Valley (named after a nearby Bavarian town) is a very ambitious new build that was in the running to become the official candidate course of the German Ryder Cup bid 2018. That particular project never got off the ground, but Valley has 27 championship holes open and a 9 hole executive offering as well.

On the Krause designed A, B and C loop, six distinct tees allow the course to play anything between a tough Tour challenge to a mellow beginner's track. Which means that every hole starts with a par 3 length of "just tees", before the actual fairway begins. The impact of this design decision is not only visual, it also leads to a number of fairly long green to tee walks. The site is flat and completely open, but the excessive demands that such a battery of tees places on the architect means that he cannot build holes just anywhere he wants to.

Conditioning is impeccable and resonates with the high end claim of the club, as does the infrastructure from club house to practice area. The weaknesses are clearly in the architecture: the shot values are solid, but there are few breathtaking moments or surprising challenges. Undoubtedly this has to do with the boring site and the relatively restrained shaping. David Krause can be dramatic to the point of absurdity, but this effort is purely technical and predictable.

While the undulated greens are very interesting and certainly the best part of the course, the design is otherwise largely devoid of strategic options. The fairways are only wide outside of the landing zones, which are often pinched in considerably. Coupled with the sheer length of the holes there is usually an extra shot to be taken anyway, so there is little to win by taking a risk.

Valley puts a premium on quality, but has a hard time stirring up emotions. I venture that many members will think it's a great course, but few will actually love it.