A native of Holliday, Utah, Neff attended the University of Utah to become a landscape architect. He would then practice landscape architecture in the states of Utah and Arizona for the next 20 years.

During his time as a member of The Country Club in Salt Lake City, Utah, he was a committee member in charge of remodeling the course in 1952. The committee would go on to hire William P. Bell, and Neff would work with the architect on the reconstruction.

Shortly after the reconstruction, Bell would pass away, and Neff would be hired by his son, William F. Bell, to help with the reconstruction of a neighboring course, Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah.

In 1959, Neff decided to take on golf course architecture independently and entered the private practice. Over the next 20 years, Neff would be responsible for the creation of several of the top courses in the state of Utah.

William Henricksen Neff was elected into the ASGCA in 1962 and received Fellow status in 1976. Neff served 39 years with the ASGCA until his death in 2001.