Paul B. "Pete" Dye (born December 29, 1925) is a golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers. He is married to fellow designer and former amateur champion Alice Dye.
Early life
Pete Dye was born in Urbana, Ohio. A few years before Pete's birth, his father, "Pink" Dye, got hooked on golf and built a nine-hole course on family land in Champaign County. Pete worked and played that course while growing up. He won the Ohio State High School Golf Championship and medaled in the Ohio State Amateur Golf Championship before he went into the Army in 1944. He attended Asheville School, a boarding school in Asheville, NC, with his brother, Andy, before he entered the Army in 1944. He entered the United States Army Airborne School at Fort Benning in Georgia to be a paratrooper, but World War II ended before he was sent overseas. He was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina where he served the rest of his hitch as greenskeeper on the base golf course. Pete Dye explained,
"I played the golf course at Pinehurst No. 2 for six solid months, and I got to know Mr. 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."
After his discharge, he became a student at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida where he met his wife, the former Alice Holliday O'Neal. They were married in early 1950, and their marriage produced two sons, Perry and P.B. (Paul Burke). They moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, Alice's hometown, and Pete began selling insurance. Within a few years, he distinguished himself as a million dollar salesman. At the same time, he was a successful amateur golfer. Dye was runner-up in 1954 and 1955 at the Indiana State Amateur Championship, which he won in 1958. He also played in a number of USGA Amateurs. His score at the 1957 U.S. Open was better than Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
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.
The first design from Pete 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.
Their first 18-hole course was created during 1962 in Indianapolis and was named Heather Hills. It is 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. 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.
Dye visited Scotland in 1963, and made a thorough study of the classic courses. The Scottish use of pot bunkers, bulkheads constructed of wood, and diminutive greens influenced his subsequent designs.
His first well-known course was Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana, begun in 1964. It later hosted the 1991 PGA Championship, won by John Daly.
In 1967, he designed The Golf Club near Columbus, Ohio, where he solicited input from a young Jack Nicklaus, a Columbus resident. The two would work together to design the acclaimed Harbour Town Golf Links, opened in 1969, the site of an annual PGA Tour event ever since. Nicklaus credits Dye with significant influence on his own approach to golf course design.
In 1980, Dye designed and built a new course for Austin Country Club, one of the oldest private clubs in Texas, after the membership voted to move across town to a wooded Texas Hill Country site on the shores of Lake Austin. Working with turf school graduate ("turfie") Rod Whitman who later became an accomplished course designer in his own right, Dye created another classic course with narrow tree-lined fairways using his "target golf" philosophy. Pete worked with Whitman and a small contingent of immigrant workers armed only with chain saws for months as he personally pushed through the dense cedar and live oak trees with his hand-drawn routing and ruler to find appropriately sloping small pieces of land for landing areas and greens. Dye believed that the course was already there, he just had to find it. The course was well under construction before Pete bothered to locate some of the tees. One day during a tour of the construction, he told Austin natives Tom Kite & Ben Crenshaw, "Any fool can find a place to build a tee box."
In 1986 Pete Dye also designed a magnificent course in Italian province of Brescia, near Lake Iseo, the Franciacorta Golf Club, recognized today as 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". Known as the "Island Green", it is the 17th hole at TPC at Sawgrass located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. 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.
Honors
Dye received the 2003 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, their highest honor. In 2004, Dye was the recipient of the PGA Distinguished Service Award, the highest annual honor of the PGA of America, which recognizes individuals who display leadership and humanitarian qualities, including integrity, sportsmanship and enthusiasm for the game of golf. In 2005, he became the sixth recipient of the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in November 2008 in the Lifetime Achievement category. The American Society of Golf Course Architects bestowed the Donald Ross Award on Dye in 1995. Dye was named Architect of the Year by Golf World magazine, awarded a Doctor of Landscape Architecture degree from Purdue University, received Indiana's Sagamore of the Wabash award and was honored as Family of the Year by the National Golf Foundation.
Courses designed
The following is a (partial) list of courses that Pete Dye either designed alone or co-designed:
Public
- Arizona
- Arizona State University (Karsten Golf Course) - Tempe [1]
- Red Mountain Ranch Country Club (Championship Course) - Mesa [2]
- California
- Carmel Valley Ranch Golf Resort - Carmel Valley Ranch [3]
- Carlton Oaks Country Club (Dunes Course)[4] - Santee
- La Quinta Resort and Club (Dunes Course) - La Quinta [5]
- La Quinta Resort and Club (Mountain Course) - La Quinta [6]
- PGA West (Stadium Course) - La Quinta [7]
- Lost Canyons Golf Club (Shadow Course) - Simi Valley [8]
- Lost Canyons Golf Club (Sky Course) - Simi Valley [9]
- The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa (South Course) - Rancho Mirage [10]
- Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles
- Colorado
- Cheyenne Mountain Resort (Country Club of Colorado) Colorado Springs [11]
- Plum Creek Golf and Country Club - Castle Rock [12]
- Riverdale Dunes - Brighton [13]
- Gypsum Creek Golf Course - Gypsum [14]
- Connecticut
- Wintonbury Hills Golf Course - Bloomfield [15]
- Florida
- River Ridge Golf Course - Harbour Ridge | Palm City - Treasure Coast - Florida Golf Communities [16]
- PGA Golf Club (The Dye Course) - Port St. Lucie
- TPC at Sawgrass (Stadium Course) - Ponte Vedra Beach [17]
- Gasparilla Inn Golf Course - Boca Grande [18]
- Palm Beach Polo (The Cypress Course) - [Wellington, Florida] [19]
- Illinois
- Oakwood Country Club - Coal Valley, Illinois [20]
- Ruffled Feathers Golf Course - Lemont [21]
- Tamarack Country Club - Shiloh, Illinois
- Yorktown Golf Course - Belleville [22]
- Indiana
- The Pete Dye Course - [French Lick] [23]
- Royal Oak Country Club (formerly Eldorado Country Club) - Greenwood [24]
- Maple Creek Country Club (formerly Heather Hills Country Club) - Indianapolis [25]
- Brickyard Crossing - Speedway [26]
- Eagle Creek Golf Club (Pines and Sycamore Courses) at Eagle Creek Park - Indianapolis [27]
- Plum Creek Golf Club - Carmel [28]
- Sahm Golf Course - Indianapolis [29]
- The Fort Golf Course - Fort Harrison State Park - Indianapolis [30]
- Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex at Purdue University (Kampen Course) - West Lafayette [31]
- Oak Tree Golf Course (front nine) - Plainfield [32]
- Mystic Hills Golf Course - Culver [33]
- Forest Park - Brazil
- Greenbelt Golf Course - Columbus, Indiana [34]
- Louisiana
- TPC of Louisiana - Avondale [35]
- Kentucky
- Kearney Hill Golf Links - Lexington [36]
- Peninsula Golf Course - Lancaster
- Maryland
- Bulle Rock Golf Course - Havre de Grace [37]
- Harbourtowne Resort Country Club - St. Michaels [38]
- Rum Pointe Seaside Golf Links - Berlin [39]
- Nevada
- Paiute Golf Club Resort (Snow Mountain, Sun Mountain and Wolf Courses) - Las Vegas [40]
- Desert Pines Golf Club - Las Vegas [41]
- New York
- Pound Ridge Golf Club - Pound Ridge [42]
- North Carolina
- Founders Golf Course - St. James Plantation [43]
- Oak Hollow Golf Course - High Point [44]
- Ohio
- Avalon Lakes - Warren
- Fowler's Mill GC - Chesterland [45]
- Little Turtle Golf Club - Westerville [46]
- Pennsylvania
- Iron Valley Golf Course - Lebanon
- Mystic Rock, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort - Farmington, Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Harbour Town Golf Links - Hilton Head Island [47]
- Kiawah Island Golf Resort (The Ocean Course) - Kiawah Island [48]
- Heron Point (formerly Sea Marsh) - Hilton Head Island [49]
- Cherokee Valley - Travelers Rest[50]
- The Dye Club at Barefoot Resort - North Myrtle Beach
- Prestwick Country Club - Myrtle Beach
- Texas
- Stonebridge Ranch Country Club (The Dye Course) McKinney, Texas
- AT&T Canyons Course of TPC at San Antonio
- Virginia
- Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech - Radford [51]
- River Course at Kingsmill Resort - Williamsburg
- Virginia Beach National - Virginia Beach [52]
- Virginia Oaks - Gainesville [53]
- The Gauntlet - Stafford
- Wisconsin
- Big Fish Golf Club - Hayward [54]
- Whistling Straits (Irish Course) - Haven [55]
- Whistling Straits (Straits Course) - Haven [56]
- Blackwolf Run (River Course) - Kohler [57]
- Blackwolf Run (Meadow Valleys Course) - Kohler [58]
- Dominican Republic
- Casa de Campo: Teeth of the Dog - Casa De Campo
- Casa de Campo: Dye Fore - Casa de Campo
- Casa de Campo: The Links - Casa de Campo
- Guatemala
- Fuego Maya - La Reunion [59]
- Israel
- Caesarea Golf & Country Club - Caesarea, Israel
Private
- Arizona
- Ancala Country Club - Scottsdale [60]
- California
- The Citrus Golf Club- La Quinta, California
- Mission Hills Country Club Pete Dye Course- Rancho Mirage, California
- Colorado
- Glenmoor Country Club - Cherry Hills Village [61]
- Florida
- The Dye Preserve Golf Club - Jupiter, Florida (thedyepreserve.com)
- Tuscany Reserve Golf Club - Naples [62]
- Harbour Ridge Yacht & Country Club (River Ridge Course) Palm City [63]
- Southern Hills Plantation Club - Brooksville [64]
- Harbor Course - ((Grand Harbor, Vero Beach, FL)) (grandharbor.com)
- Georgia
- Atlanta National Golf Club - Alpharetta [65]
- The Ogeechee Golf Cub at the Ford Plantation, Richmond Hill, Georgia
- Indiana
- The Bridgewater Club - Westfield [66]
- Crooked Stick Golf Club - Carmel [67] Crooked Stick Golf Club history book [68]
- Woodland Country Club - Carmel [69]
- Maple Creek Golf & Country Club - Indianapolis [70]
- Italy
- Franciacorta Golf Club - Franciacorta, Sebino (Brescia) [71]
- Iowa
- Des Moines Golf and Country Club - West Des Moines [72]
- Louisiana
- Belle Terre Country Club - LaPlace [73]
- Michigan
- Radrick Farms Golf Course at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor [74]
- Wabeek Country Club - Bloomfield Hills [75]
- Missouri
- Old Hickory Golf Club - St. Peters, Missouri [76]
- Nebraska
- Firethorn Golf Club - Lincoln, Nebraska [77]
- North Carolina
- Cardinal Golf and Country Club - Greensboro [78]
- Country Club of Landfall - Wilmington [79]
- Ohio
- The Golf Club - New Albany
- Little Turtle Golf Club - Westerville [80]
- Oklahoma
- Oak Tree National - Edmond [81]
- Oak Tree Country Club - Edmond [82]
- Pennsylvania
- Montour Heights Country Club - Coraopolis, Pennsylvania [83]
- South Carolina
- Long Cove Club - Hilton Head Island [84]
- Colleton River Plantation Club (Dye Course) - Bluffton, South Carolina [85]
- Tennessee
- The Honors Golf Club - Ooltewah
- Rarity Mountain Golf Club - Jellico
- Texas
- The Stonebridge Ranch Country Club - McKinney [86]
- The Austin Country Club - Austin[87]
- Utah
- Promentory - Park City, Utah
- West Virginia
- Pete Dye Golf Club - Clarksburg [88]
- Dominican Republic
- La Romana Country Club - La Romana, DR
- Israel
- Caesarea Golf Club
References
Further reading
- Bury Me In A Pot Bunker, The Biography of Pete Dye with Mark William Shaw, ISBN 0-8092-2681-2 published by McGraw-Hill, March 1999
External links
- Pete Dye Golf Club
- American Society of Golf Course Architects profile
- Bio from Dye Designs
- Time - Top 10 Most Difficult Golf Courses Pete Dye nickname Marquis de Sod (Doc D.)
Interesting Informations
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