Forest Hills Country Club
Designed by Bill Diddel
History
Somewhere along the way, the members of Wayne County decided their community deserved a golf course worthy of its name, and they turned to Bill Diddel to deliver it. Forest Hills Country Club took shape under the hand of a man who, by the time he was through with his long career, had left his mark on well over a hundred courses across Indiana. The exact year of the club’s founding has faded from the record kept here at The Ledger, but the imprint of Diddel’s design philosophy on this Wayne Township ground has not.
Diddel built his reputation on working with the land he was given rather than against it, and Forest Hills reflects that instinct. He was an Indiana man designing for Indiana golfers, and clubs like this one — modest in scale, private in character, rooted in a specific township rather than a resort ambition — were the bread and butter of his practice. Forest Hills Country Club exists because a community wanted a home course, and Diddel gave them one built to the standards he carried from project to project throughout the state.
What renovations or changes in ownership the club has seen since its founding remain outside what can be confirmed here. What can be said plainly is that Forest Hills has endured as a private club in Wayne County, a Diddel design still carrying his name into its second century of use — or close to it.
Playing Notes
We don't have hole-by-hole data for Forest Hills on file, so specifics on bunkering, water, and green speed aren't available here — worth calling the pro shop before you head out so you're not guessing on club selection or cart policy. What we can tell you: this is a Wayne County layout in the Wayne Township area outside Richmond, so expect the terrain typical of east-central Indiana — rolling but not severe, with tree lines framing most holes rather than wide-open exposure to wind. Pack for a walk unless you confirm cart requirements ahead of time, and call to check on tee time availability and any seasonal conditions, since that's the kind of detail that changes week to week and isn't something you want to find out about on the first tee.