William Herbert Fowler  William Herbert Fowler (28 May 1856 – 13 April 1941), also known as Bill Fowler and Herbert Fowler, was an English amateur cricketer who played 26 first-class cricket matches during the 1880s, principally for Somerset County Cricket Club. He was an all-rounder who was best known for his big-hitting when batting. He was also a famous golf course architect, and designed Walton Heath Golf Club among many others in the United Kingdom and United States. Fowler was born in Tottenham, London as the son of William Fowler, a barrister, and Rachel Maria, née Howard. In 1893, he worked as a banker, and during this time, he invested heavily, especially in the Americas. Fowler began his county cricket career at Essex County Cricket Club in 1877. A move to Somerset in the late 1870s saw him switch counties, and he began playing for Somerset County Cricket Club in 1879. His first-class debut was not for a county team, but instead for the well-known Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1880. Facing Cambridge University, Fowler scored 36 runs in his only innings. He passed 50 for the first time in his following match, also for the MCC, scoring 61 runs after opening the innings against Oxford University. He played in Somerset's first ever first-class match in 1882, opening the innings alongside Edward Sainsbury, but his scores of 9 and 18 were the county's highest in each innings as they lost the match by an innings. Later that season, playing against the MCC at Lord's, Fowler had his best bowling performance in first-class cricket, claiming four wickets during his seven overs, conceding just eight runs. In the same match, having scored a duck in the first innings, he scored 23 in the second, which included a boundary which travelled a reputed 157 yards before landing, leaving the ground. When the MCC visited Taunton that season, he reached his highest total in first-class cricket, totalling 139, his innings scattered with boundaries. The 1882 season was Fowler's best with the bat in first-class cricket; the following year he failed to score a half-century, despite batting in 18 innings, and his average of 12.27 was significantly lower than the 21.36 he had managed the previous season. He only appeared twice for Somerset in 1884, and also played a side representing the South of England, and the MCC during the year. During the match for the MCC, played against Oxford University, he struck his final half-century, top-scoring for his side in the first innings with 60 runs.