William Francis Bell, a short profile

[Kalen Braley]

Gentlemen -- I just had the pleasure (this must be a dumb luck thread) of playing nine holes at Bonneville Golf Course in Salt Lake City. Good grief was it fun! I played the front nine and it was very well done, I'd say only the first hole was a weak one. It appeared that the back nine may be on a bit more "less appealing" property, but I had a good time. The course website says this was a Bell, Sr. course from 1929 -- probably in his hey day.

Tony,

You're going to warm Cirba's heart as this is one of his SLC faves as well.  The back 9 was added later and the original 9 really is a treat.  He can give you a lot more info on this if you like.

How did you like the par 5 down the hill with the green sloping away from you?  One of my fav par 5's I've ever played. I'm guessing in the original routing, what is now 10 and 18, used to be 8 and 9.  So instead of playing 2 and 3, you would just go straight to the 4th hole after the 1st. 

[DMoriarty]

david...do you know what role william bell played in the design of stanford golf course with george thomas...if any...?? les

Mr. Cordes,

You probably meant the other David, and he may know more about this than I do, but I recall reading that Stanford was largely a Bell, Sr. course.  It is probably covered in one of Geoff Shackelford's excellent books.

Here is a link to an old review of the course, written in 1930 by someone apparently involved, that refers to the course as a Bell course.   

http://stanfordmensgolf.org/aerials/Hole-by-holeReview.htm

The website also contains some great aerials from 1930.  I've only played the course once, and found it fun with a very impressive routing over a tricky site.    I'd love to see it fully restored, including a return to the original fairway widths. 

[Jon Spaulding]

GS credits the course to Thomas and Bell Sr. in 1930, but not much coverage of the course otherwise in the Captain.  I remember reading somewhere a while back that it was a WPB course with GCTJ's input on the routing.

There is a major undo required for the place to even have the air of a restoration. Between Harbottle and Mr. Furley......"oh the humanity".

[DMoriarty]

Jon,

Check out the old aerials though on the link above.   Some pretty cool stuff, especially given the topography of the site. 

[Jon Spaulding]

Fantastic....yet depressing. The omission of 3 & 4 bring tears.

The aerial comparison of #12 green brings vomit. The original green with entries dependent on which line you take off the tee combined with WPB bunkering adjacent to the green is fantastic.

[Dan King]

The Stanford Golf Course Web site has a bit about the history of the course. They give most credit to Bell Sr. with consultation from Thomas. They claim Thomas was sick at the time and never made it to Northern California to see the finished project.

Click here for short Stanford Golf Course history

Cheers,
Dan King

Uneven stances on irregular, canted fairways are essential: far too many American courses offer monotonous lies from dead-flat terrain.
 --George C. Thomas

[Jon Spaulding]

The Stanford Golf Course Web site has a bit about the history of the course. They give most credit to Bell Sr. with consultation from Thomas. They claim Thomas was sick at the time and never made it to Northern California to see the finished project.

Click here for short Stanford Golf Course history

Cheers,
Dan King

Uneven stances on irregular, canted fairways are essential: far too many American courses offer monotonous lies from dead-flat terrain.
 --George C. Thomas

"Thomas designed the course and Bell managed the construction. Bell traveled back and forth to Beverly Hills updating Thomas on his progress and getting further instructions. "

Dan, how does this give "most credit" to WPB?

One "might" argue that the GCTJ influence at Stanford is more along the lines of Castlewood/Palos Verdes....which ain't much. Yet the latter claims that it is a GCTJ design, which is a joke. I even know a guy that bought a hat proclaiming this ....

[David Kelly]

DM and JS,

Look at the fairway bunkering in the 2003 aerial of hole #13 (on the left) and you will see the exact same bunkers that Harbottle is putting in at Brookside right now.  Most of his "Bell" bunkers at Brookside look like either a big W or a big U with the bottom part of the letter facing the tee.  What you can't see in the aerial is the volcano effect that the new bunkers at Brookside are getting.

http://stanfordmensgolf.org/aerials/aerial12.htm

[Jon Spaulding]

DM and JS,

Look at the fairway bunkering in the 2003 aerial of hole #13 (on the left) and you will see the exact same bunkers that Harbottle is putting in at Brookside right now.  Most of his "Bell" bunkers at Brookside look like either a big W or a big U with the bottom part of the letter facing the tee.  What you can't see in the aerial is the volcano effect that the new bunkers at Brookside are getting.

http://stanfordmensgolf.org/aerials/aerial12.htm

More vomit. Volcanos will fit in perfectly with the topography at Brookside.

Do you think the letter-shaped bunkers are in effect because Horribottle lives in Washington and really roots for UW? Or is there a longer, more hidden message.....

The Farm could stand to recapture some serious green surfaces. In playing there recently, many greenside bunkers are so far from the putting surface that they're not in play. I remember thinking that, but the aerials paint a much clearer picture.

If you look at the aerial from #5, you can see the excellent original....along with portions of the 4th hole (in both aerials), that Mr. Furley eliminated.

[Dan King]

Jon Spaulding writes:
Dan, how does this give "most credit" to WPB?

Did you read the same piece I read?

• Bell walked the property and decided to incorporate the San Francisquito Creek.
• Thomas was dealing with health issues at the time.
• Thomas died without ever seeing the course.
• Bell's bunker design

Cheers,
Dan King

No matter how skillfully one may lay out the holes and diversify them, nevertheless one must get the thrill of nature. . . The puny strivings of the architect do not quench our thirst for the ultimate.
 --George Thomas (Golf Architecture on America, 1927)

[rjsimper]

Stamm, I happen to be partial to that photo and hole at Los Verdes as one of my favorites so I'm glad you pulled it for this thread.

Personally, I think that is an excellent short par 4 that really captures the "2 or 6" spectrum...and it takes a much better shot than people would think to put it on that green, considering it is 320 yards down-mountain.

[Jon Spaulding]

Dan....the article says the following:

"Thomas designed the course and Bell managed the construction. Bell traveled back and forth to Beverly Hills updating Thomas on his progress and getting further instructions."

In my mind this article gives primary design credit to Thomas, while at the same time stating all the reasons why they should not .

[Tom Yost]

I should throw in the mention that WF Bell did two of the City of Phoenix municipals, the unremarkable Maryvale, and the more notable Papago Park.   Papago is now undergoing a major renovation and has been the subject of several recent GCA threads.


Tom

[DMoriarty]

Jon and Dan,

For what it's worth, the 1930 review calls it a Bell course and does not mention Thomas.  The author, Garry Bennett, was the professional and golf coach around this time (he was replaced in 1932 but not sure when he started) and was a Stanford Alum (1912.)   Not sure if he was actually involved in the project but I get the feeling he might have been.