Ward Northrup

Ward Wilson Northrup or Ward was born on February 27, 1932. He was one of 3 children born to Irvin and Golda Northrup who lived in Burlington, Des Moines, Iowa.

Ward started his career as a golf architect in 1972. He paired off with prominent golf architects like Joe Lee and Arthur Hills where the courses they designed rose to prominence. Teaming up with Lee, Ward designed the East Course while Lee the West at Bull Creek Golf Course in Midland, Georgia. A public/municipal golf course that gained recognition was named one of the “Top 25 Public Golf Courses” by Golf Digest. At Imperial Golf Club in Naples, Florida, he designed the popular West Course while Arthur Hills designed the East Course. The course which opened in 1973 remains popular up to this time. Another notable design by Ward is the golf course in Saugahatchee Country Club which has been ranked as one of the top five in the state of Alabama by Golf Digest.

Ward's fame as a distinguished golf architect was not only limited to Georgia, Florida, and Alabama but he was also commissioned to design a course in Canada to as far as Vietnam. He was credited for designing 29 private, semi-private, public, municipal, and resort-type golf courses in the United States and abroad.  A number of Courses designed by Ward Northrup are included on golfproperty.com and are shown below.  Similarly, a large number of courses designed by Joe Lee and many designed by Arthur Hills are also included on golfproperty.com and these are shown in their profile respectively.  Please check them out via the links to their names above.

Ward passed away peacefully on August 12, 2020, at the ripe age of 88 years old in his home in Douglasville, Georgia.

Image courtesy of: Golf Course Ranking