the great man as the Masters champion of 1987. As it happened, lefthander Russ Cochran set the current record of 65 in the USPGA in 1996.

Locals claim that Daniel Boone, the great American frontiersman, once roamed these lands with a loaded musket and coonskin cap. And by way of emphasising the minimal nature of changes to the terrain surrounding the course, they claim that if Boone were to set foot on the 18th tee, he would take a deep breath and enthuse: "This is the perfect place."

And no doubt, he would compliment Nicklaus on his architectural skills. Not that the PGA of America are in need of such homespun hype, given that the championship is a sell-out.