William Park Bell (April 19, 1886 – June 21, 1953) was a noted

golf course architect A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

, active from the 1920s into the early 1950s.

Biography

Born in

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town li ...

, Billy Bell studied agriculture at Duff's Business Institute in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He moved west to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

at age 25 in 1911, and held a series of golf jobs at the

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

Country Club, including caddymaster and course superintendent. Bell worked on golf course construction for architect Willie Watson, including serving as Watson's superintendent, before going into golf course design and development on his own in 1920. Most of Bell's courses were designed and built in

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

California. He is considered one of the most important golf course architects in the state, with more than fifty courses credited to his work and design, and he designed and built courses in other

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

states as well, including

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Early in his design career, Bell worked closely with famous designer and fellow Pennsylvanian George C. Thomas Jr., on courses which included the

Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a private club with a championship golf course and tennis courts in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The Riviera was designed by golf course architects George C. Thomas Jr ...

, often cited as one of the world's best courses. Although Thomas is listed as architect of record, Bell made significant contributions to many of the designs. Bell's son William F. Bell (1918–1984) trained with him, joined him in partnership after

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 ...

, and later became an important golf course architect in his own right. Bell Sr. served as a turf consultant to the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

during the war, and was awarded a commendation by the Southern California chapter of the

PGA PGA is an acronym or initialism that may stand for: Aviation * IATA code for Page Municipal Airport, Coconino County, Arizona * ICAO designator for Portugália, regional airline based in Lisbon, Portugal * Abbreviation for Prince George Airport ...

, in honor of his work creating golf courses for wounded servicemen. Bell Sr. was a founding member of the

American Society of Golf Course Architects The American Society of Golf Course Architects (abbreviated as ASGCA) is a professional organization of golf course designers in America. Founded in 1946, its members are actively involved in the design of new courses and the renovation of existi ...

, and served as ASGCA President in 1952. Bell died in

at age 67 in 1953 and is buried at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in

Altadena Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

Courses

Golf courses designed and built by William P. Bell: * Adobe Course at

Arizona Biltmore Hotel The Arizona Biltmore Hotel is a resort located in Phoenix near 24th Street and Camelback Road. It is part of Hilton Hotels' Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts. It was featured on the Travel Channel show ''Great Hotels.'' The Arizona Biltmore h ...

(Resort), Phoenix, AZ *

Bakersfield Country Club Bakersfield Country Club is an 18-hole private golf course located in Bakersfield, California. The course is 6,819 yards on hilly terrain, designed by William P. Bell. Being located in the foothills of northeast Bakersfield makes this one of the f ...

(Private), Bakersfield, CA (with William F. Bell) * Balboa Park Municipal Golf Club (Public), San Diego, CA *

Bel-Air Country Club The Bel-Air Country Club is a social club located in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California. The property includes an 18-hole golf course and tennis courts. The golf course is the home course for the UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic team ...

(Private), Los Angeles, CA (with George C. Thomas Jr.) *

Brookside Golf Course Brookside Golf Course is a municipal golf facility located in Pasadena, California, United States. Adjacent to the Rose Bowl stadium in the city's Arroyo Seco Natural Park, the 36-hole facility offers the C.W. Koiner Course (#1) and the shorter E. ...

(36) (Public), Pasadena, CA * Chevy Chase Country Club (9) (Private), Glendale, CA (with William F. Bell) * David L Baker Golf Club (Public), Fountain Valley, CA *

Encanto Park Encanto Park is a public park in central Phoenix, Arizona. The park is composed of of land consisting of picnic areas, a lagoon, a boat house, swimming pool, nature trail, amusement park, fishing and two golf courses. The lagoon is approxima ...

Golf Course (Public), Phoenix, AZ * Forest Hills Golf Club (Public) Cornelius, OR (with William F. Bell) * Girard Country Club (now Woodland Hills Country Club), (Private), Woodland Hills, CA. * Hacienda Golf Club (Private) La Habra Heights, CA * Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course (Military) Kaneohe, HI * La Jolla Country Club (Private) La Jolla, CA * Meadowlark Golf Club (Public) Huntington Beach, CA * Mesa Verde Country Club (Private), Costa Mesa, CA * Mesa Country Club (Private), Mesa, AZ *

Rancho Park Golf Course Rancho Park Golf Course is a municipal golf course in the western United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. ...

(Public), Los Angeles, CA * Red Hill Country Club (Private), Alta Loma, CA (with George C. Thomas Jr.) * San Diego Country Club (Private) San Diego, CA *

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Golf Club, (Private), Palo Alto, CA (with George C. Thomas Jr.) *

Sunnyside Country Club The Sunnyside Country Club is a private country club with a championship golf course. It is located in the Sunnyside neighborhood in Fresno County, at Fresno, California, a historic community southeast of the city limits of Fresno. Designed by gol ...

(Private), Fresno, CA * Torrey Pines Golf Course (Municipal) San Diego, CA *

Tijuana Country Club The Tijuana Country Club (Club Campestre de Tijuana) is a country club located in Tijuana, Mexico. The country club was the site of the historic Agua Caliente Open and Tijuana Open Invitational, former golf tournaments on the PGA Tour. The coun ...

, (Public), Tijuana, Mexico *

Tilden Park Charles Lee Tilden Regional Park, also known as Tilden Park or Tilden, [], is a regional park in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It is between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ri ...

Golf Course (Public), Berkeley, CA * Valley Country Club (Private), Englewood, CO * Virginia Country Club, (Private), Long Beach, CA (with A.W. Tillinghast) * Tucson Country Club (Private), Tucson, AZ (with William F. Bell) Source:''www.worldgolf.com''

References

Mesa Verde Country Club is in Costa Mesa Ca. Not Mesa Arizona

External links

William Bell Society
- Bell legacy * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, William P. 1886 births 1953 deaths People from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Los Angeles Golf course architects Architects from Pasadena, California