Alice Dye (February 19, 1927 – February 1, 2019) was an American amateur

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

er and golf course designer known as the "First Lady" of golf

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

in the United States.

Biography

Born Alice Holliday O'Neal in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, she began playing golf at a young age as a result of her father's influence, winning eleven Indianapolis Women's City titles. She graduated from

Shortridge High School Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Shortridge is the home of the International Baccalaureate and arts and humanities programs of the Indianapolis Public Schools district (IPS). Origina ...

, and in 1946 won the first of her nine Indiana Women's Golf Association Amateur Championships. While a student at

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 29,795 according to the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was foun ...

, she was captain of the golf team. At college she met Paul "Pete" Dye, Jr. following his discharge from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

military service. She graduated in 1948 with a B.S. degree. In early 1950 after Alice's graduation, she and Pete Dye were married. The couple partnered to for
Dye Designs
a firm specializing in golf-course designs. The firm became so successful in creating over 100 golf courses over the world. Their marriage produced two sons, Perry and P.B. (Paul Burke), as well as one of the top design teams of American golf courses, famous for their design of the TPC at Sawgrass (it was Alice who came up with the idea of the Island Green, the signature 17th hole at Sawgrass' Stadium Course) and for being the first firm in America to introduce design elements for golf courses used in Scotland. She became the first woman president of the

American Society of Golf Course Architects The American Society of Golf Course Architects (abbreviated as ASGCA) is a professional organization of golf course designers in America. Founded in 1946, its members are actively involved in the design of new courses and the renovation of existi ...

, and the first to serve as an independent director of

Professional Golfers' Association of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of professional golfer, golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to est ...

(PGA). Another of Alice's significant contributions was shortening the yardage for women in the golf designs, making them more accessible to the players. She won the 1968 North and South Women's Amateur and was a member of the 1970 United States Curtis Cup team. Dye won the 1978 and 1979 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur as well as two Canadian Women's Senior Championships. She was a member of the

USGA The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

Women's Committee, the

LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

Advisory Council and a member of the Board of Directors of the Women's Western Amateur who honored her with their Woman of Distinction Award. She and her husband established a golf training program at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. Alice Dye was inducted into the Indiana Golf Hall of Fame in 1976 and in 2004 was voted the PGA's First Lady of Golf Award. She collaborated on the book "''From Birdies to Bunkers: Discover How Golf Can Bring Love, Humor and Success into Your Life''" with Mark Shaw that was published in 2004 with a

foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between th ...

Nancy Lopez Nancy Marie Lopez (born January 6, 1957) is an American former professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 LPGA Tour, 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events, including three women's major golf championships, major championships. ...

. Alice Dye died at the age of 91 years old in

Gulf Stream, Florida Gulf Stream is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of the town was at 954 as of the 2020 US Census. History Gulf Stream was founded around 1916, and throughout the early 1920s, the planned community centered ...

. Some of the golf courses designed by Alice Dye: * TPC at Sawgrass –

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy unincorporated community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located in the Jacksonville metropolitan area, southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augu ...

* Crooked Stick Golf Club –

* Whistling Straits –

Kohler, Wisconsin Kohler is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Sheboygan River. The population was 2,195 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Sheboygan metropolitan statistical ...

* PGA West – Palm Springs (La Quinta), California * Kiawah Island Golf Resort (Ocean Course) –

Kiawah Island, South Carolina Kiawah ( ) is a sea island, or barrier island, on the Atlantic coast of the United States. Located southwest of Charleston in Charleston County, South Carolina, it is a seasonal beach and golf community. It is home to the Kiawah Island Golf ...

Tournament wins

*1968 North and South Women's Amateur *1978 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur *1979 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur *1983 Canadian Women's Senior Championship *1984 Canadian Women's Senior Championship

Team appearances

Amateur * Curtis Cup (representing the United States): 1970 (winners)

References

External links

American Society of Golf Course Architects profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dye, Alice American female golfers Amateur golfers Rollins Tars women's golfers American golf course architects Golfers from Indianapolis Sportspeople from Carmel, Indiana 1927 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American sportswomen