Heritage Hill Golf Club

Overview: Heritage Hill Golf Club is an 18-hole public championship course in Shepherdsville, just south of Louisville. Doug Beach, a former Jack Nicklaus design associate, used the rolling terrain of Kentucky's Knobs region to create a layout that moves between open prairie and wooded edges. The property is bordered by the Salt River, and the course's character comes from that changing landscape: broad views on some holes, dense tree lines on others, and substantial elevation changes that make the approach into each green a different proposition.

History: The golf course opened in 2007 on land with a much older agricultural story. In 1789, John R. Gaither received a grant for 500 acres along the south side of the Salt River. The property later became Valley View Farms, after J.H. Plenge and C.T. Korfhage acquired much of the original tract in 1948. Heritage Hill was built on that former farmland, preserving the woods along the edges and the open character of the old fields. Its early recognition included a Golf Digest Top Ten Best New Public Golf Courses designation in 2008.

Did You Know? Heritage Hill is home to three bald eagles. The club reports that the first sightings came during the winter of 2010 near the 18th hole, and the Salt River conservation easement keeps that northern edge protected from future residential construction.