Michigan Golf Journal February 2020

Michigan Golf Journal Tribute to Pete Dye “The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody would put a flagstick on top…golf is not a fair game so why build a fair golf course.” This quote from Pete Dye can be found inscribed at the base of the bronze statue that sits near the clubhouse of the Dye Course at French Lick Resort. The French Lick course doesn’t sit atop Mt. Everest, but it does traverse the second highest peak in Indiana. Upon first seeing the site, Pete said a satisfactory course could not be built atop Mount Airie. After more urging from French Lick, Dye sketched out a routing on a napkin and the new course opened to rave reviews in August, 2009. Dye created several masterpieces in his lifetime. Just to name a few, the Ocean Course on Kiawah, Whistling Straits, The Golf Club, Harbour Town Links at Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island, and TPC Sawgrass – home of the Players Championship. Dye never got tied up in fancy drawings or topographical maps. He preferred to observe the landscape and visualize what a golf hole should look like, given the available terrain. He got his boots and hands dirty laying out each of his ‘Dye-abolical’ creations. Dye was an accomplished golfer and competed in the U.S. Amateur, plus he qualified for the 1957 U.S. Open at the Inverness Club. While in the Army and stationed at nearby Ft. Bragg, Dye would often Fabled Course Designer, Pete Dye, Passes at the age of 94 By Fred Altvater