Product Guide

SITE

SEARCH

GOLF COURSE SEARCH:

GOLF CALENDAR

submit your event here
February 2012
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
2930311234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
26272829123
45678910

The art of design

Untitled Page

William P. Bell

Not only did the designer leave a legacy in Southern California with his own designs, he also helped his son into the architecture business.

BY JOEL BEERSPublished: August, 2009

The simple elegance of a Bell design can be seen at San Clemente Golf Course.
Bell’s career straddled the Golden Age, when he worked with Thomas, and into the 1940s and ’50s, when a boom in municipal courses allowed he and his son, William F. Bell, to be the most prolific designers in the western United States.

John Harbottle, who refurbished Virginia Country Club in 2002, touts Bell’s designs as having “great strategy, deception and variety,” and one of his greatest strengths was his “distinctive flash bunkering, which included varied shapes and dramatic edges.”

PGA Tour veteran Tom Weiskopf lists Bell (born 1886, died 1953) as one of his favorite designers, and said he was an “old-style builder that excelled in simple, playable, enjoyable, memorable and maintainable golf courses.”

What Bell thought comprised a great golf course is open to debate, since he didn’t write a great deal about the process. But what isn’t in debate is that his golf courses remain heavily played and range from private tracks in the Coachella Valley to public layouts such as Torrey Pines and San Clemente Golf Course.


THE ART OF DESIGN: TEN GOLF COURSE ARCHITECTS

George C. Thomas  |  A.W. Tillinghast  |  William P. Bell  |  Ted Robinson Sr.
Tom Fazio  |  Casey O’Callaghan  |  Clive Clark
Todd Eckenrode  |  Damian Pascuzzo  | John Harbottle

BACK TO MAIN

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

* First Name
* Last Name
* Email
Comments

Readers Feedback:

May a golf course change a complete hole on a William Bell Design without the designer's permission?
Comment at 6/1/2010
I'm currently working at the Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, CA. William Bell was the original course architects. We have the original plans which have faded substantially through the years. I would love to chat with someone who can help us enhance these plans so as to keep them in perpetuity. My phone # is 858-522-1785.
Comment at 7/19/2011
Alright alright alright that's eacxtly what I needed!
Comment at 11/3/2011
nJ5c0Q , [url=http://zkvdrdbwcxob.com/]zkvdrdbwcxob[/url], [link=http://flhtaiktlnye.com/]flhtaiktlnye[/link], http://axbasktotaam.com/
Comment at 11/5/2011
GknMdA , [url=http://wqrcogfumpld.com/]wqrcogfumpld[/url], [link=http://nxpviyfkgtge.com/]nxpviyfkgtge[/link], http://vfnzeiltddwp.com/
Comment at 11/7/2011