About
Liddicoat designed Back Creek as a first-time architect after being unable to afford a more famous designer, teaching himself through extensive reading, seminars, and trips overseas, and ultimately created a course named a GolfWeek Top 100 Modern Course.
Allen Liddicoat is an American golf course architect best known for his influential work in Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic region. A lifelong Delaware resident and a golfer since age 14, Liddicoat's most prominent project is Back Creek Golf Course, which opened in 1997 as the first public course in New Castle County in 25 years. Known for his deep study of classic golf architecture, he attended seminars and travelled to Ireland and Great Britain to understand historic links courses. Liddicoat personally managed the design and construction of Back Creek, creating a strategic, links-style layout reminiscent of traditional courses like St. Andrews and incorporating features such as dramatic elevation changes, unique greens, and natural wetlands. The course quickly gained recognition, being named one of GolfWeek’s Top 100 Modern Courses. Liddicoat later partnered to design Frog Hollow, another highly regarded public course, and serves as owner/manager of Chantilly Manor in Maryland. His approach emphasizes blending challenge and harmony with the land.
