By Design - Spring 2019

18 | By Design REMEMBRANCE Champion of golf ASGCA Past President Alice Dye was a champion golfer, but she also spent most of her life championing the sport. ASGCA members share their stories about Alice’s influence on them and the profession. I first met Alice Dye when I interviewed for a job with Pete in the fall of 1970,” says ASGCA Past President Lee Schmidt. “From that early meeting, I learned that Ms. Alice was the organized one of their partnership. Numerous times when I called Pete about making a site visit on a specific date he would say ‘hold the phone, I need to check with Alice.’ In short, when Alice spoke, Pete, as well as others, would listen. “Over the more than fifty years I knew her, she would often send me handwritten notes saying she read a certain article about my firm, Schmidt- Curley Design, and may even enclose the article. Other times she would send an old photo of me on a job site with a note saying, ‘boy have you changed’ or ‘these were fun times.’ Her thoughtfulness over the years of thinking of me when she had so many other things to do was really special. Also, knowing full well she probably performed this same wonderful gesture for many others she knew. “Alice had a love for plants. When I was working in the Dominican Republic in the mid-70s, Alice decided we needed to have a large vegetable garden for the resort. We imported seeds and started her venture. We started planting and before long we had all kinds of vegetables for the hotel. Our only problem was we had more tomatoes than the hotel needed and not enough carrots, or too many radishes and not enough beans. It was a learning experience for all and one we have shared many laughs about over the years. “Alice was a big proponent of making sure Pete had approach openings into all greens. As she would say, ‘Pete, everyone doesn’t play like Nicklaus.’ I am amused that Pete is so often criticized for how difficult he designs courses, yet little do they know Ms. Alice was always helping them out, with a playing option for most holes. “She was a wonderful lady in a multitude of ways and a trailblazer for the world of golf. Alice will truly be missed by all who knew and loved her.” Pete’s equal “From my introduction to Alice in 1981 at Long Cove Club until today, I was fortunate to observe first-hand what most in golf now know: she was Pete’s equal as a partner, contributor and collaborator in all that they did,” says Bobby Weed, ASGCA. “In the late afternoons at Long Cove, Pete and I would be with the crew: tired, dirty, tongues hanging out, and Alice would come out in her Lilly Pulitzers, fresh as a daisy, to critique Pete’s work. And critique she would! That she could push him to do better and to go farther, and that he would allow himself to be pushed, was the foundation of everything they did. Hers was the opinion he trusted She was a wonderful lady in a multitude of ways and a trailblazer for the world of golf “ Photo: Courtesy of Ken May. All rights Rolling Greens Photography Inc.