Louis Sibbett "Dick" Wilson (1904 – July 5, 1965) was an American golf course architect, who designed over sixty courses. Several of these still have a high reputation. He was known for his technique of elevating the greens when designing courses in relatively flat terrain, and for using ponds and bunkers to emphasize the aerial approach.
Early years
Wilson was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania in 1904, where his father was a contractor. He worked as a
water boy
In the United States, a water boy or water girl (sometimes spelled waterboy or watergirl) was someone who worked in the field, providing water to farm workers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, the name is given to those who work on the ...
on construction of the Merion Golf Course in Philadelphia. Wilson was admitted to the
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...
on a football scholarship.
After leaving university he joined the team of Howard C. Toomey and William S. Flynn of Philadelphia.
In 1931 he supervised construction when Toomey and Flynn undertook a complete overhaul of the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
With Toomey & Flynn he also worked on the course for the
Cleveland Country Club
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...
,
the Country Club
The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is the oldest golf-oriented country club in the United States. (The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, was the first country club for any sport.) It holds an important place in ...
in
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...
and Springdale, outside
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
, among others. During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Wilson got a job managing
Delray Beach
Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Miami, Delray Beach is in the ...
Golf Club. He was a course superintendent for a time, then during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
(1939–1945) he worked on airfield camouflage.
Course architect
After the war Wilson became a golf course designer in his own right. Business was slow at first, but by 1952 it had picked up sufficiently for Wilson to take on an associate, Joe Lee, a 30-year-old graduate of the University of Miami. Wilson's style included broad fairways and large greens. He gave his bunkers a curvelinear form. In the flat country of Florida he developed a style in which putting surfaces were slightly raised, making them more visible and also helping with drainage. The axis of the green would be set at a 30% – 45% diagonal to the fairway, with a large bunker guarding the approach.
Wilson's courses typically included various artificial lakes, largely to provide fill for the elevated tees and greens, but also for the sake of adding challenge. His designs reflected the emerging concept that the putting surfaces should be reached by aerial approaches.
The West Palm Beach Golf Course (1947) is an early example of Wilson's work, a championship course with rolling terrain and elevated greens. In 1954 the Deepdale Golf Club bought the
W.R. Grace
William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company.
Early life
Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the ...
estate on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
and had a new course designed by Wilson. By 1959, when he designed the course for the
Cypress Lake Country Club
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the la ...
, he was at the peak of his career. He was known for his renovation of the Seminole Golf Club course in Juno Beach, Florida, updating Donald Ross's scratchy bunkers and giving them a more modern curvelinear form, as well as for his course design for the
Hole In The Wall Golf Club
The Hole In The Wall Golf Club is an 18-hole private golf facility in Naples, Florida.
Course
The course was originally designed in 1957 by Dick Wilson, the well-known golf course architect.
It opened in January 1958.
It had a length of about an ...
in
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...
.
In 1960 Wilson did some work for the
Metropolitan Golf Club
The Metropolitan Golf Club is one of the renowned sandbelt courses of Melbourne and is widely recognised as one of the finest championship courses in Australia. It is located in Oakleigh South, in the city's south-eastern suburbs, approximately ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia. In 1960 land had been taken from the club's course for school development. Using adjoining land, Wilson designed a set of replacement holes that have now completely blended in with the original. Wilson and Joe Lee designed the 18-hole course for the private Lagunita Country Club in
El Hatillo Municipality, Venezuela
El Hatillo Municipality ( es, Municipio El Hatillo) is an administrative division of the Miranda State, State of Miranda, Venezuela; along with Baruta Municipality, Baruta, Chacao Municipality, Chacao, Libertador Municipality (Venezuelan Capital ...
, a relatively prosperous part of
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
. The course, part of a real estate development, opened in 1964.
Wilson died in 1965 at the age of 61.
Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...
purchased Bay Hill in 1976. The
PGA of America
The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...
moved PGA National Golf Club to a new location in 1981.
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
purchased Doral in 2012.
Notable courses
Wilson designed or renovated at least sixty courses during his career, several of which are still highly regarded.
Some of Wilson's best courses, many of the later ones built in partnership with Joe Lee, included:
* NCR South Course, Kettering, Ohio (1954)
*
Westmoreland Country Club Westmoreland or Westmorland may refer to:
Places
*Westmoreland County, New South Wales, Australia
*Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada
*Westmorland Parish, New Brunswick, Canada
*Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica
*Westmorland, New Zealand, a subu ...
Jericho, New York
Jericho is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island, approximately 29 miles (47 km) east of Midtown Manhattan. Its population was 13,567 as of the U.S. 2010 Cen ...
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...
L'Île-Bizard, Quebec
L'Île-Bizard is a former municipality current borough located on Île Bizard, an island northwest of the Island of Montreal. It was originally incorporated as a municipality on 1 July 1855 as Paroisse de Saint-Raphael-de l'Ile-Bizard.
On 1 Janu ...
, Canada (1959)
*
Coldstream
Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army.
Description
Coldstream l ...
,
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
(1961)
*
Pine Tree
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ac ...
Doral, Florida
Doral is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. One of 34 municipalities in the county, it is located west of Miami International Airport and west of Downtown Miami. Doral occupies bordered on the west by the Ronald Reagan Tu ...
(1962)
*
The Greenbrier
The Greenbrier is a luxury resort located in the Allegheny Mountains near White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States.
Since 1778, visitors have traveled to this part of the state to "take the waters" of th ...
Lakeside,
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
White Sulphur Springs is a city in Greenbrier County in southeastern West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2020 census. The city emblem consists of five dandelion flowers and the citizens celebrate spring with an annual Da ...
Titusville, Florida
Titusville is a city in eastern Florida and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census.
Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and ...
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County in the U.S. state of Florida, 77 miles north of downtown Miami. , the population was 59,182. Palm Beach Gardens is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6 ...
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...