Dick Wilson was literally born into construction as the son of a golf course contractor, helping his father as a young man during the building of the West course at Merion Golf Club.

He enrolled in the University of Vermont on a football scholarship but dropped out in 1924 to join the design partnership of Howard Toomey, where he then worked on the revision of the East course at Merion.

, Wilson graduated from construction superintendent to design associate, remaining with his employer until 1942, when he contributed to the war effort by constructing and camouflaging airfields in Florida.

After serving in World War II, Wilson started out on his own as an architect. Originally working out of Delray Beach Country Club as the golf course manager, he designed a string of well-regarded Florida layouts, starting with West Palm Beach Country Club in 1947.

He then moved further north, where his two 18-hole layouts for the National Cash Register company in Ohio gained a lot of attention in the early 1950s. Keith Cutten, in his excellent book 

“A six-year period, from 1956 to 1962, saw Wilson at the peak of his architectural powers. His new-build projects included the following: three courses at Royal Montreal (1959); two courses at Doral Country Club (1962); and Pine Trees Country Club (1962).

He also completed some excellent renovations to the following classic layouts: Colonial Country Club (1956); Winged Foot West course (1958); Aronimink (1961); Bel-Air Country Club (1962); and Cog Hill Country Club courses 3 and 4 (1963).

In 1964, Wilson completed a renovation to the East course at Merion: the facility where his career in golf had begun. Less than twelve month later, in the summer of 1965, Wilson suffered a fall at Pine Tree. He died three weeks later, aged sixty-one, of a pulmonary embolism.”

His design traits included broad fairways and large greens and in the flat landscape of Florida he developed a style in which the putting surfaces were slightly raised, making them more visible and also helping with drainage.

The greens would often be offset at a 30 to 45-degree angle to the fairway, with a large bunker guarding the approach. Wilson's courses typically included man-made lakes, largely to provide fill for the elevated tees and greens, but also for the sake of adding challenge.

Wilson also did some work for the Metropolitan Club in Melbourne, Australia in 1960. Land had been taken from the club's course for a school development and he used adjoining ground for replacement holes that are now fully integrated with the originals.

Along with Joe Lee, he designed the 18-hole layout for the private Lagunita Country Club in El Hatillo Municiplaity, Venezuela, a prosperous part of Caracas, and this course (part of a real estate development) opened in 1964.

“Wilson did relatively few courses in the later years of his life in an attempt to give personal attention to each work bearing his name. He maintained a staff of loyal and talented assistants who handled much of the actual design and construction work on some projects, including Joseph L Lee, Frank Batto, 

“Sadly, Wilson’s legacy became more about his addiction than the excellence of his golf designs. Some have short changed his contribution to the industry, associating him with alcohol dependence and what, otherwise, could have been accomplished. However, he should be remembered for what he did accomplish.” Keith Cutten, author of The Evolution of Golf Course Design.

Dick Wilson

Joe Lee

Damian Pascuzzo

Steve Pate

Jeff Brauer

California

The Club at La Costa in Carlsbad, thirty miles north of San Diego, has been soothing the nerves and tightening the tummies of harried executives, overvexed celebrities, and ageless matrons since 1965. The ingredients for relaxation at this sumptuous decompression chamber are as appealing as one of its spa cuisine entrées: two fine golf courses, a composite of which was played when the Tournament of Champions was played here for thirty years before moving to Hawaii in 1999.

Bordered on three sides by haystack-shaped hills studded with expensive homes, La Costa’s 400-acre spread is centred on its golf courses, the most significant sections of each were designed by Dick Wilson, with later additions and modifications by Joe Lee. There is little to choose between them. Each is an excellent, beautifully conditioned layout with enough water and sand in play to keep the most skilful players alert.

The above passage is an edited extract from 

Golf Resorts of the World – The best places to stay and play 

La Costa also hosted the inaugural WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in 1999 and this event was held at the resort for seven out of eight years before moving to Arizona in 2007. The LPGA Tour’s Kia Classic tournament was also played here in 2010 and 2012.

In more recent times, the layout has been renovated by Damian Pascuzzo, along with Steve Pate and Jeff Brauer.

La Costa (Champions)

Pacific Grove

North America

Dozens of PGA Tour events have been held on the Club at La Costa’s Champions course down the years. Comprising nine holes designed by Dick Wilson in 1965 and nine from his associate Joe Lee eight years later...