Famed golf course architect Pete Dye has died. He was 94 and had been suffering from Alzheimers.
It is with much sadness that we announce our leader, mentor and hero Pete Dye passed this morning at the age of 94. Pete made an indelible mark on the world of golf that will never be forgotten. We will all miss him dearly. pic.twitter.com/1bAqZWSTbp — Dye Designs (@ILoveDyeGolf) January 9, 2020
Dye lived in Indianapolis and Carmel for decades.
He designed more than 20 courses in Indiana, including Crooked Stick Golf Club, Brickyard Crossing, The Fort Golf Resort at Fort Harrison State Park, Woodland Country Club and The Pete Course at French Lick Resort. The course at French Lick was named "Course of the Year" in 2017.
The PGA calls Dye "one of the most important course architects of this or any generation.”
Many of the courses were designed with his wife, Alice, who died last February at 91. She famously suggested to her husband as they were clearing out a swamp at Sawgrass, “Why not just make an island green?”
“He was an icon when it comes to golf course design,” said Brandt Snedeker, who won at the Dye-designed Harbourtown Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina. “He was a guy who really made you uncomfortable the whole round. And he did it visually. He’d always make you think.
“He’s one of those guys that you respected him because he built some great golf courses,” Snedeker said with a smile. “But in the midst of playing them, you hated his guts.”
Condolences poured in from golf icons around the globe.
It is the end of the era, but Pete Dye's legacy in golf course design will endure because of the courses he has designed and the courses people will play for years and generations to come. They will enjoy them, perhaps copy them, and certainly be inspired by them. pic.twitter.com/U8yIj8au7O — Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) January 10, 2020
Dye's courses were often described as “Dye-abolical” because of the penalties they could inflict with a bad shot. But they were memorable, and often difficult. Among them was Blackwolf Run, where Se Ri Pak won her first U.S. Women’s Open in 1998 at 6-over par.
Dye was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2008.
