William H. Diddel
By Bradley S. Klein
1884-1985
born: Indianapolis, Indiana
residence: Carmel, Indiana; Naples, Florida
charter member: American Society of Golf Course Architects
If a golfer shot his age or better more times than Bill Diddle, there's no record of the achievement. He is said to have recorded that feat over 1,200 times in his life, as well as having won the Indiana Amateur title five times. But his chief legacy to golf has been a series of strong if under-appreciated courses, most of therm in the Midwest.
Like many architects of his generation, he arrived at his craft fortuitously, in his case undertaking construction of a Willie Park Jr. routing for the club, Highland G&CC in Indianapolis, where Diddel had been a member. Dozens of assignments followed, including Speedway 500 CC (1928), a layout inside the track of the famed Brickyard that has subsequently been bulldozed. His Woodland GC (1951) in Carmel proved doubly famous, for it sported not a single bunker and was also the first Midwest golf course planned and developed as part of a residential real estate development -
where Diddel himself lived in a log cabin behind the twelfth tee.
His works were well-routed, with strong ground contours and firm, fast turf conditions. Diddel was worried about the advent of automatic irrigation systems in the 1950's. When an aspiring young would-be designer in town by the name of Pete Dye asked him for advice, Diddel told him to break with convention since the craft was in the throes of rapid change and old-fashioned, hand-built courses emphasizing the ground game were about to become obsolete.
William H. Diddel's best:
Highland, Indianapolis, IN (1928) - with Willie Park Jr.
Meridian Hills, Indianapolis, IN (1923)
Forest Lake, Bloomfield Hills, MI (1926)
CC of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN (1930) - major revisions
Hot Springs-Arlington, Hot Springs, AK (1932)
Purdue University-South, West Lafayette, IN (1934)
Wichita, Wichita, KS (1950)
Woodland, Carmel, IN (1951)
Hidden Valley, Gaylord, MI (1957)
CC of Naples, Naples, FL (1963)