Pete Dye

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Pete Dye
Born
Paul Dye Jr.

(1925-12-29)December 29, 1925
Golf course designer
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1950; died 2019)​
Children2
Parent(s)Elizabeth and Paul "Pink" Dye
Awards
ASGCA
Donald Ross Award
Pete Dye
Allegiance 
Fort Bragg

Paul Dye Jr. (December 29, 1925 – January 9, 2020), commonly referred to as Pete Dye, was an American

golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers.[1] He was married to fellow designer and amateur champion Alice Dye
.

Early life

Dye was born on December 29, 1925, in

Fort Bragg in North Carolina where he served the rest of his hitch as greenskeeper
on the base golf course. Dye explained,

"I played the golf course at

Donald Ross...(who) had built the Fort Bragg golf course. He would come over and watch us play golf, and most of the time the captain and colonel hauled me over there. They didn't know who Mr. Ross was, but the other fellow walking with him was JC Penney, and they all knew him."[1]

After Dye's discharge, he relocated to Florida and enrolled at Rollins College in Winter Park, northeast of Orlando, where he met his wife, Alice Holliday O'Neal. They were married in early 1950, and had two sons, Perry and P.B. (Paul Burke). They moved to Indiana to her hometown of Indianapolis, and Dye sold insurance.[1] Within a few years, he distinguished himself as a million dollar salesman, and was also successful in amateur golf. Dye won the Indiana amateur championship in 1958, following runner-up finishes in 1954 and 1955. At age 31, he qualified for the U.S. Open in 1957 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, but shot 152 (+12) to miss the cut by two strokes, as did Arnold Palmer;[5] seventeen-year-old amateur Jack Nicklaus was eight strokes behind them at 160.[3][5]

Design career

Dye made the decision to become a golf course designer in his mid-30s. Alice supported his career change and became partner in the new venture. In 1961, the couple visited and talked to noted golf architect Bill Diddle, who lived nearby. He warned them about the economic uncertainty of the profession, but they persisted.[3] The first design from Dye and his wife was the nine-hole El Dorado course south of Indianapolis, which crossed a creek thirteen times. Those nine holes are now incorporated into the Royal Oak course at Dye's Walk Country Club.[6][7] Their first 18-hole course was created during 1962 in Indianapolis and named Heather Hills, now known as Maple Creek Golf & Country Club.

Dye designed the Radrick Farms Golf Course for the University of Michigan in 1962, but the course did not open until 1965.[8] At the time, he was using the design style of Trent Jones, but after seeing the work of Alister MacKenzie, who designed the 1931 Michigan course, Dye decided to incorporate features from two greens into his next project.[1] Dye visited Scotland in 1963 and made a thorough study of its classic courses. The Scottish use of pot bunkers, bulkheads constructed of wood, and diminutive greens influenced his subsequent designs.[3]

Dye's first well-known course was

St. Michaels, Maryland, now known as Harbourtowne Resort. The owners of the project went bankrupt and Dye went unpaid; the course was eventually finished, however, and had many of Dye's signature course characteristics such as deep bunkers, small greens, short challenging par fours, and railroad ties. In 2015, the property was purchased by Richard D. Cohen[11] who has entered into an agreement with Dye to update and redesign the course. The new owner agreed to pay the funds that were not paid during the original design.[citation needed
]

In 1986, Dye also designed a course in the Italian province of Brescia, near Lake Iseo, the Franciacorta Golf Club, recognized today as a wine golf course. Dye is considered to be one of the most influential course architects in the world. His designs are known for distinctive features, including small greens and the use of railroad ties to hold bunkers. His design for the Brickyard Crossing golf course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway utilized the dismantled outer retaining wall from the race track. He is known for designing the "world's most terrifying tee shot," the par-3 17th hole of the Stadium Course at TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Known as the "Island Green," it gained wide notice 42 years ago in 1982, during the first Players Championship at the new course.[12][13][14][15] Dye's designs have been credited with returning short & medium length par fours to golf. Many of the best young golf architects have "pushed dirt" for Pete, including Bill Coore, Tom Doak, John Harbottle, Butch Laporte, Tim Liddy, Scott Poole, David Postlewaite, Lee Schmidt, Keith Sparkman, Jim Urbina, Bobby Weed, Rod Whitman, and Abe Wilson.[1][16]

Later life

Dye received the Old Tom Morris Award in 2003 from the

Sagamore of the Wabash award and was honored as Family of the Year by the National Golf Foundation.[1]

In the last years of his life, Dye suffered from Alzheimer's disease.[20] He died on January 9, 2020.[21][22][23]

Courses designed

Main article: List of golf courses designed by Peter Dye

Dye is credited with designing more than 200 courses internationally during his lifetime.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "When Pete Dye Speaks, People Listen." Florida Golf Magazine, Winter 2009
  2. ^ "Urbana Country Club" Urbana Country Club website
  3. ^ a b c d "Pete Dye" Archived June 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Dye Designs website
  4. ^ Notable Alumni. Asheville School.
  5. ^ a b "National Open scores". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 15, 1957. p. 11.
  6. ^ "The Fort Golf Course-Colorful Past, Celebrated Architect Make The Fort a Must Play" Archived July 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Golfers Guide, Indiana
  7. ^ "Royal Oak" Golf Now website
  8. ^ "Welcome to Radrick Farms Golf Course" University of Michigan website, Radrick Farms
  9. ^ The Golf Course, by Geoffrey Cornish and Ronald Whitten, 1981.
  10. ^ Jack Nicklaus: My Story, by Jack Nicklaus.
  11. ^ http://m.stardem.com/business/article_2bb10e6d-e11d-538b-936f-2e6659c02b4c.html?mode=jqm [dead link]
  12. ^ Johnson, Mark (March 22, 1982). "For Pate, a big win and another splash". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 1C.
  13. ^ Dan Jenkins (March 29, 1982). "Last one in is a winner". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
  14. ^ Van Sickle, Gary (March 23, 2004). "Present at the plunge". Sports Illustrated. p. 32.
  15. ^ Spousta, Tom (May 9, 2007). "Water world". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  16. ^ "Feature Interview with Pete Dye" Golf Club Atlas, December 2000
  17. ^ "New Zealander Charles inducted into Hall of Fame". Reuters. November 10, 2008.
  18. ^ "Pete Dye". World Golf Hall of Fame.
  19. ^ "Pete Dye, ASGCA Elected to World Golf Hall of Fame" ASGCA News
  20. ^ Whitten, Ron (January 9, 2020). "Pete Dye's Final Chapter". Golf Digest.
  21. ^ McDonald, Dan (January 9, 2020). "Famed golf course designer Pete Dye dies at 94". PGA of America.
  22. ^ Goldstein, Richard (January 9, 2020). "Pete Dye, Picasso of Golf Course Design, Is Dead at 94". The New York Times.
  23. ^ Fields, Bill (January 9, 2020). "Pete Dye passes away at age 94". PGA Tour.
  24. ^ Wessell, Todd (August 22, 2018). "Golfing to Dye For". Journal & Topics. Retrieved November 29, 2023.

Further reading

External links
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