by Holly Freeland
holly@louisville.com
Next September 19-21, the eyes of the golf world will descend upon our great city of Louisville, KY. Valhalla Golf Club will be hosting the 
37thRyder Cup and the event will serve as the largest international sporting event in Kentucky history. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, Valhalla is consistently ranked in the top 75 courses in the United States. Valhalla has hosted the PGA championships in both 1996 and 2000. In 2002, it hosted the PGA Professional National Championship and also the 2004 Senior PGA Championship.
But, an event like the Ryder Cup requires a long time in preparation and a great deal of organization. Announced on December 8, 2000 that Valhalla would host this world-renowned event, anticipation and planning has been ongoing from that time until now. As the last stretch is here, Louisville.com caught up with Jeromy Manser, Tournament Manager, and Susan E. Kibelstis, Merchandise Program Manager for the 2008 Ryder Cup to see what their thoughts were so far, and what they expected for the event.
1. Why was Louisville chosen as the site of the 2008 Ryder Cup? Valhalla Golf Club challenges every aspect of the game and also presents enough space to host an event of this magnitude. As for Louisville, their support of events in this city is second to none!
2. In terms of preparations for the event, what special things needed to be done? A few changes were made to the course such as reshaping greens, lengthening holes and clearing trees for spectator visibility. A number of changes were also made to create space for parking, corporate villages, merchandise tents, etc.
3. With the Cup less than a year away, what are your biggest challenges from this point on? Our biggest challenges at this point are going to revolve around the planning for the building and the operations of the event. This includes everything from scheduling 3,500 volunteers to building access roads on the course to determining where signage will go out on the course. It’s a huge undertaking. We are lucky in that we have had such an overwhelming response to our volunteer and corporate hospitality programs so a lot of the front end work is already done.
4. What have you found to be the most impressive part of Louisvilleas it relates to the Ryder Cup coming to town? Their support… whether it’s Corporate Hospitality, Tickets or Volunteers, they are ready to take this event under their wings and make it the best ever, and so far it looks like we’re headed in that direction!
5. How familiar will both the European and US teams be to the course? As Valhalla has hosted two previous PGA Championships, some of both the American and European players have played the course before. However, with all the renovations that have been done to the course, I think it may be unrecognizable to them. Typically, each team visits the host site prior to the start of the Ryder Cup to acclimate themselves to the course and to encourage team bonding and we expect them to do the same in 2008.
6. Outside of the Ryder Cup, what are your thoughts about Louisville in general? Louisville is an incredibly welcoming city. Most people are very friendly and so generous when it comes to helping newcomers become acclimated. It’s also a city that knows how to have a good time! From the number of art galleries to museums to live music venues, the city has everything anyone could want. To top that off, it’s so easy to find out what is going on at each place at any one time through the local websites, radio stations and newspapers.