Pete Dye

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.

Dye was born in Urbana, Ohio. A few years before Pete's birth, his father, Paul F. Dye also known as "Pink", got hooked on golf and built a nine-hole course on family land in Champaign County called the Urbana Country Club. 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 won the Indiana State Amateur Championship in 1958; he also finished as runner-up in 1954 and 1955 to U.S. Open, he finished ahead of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

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 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. 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. Also in 1969 he designed his first course in Florida called Delray Dunes. In 1970 Dye designed Martingham Golf Course in St. Michaels, Maryland, now known as Harbourtowne Resort. The owners of the project went bankrupt and Dye didn't get paid for the project. The course was 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. Cohenwho has entered into an agreement with Dye to update and redesign the course. The new owner has also agreed to pay the funds that were not paid during the original design.

In 1986 Dye also designed acourse 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.

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.

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]
  • La Quinta Resort and Club (Dunes Course) – La Quinta [4]
  • La Quinta Resort and Club (Mountain Course) – La Quinta [5]
  • PGA West (Stadium Course) – La Quinta [6]
  • Lost Canyons Golf Club (Shadow Course) – Simi Valley [7]
  • Lost Canyons Golf Club (Sky Course) – Simi Valley [8]
  • The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa (South Course) – Rancho Mirage [9]
  • Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles
• Colorado
  • Cheyenne Mountain Resort (Country Club of Colorado) Colorado Springs [10]
  • Plum Creek Golf and Country Club – Castle Rock [11]
  • Riverdale Dunes – Brighton [12]
  • Gypsum Creek Golf Course – Gypsum [13]
  • Copper Creek Golf Course - Copper Mountain, Colorado
• Connecticut
  • Wintonbury Hills Golf Course – Bloomfield [14]
• Florida
  • Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club- Boynton Beach- Palm Beach County
  • River Ridge Golf Course – Harbour Ridge | Palm City – Treasure Coast – Florida Golf Communities [15]
  • PGA Golf Club (The Dye Course) – Port St. Lucie
  • TPC at Sawgrass (Stadium Course) – Ponte Vedra Beach [16]
  • Gasparilla Inn Golf Course – Boca Grande [17]
  • Palm Beach Polo (The Cypress Course) – [Wellington, Florida] [18]
• Illinois
  • Ruffled Feathers Golf Course – Lemont [19]
  • Tamarack Country Club – Shiloh, Illinois
  • Yorktown Golf Course – Belleville [20]
• Indiana
  • Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex at Purdue University (Ackerman-Allen Course) – West Lafayette [21]
  • Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex at Purdue University (Kampen Course) – West Lafayette [22]
  • Brickyard Crossing – Speedway[23]
  • The Club at Chatham Hills (semi-private) - Westfield, Indiana
  • Dye's Walk Country Club (formerly Eldorado Country Club and Royal Oak) – Greenwood [24]
  • Eagle Creek Golf Club (Pines and Sycamore Courses) at Eagle Creek Park – Indianapolis [25]
  • Forest Park – Brazil
  • The Fort Golf Course – Fort Harrison State Park – Indianapolis [26]
  • Greenbelt Golf Course – Columbus, Indiana [27]
  • Maple Creek Country Club (formerly Heather Hills Country Club) – Indianapolis [28]
  • Mystic Hills Golf Course – Culver [29]
  • Oak Tree Golf Course (front nine) – Plainfield [30]
  • The Pete Dye Course – French Lick [31]
  • Plum Creek Golf Club – Carmel [32]
  • Sahm Golf Course – Indianapolis [33]
• Louisiana
  • TPC of Louisiana – Avondale [34]
• Kentucky
  • Kearney Hill Golf Links – Lexington [35]
  • Peninsula Golf Course – Lancaster
• Maryland
  • Bulle Rock Golf Course – Havre de Grace [36]
  • Harbourtowne Resort Country Club – St. Michaels [37]
  • Rum Pointe Seaside Golf Links – Berlin [38]
• Nevada
  • Paiute Golf Club Resort (Snow Mountain, Sun Mountain and Wolf Courses) – Las Vegas [39]
  • Desert Pines Golf Club – Las Vegas [40]
• New York
  • Pound Ridge Golf Club – Pound Ridge [41]
• North Carolina
  • Founders Golf Course – St. James Plantation [42]
  • Oak Hollow Golf Course – High Point [43]
• Ohio
  • Avalon Lakes – Warren
  • Fowler's Mill GC – Chesterland [44]
  • Little Turtle Golf Club – Westerville [45]
• Pennsylvania
  • Iron Valley Golf Course – Lebanon
  • Mystic Rock, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort – Farmington, Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
  • Harbour Town Golf Links – Hilton Head Island [46]
  • Kiawah Island Golf Resort (The Ocean Course) – Kiawah Island [47]
  • Heron Point (formerly Sea Marsh) – Hilton Head Island [48]
  • Cherokee Valley – Travelers Rest[49]
  • 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 [50]
  • River Course at Kingsmill Resort – Williamsburg
  • Virginia Beach National – Virginia Beach [51]
  • Virginia Oaks – Gainesville [52]
• Wisconsin
  • Big Fish Golf Club – Hayward [53]
  • Whistling Straits (Irish Course) – Haven [54]
  • Whistling Straits (Straits Course) – Haven [55]
  • Blackwolf Run (River Course) – Kohler [56]
  • Blackwolf Run (Meadow Valleys Course) – Kohler [57]
• 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 [58]
• Israel
  • Caesarea Golf & Country Club – Caesarea, Israel

Private

• Arizona
  • Ancala Country Club – Scottsdale [59]
• 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 [60]
• Florida
  • The Dye Preserve Golf Club - Jupiter, Florida (thedyepreserve.com)
  • Talis Park Golf Club (with Greg Norman) – Naples [61]
  • Harbour Ridge Yacht & Country Club (River Ridge Course) Palm City [62]
  • Southern Hills Plantation Club – Brooksville [63]
  • Harbor Course – ((Grand Harbor, Vero Beach, FL)) (grandharbor.com)
  • West Bay Club (Estero,FL) (Pete and P.B Dye) [64]
• Georgia
  • Atlanta National Golf Club – Alpharetta [65]
  • The Ogeechee Golf Cub at the Ford Plantation, Richmond Hill, Georgia
• Illinois
  • Oakwood Country Club – Coal Valley, Illinois [66]
• Indiana
  • The Bridgewater Club – Westfield [67]
  • The Club at Chatham Hills (semi-private) - Westfield, Indiana
  • Crooked Stick Golf Club – Carmel [68] Crooked Stick Golf Club history book [69]
  • Maple Creek Golf & Country Club – Indianapolis [70]
  • Woodland Country Club – Carmel [71]
• Italy
  • Franciacorta Golf Club – Franciacorta, Sebino (Brescia) [72]
• Iowa
  • Des Moines Golf and Country Club – West Des Moines [73]
• Louisiana
  • Belle Terre Country Club – LaPlace [74]
• Michigan
  • Radrick Farms Golf Course at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor [75]
  • Wabeek Country Club – Bloomfield Hills [76]
• Missouri
  • Old Hickory Golf Club – St. Peters, Missouri [77]
• Nebraska
  • Firethorn Golf Club – Lincoln, Nebraska [78]
• North Carolina
  • Cardinal Golf and Country Club – Greensboro [79]
  • Country Club of Landfall – Wilmington [80]
• Ohio
  • The Golf Club – New Albany
  • Little Turtle Golf Club – Westerville [81]
• Oklahoma
  • Oak Tree National – Edmond [82]
  • Oak Tree Country Club – Edmond [83]
• Pennsylvania
  • Montour Heights Country Club – Coraopolis, Pennsylvania [84]
• South Carolina
  • Long Cove Club – Hilton Head Island [85]
  • Colleton River Plantation Club (Dye Course) – Bluffton, South Carolina [86]
• Tennessee
  • The Honors Golf Club – Ooltewah
  • Rarity Mountain Golf Club – Jellico
• Texas
  • The Stonebridge Ranch Country Club – McKinney [87]
  • The Austin Country Club – Austin[88]
• Utah
  • Promentory – Park City, Utah
• West Virginia
  • Pete Dye Golf Club – Clarksburg [89]
• Dominican Republic
  • La Romana Country Club – La Romana, DR

• Israel
  • Caesarea Golf Club (2009 course redesign)

• Switzerland
  • Golf Club du Domaine Impérial - Gland, Vaud [90]

• ^ http://www.ibj.com/blogs/4-the-score/post/60538-pete-dye-set-to-open-new-golf-course-in-westfield?id=4-the-score