Golf Course Architecture - Issue 59, January 2020

TEE BOX Pete Dye, 1925-2020 Hours before going to press, GCA learned of the death of Pete Dye at the age of 94, following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Arguably the most influential golf architect of the second half of the twentieth century, Dye transformed the industry, not once but twice; first in the 1960s with designs like Harbour Town, which broke the mould of the large-scale championship courses favoured by Robert Trent Jones Sr and his followers, and later in the 1980s, when his TPC at Sawgrass in Florida ushered in a new era of specially built ‘stadium’ courses for professional events. He also proved the most successful ‘design mentor’ in the game’s history, with architects such as Bill Coore, Tom Doak, Brian Curley, Bobby Weed, Chris Lutzke and Tim Liddy learning their trade at his feet. We will have a more comprehensive appreciation of Pete in the next issue of GCA . 19 Photo: Courtesy of Ken May. All rights Rolling Greens Photography Inc.