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

Ohio

Dick Wilson is renowned / notorious for creating some of the most muscular golf courses of his day, and this is certainly on display at Coldstream Country Club near Cincinnati.

Everything is big: Although the yardage doesn’t quite reach the extremes of modern championship courses (just under 7,100 yards), the accuracy needed to conquer Coldstream will make up for several hundred yards. The fairways and greens are well-bunkered and, as stated before, these sand hazards are the calling card for the club.

The course is also noted for its large greens, which may sound like relief for the skilled putter, however Wilson even manages to make “large greens” problematic: Many are very long rather than evenly-distributed, which calls on the player not just to hold a line, but to manage the distance of that line as well. Veering left or right of these targets will likely mean a shot from — you guessed it — the aforementioned bunkers.

The par threes seem targeted at those of weak constitution: Bunkering is again the main defense for these short holes, but three involve a forced carry over a fronting pond. Something to wash the encrusted sand off of your golf balls, at least?

Coldstream

Firestone (South)

North America

A typical Dick Wilson track from the late 1950s, the 18-hole layout at Coldstream Country Club ends with three long, demanding, heavily bunkered par fours.