Bidermann Golf Club

Bidermann began its golfing life as a 9-hole course, designed in the 1920s by Devereux Emmet, who laid out the fairways across Henry du Pont’s private estate, next to what is now the famous Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.

The course remained as the du Pont family’s personal private playground for the best part of forty years until Emily du Pont, Henry’s cousin, made an adjacent parcel of land available, allowing the course to be enlarged to a full 18-hole layout.

Architect Dick Wilson, who also designed the nearby North course at Wilmington Country Club, was tasked with extending the course and it duly opened in 1965 as a "small, intimate club devoted solely to golf".

Right from the outset, there was only one local rule: "the ball must be lifted from any flower bed and dropped no nearer the hole without penalty" and it’s said this remains the only hard and fast rule in force today.

In 1977, Bidermann amalgamated with the Vicmead Hunt Club to form one sporting club, operating from two separate clubhouses. Today, the membership numbers are less than three hundred, so tee times are not required for a course that sees only around 8,000 rounds played on it annually.

Everything about Bidermann is understated, from the small and simple scorecards to the lack of signage out on the course – and why should there be any need for markings when the members know where they’re going anyway?