Who's who: Pete Dye

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Who's who: Pete Dye

  • Name:

    Paul "Pete" Dye
  • Country:

    USA
  • Lived:

    [1925-2020]. Born on Dec 29, 1925 in Urbana, Ohio. Died on Jan 9, 2020 in Gulf Stream, Florida (aged 94).
  • Original/Home Club:

  • Occupation:

    Golf course architect and amateur golfer.
  • Turned Pro:

    n/a
  • Website:

    https://www.dyedesigns.com

Roll of Honour

President of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (1988-89). Donald Ross Award (1995, ASGCA). Old Tom Morris Award (2003, GCSAA). World Golf Hall of Fame (inducted in 2008). Don A. Rossi Award (2015, GCBAA).

Golf course design

Examples of Pete Dye's creativity as a golf course architect and builder, can be found all around the world. Several of his designs benefitted from the input of his wife Alice, while many more were created in collaboration with other members of the Dye family, including his brother Roy, sons Perry and P.B., or his niece Cynthia. Pete's best known work includes, but is not limited to:

UNITED STATES:
Austin CC, TX (1984, redesign with wife Alice) / Avalon, OH (1967, Avalon Lakes courses) / Barefoot, SC (2000, Dye course) / Big Fish, WI (2004, with Tim Liddy) / Birck Boilermaker, IN (1994, redesign of Kampen course) / CC of Birmingham, AL (1984 & 2009, redesign of West course with son P.B.) / Blackwolf Run, WI (1988 & 1990, Meadow Valleys & River courses) / Brickyard Crossing, IN (1993, with wife Alice) / Bulle Rock, MD (1999) / Carmel Valley Ranch, CA (1981) / Colleton River, SC (1998, Dye course) / Crooked Stick, IN (1964) / Fowler's Mill, OH (1971, with brother Roy) / French Lick, IN (2009, Dye course) / Harbour Town, SC (1969, with Jack Nicklaus and Alice Dye) / Honors Course, TN (1983, with son PB Dye) / Keswick, VA (2013, redesign) / Kiawah Island, SC (1991, Ocean course) / Kingsmill Resort, VA (1975, River course) / La Quinta, CA (1980, Dunes and Mountain courses) / Loblolly Pines, FL (1988, with son P.B.) / Long Cove, SC (1982) / Maple Creek, IN (1961, with wife Alice ... their first 18-hole design!) / Medallist, FL (1995, with Greg Norman) / Mission Hills CC, CA (1980, Dye course) / Nemacolin Woodlands, PA (1995, Mystic Rock course; 2016, redesign of Shepherd's Rock course) / Oak Tree Natl, OK (1976) / Old Marsh, FL (1986) / Paiute, NV (1995, Snow Mtn; 1997, Sun Mtn; 2000, Wolf) / Peninsula, KY (1997, with Tim Liddy) / Pete Dye GC, WV (1995) / Pete Dye River Course, VA (1998) / PGA GC, FL (1999, Dye course) / PGA West, CA (1986, Stadium course) / Plum Creek, IN (1999) / Pound Ridge, NY (2008, with son Perry) / Prestwick CC, SC (1989, with son P.B. Dye) / Promontory, UT (2002, Dye Canyon course with son Perry) / Riverdale GC, CO (1985, Dunes course with son Perry) / Royal Hawaiian, HI (1994, with son Perry) / Ruffled Feathers, IL (1991, with son P.B.) / Rum Pointe, MD (1997, with son P.B.) / The Fort, IN (1977, with Tim Liddy) / The Golf Club, OH (1967) / TPC Louisiana, LA (2004) / TPC River Highlands, MA (1984, redesign) / TPC San Antonio, TX (2010, Canyons course) / TPC Sawgrass, FL (1980 Stadium course, with wife Alice; 1987, Valley course with Bobby Weed) / Trump Natl Los Angeles, CA (1999, with son Perry) / Virginia Beach Natl, VA (1999, with Curtis Strange) / Whistling Straits, WI (1998 & 2000, Straits & Irish courses) / Wintonbury Hills, CT (2004, with Tim Liddy).

CARIBBEAN:
Casa de Campo, Dom Rep (1971, Teeth of the Dog; 1974, Links course; 1990, La Romana course; 2002, Dye Fore) / La Reunion, Antigua (with son Perry) / Las Aromas, Dom Rep (1980) / Las Lagunas, Dom Rep (1989).

EUROPE:
Barbaroux, Fra (1989, with son P.B. Dye) / Caesarea, Israel (2009) / Domaine Imperial, Switz (1988) / Franciacorta, Italy (1986, with Marco Croze).

ASIA:
Mission Hills Shenzhen, China (2007, Pete Dye course with Brian Curley) / Poresia CC, Malay (1990, with son Perry) / Sapporo Bay, Japan (1995, with son Perry) / Shenzhen Tycoon, China (1999, with niece Cynthia Dye) / Subhapruek, Thai (1993, with son Perry) / Tianjin Binhai Lake, China (2010, North course with Schmidt-Curley).

Did you know?

Paul Dye, known throughout the golfing world as "Pete," was the son of Paul "Pink" Dye and Elizabeth Dye. To distinguish Paul Jr from Paul Sr, the young Paul was initially called "PD", which morphed into "Pede" and eventually "Pete." Inspired by his avid golfing father, and supported throughout his illustrious career by his wife Alice, Pete Dye became one of the greatest golf course architects of all time. He is the most famous of a distinguished family of course designers, which includes his sons Perry and P.B., brother Roy and Roy's children, Andy, Matt and Cynthia.

Pete's father designed and built a nine-hole golf course on the family farm in Urbana, Ohio. Pete grew up playing and working on this course. After Army service, Pete attended Rollins College where he met Alice O’Neal, herself a very talented amateur golfer. (Alice was a Curtis Cup player in 1970 and made a significant contribution to many of Pete Dye's designs during his career). Alice and Pete married in 1950 and moved to Indianapolis, where Pete initially pursued a career in life insurance, while also achieving distinction as a top level amateur golfer. He played in the 1957 U.S. Open, finishing ahead of both Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

Pete’s interest in golf course architecture and maintenance steadily grew during his life insurance days, until he decided to leave the life insurance business and devote his time to designing and building golf courses. Pete and Alice began by building a 9-hole course (now called Royal Oak CC) just south of Indianapolis. After that came their first 18-hole course, Heather Hills, now named Maple Creek Country Club. A 1963 trip to Scotland profoundly impacted Pete’s subsequent designs. Touring the great Scottish courses, he was influenced by many of the features he saw, especially small greens, pot bunkers, undulating fairways and wooden bulkheads used in bunkers and some water hazards. He began incorporating these concepts into his designs, which influenced many other designers in turn.

At various times, a veritable Who's Who of modern-day golf course designers have worked for or with Pete Dye. In addition to members of his own family, these include, but are not limited to: Bill Coore, Brian Curley, Tom Doak, John Harbottle, Tim Liddy, Chris Lutzke, Jason McCoy, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Lee Schmidt, Bobby Weed and Rod Whitman. Pete has understandably been hailed as the father of modern golf course architecture, and is also acclaimed for his innovative, environmentally friendly design techniques.

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