Golf course architect dies at age 82

Primarily a landscape architect, William Teufel was a fellow of the ASGCA.

William G. Teufel, a Fellow of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and member since 1984, died Nov. 5, 2007 in Seattle, Wash. He was 82.

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William Teufel

After founding the landscape and golf course architecture firm William G. Teufel and Associates, Inc. in 1956 in Seattle, he designed a number of golf courses, primarily in the northwest United States. Among the courses credited to his firm were Fairwood Golf and Country Club, Renton, Wash.; Hat Island Golf and Country Club, Hat Island, Wash.; Useless Bay Golf Course, Whidbey Island, Wash.; Tam-O-Shanter Golf and Country Club, Belleview, Wash. and Wing Point Golf and Country Club, Bellevue, Wash.

Born in 1925 in Fairbanks, Alaska, Teufel attended Washington State University and the University of Oregon, where he earned a Bachelor's degree. in landscape architecture in 1953.

"He was a quiet-mannered, jovial gentleman," says Steve Forrest, partner at Aurthur Hills/Steve Forrest Associates and president of the ASGCA. "He was always curteous and in a good mood."

Forrest says his partner, Arthur Hills, was good friends with Teufel and remembers his extensive rhododendron collection.

He is survived by a son, Mitch Teufel, and two daughters, Sandy Teufel and Shaye Teufel. A private memorial service was held Nov. 25 in Seattle.