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 clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er and

golf course designer A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

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 constructing building ...

in the United States.

Biography

Born Alice Holliday O'Neal in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, 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). Originall ...

, 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 private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was fo ...

, 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

military service. She graduated in 1948 with a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

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 The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass (TPC at Sawgrass) is a golf course in the southeastern United States, located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, southeast of Jacksonville. Opened in the autumn of 1980, it was the first of several Tournament ...

(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 golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...

(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 The North and South Women's Amateur Golf Championship is an annual golf tournament held since 1903 at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina. An invitational tournament, participants are chosen based upon their performance in national am ...

and was a member of the 1970 United States

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and " ...

team. Dye won the 1978 and 1979

U.S. Senior Women's Amateur The United States Senior Women's Amateur Golf Championship was launched in 1962 as an annual tournament for female amateur golfing competitors at least 50 years of age. The format began as a 54-hole stroke play competition over three days until 199 ...

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 the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

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 land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. 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 the ...

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 and won 48 LPGA Tour events, including three major championships. Amateur career Lopez won the New Mexico Women's ...

. 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 was 786 at the 2010 census. Gulf Stream ranked as the eleventh highest-income place in the United States. As of 2018, the population recorded by the U.S. Census ...

. Some of the golf courses designed by Alice Dye: *

–

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy unincorporated seaside community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jackso ...

Crooked Stick Golf Club Crooked Stick Golf Club is a golf club located in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb north of Indianapolis. The 18-hole Pete and Alice Dye designed golf course was built in 1964. It has been noted as one of the top 100 courses in the United States by ''G ...

–

Whistling Straits Whistling Straits is one of two 36-hole links (golf), links-style golf courses associated with Destination Kohler, a luxury golf resort owned and operated by the Kohler Company in Kohler, Wisconsin. The other course is Blackwolf Run, located in ...

–

Kohler, Wisconsin Kohler is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Sheboygan River. The population was 2,120 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Originally called Rive ...

PGA West PGA West is a set of 6 golf courses located in La Quinta, California. The PGA West Stadium Course was designed by Pete Dye and is viewed as the sequel to the TPC at Sawgrass. It was inspired by the Scottish links-style courses and at one point ...

– Palm Springs (La Quinta), California *

Kiawah Island Golf Resort Kiawah Island Golf Resort is a resort at Kiawah Island, South Carolina which is located along a mix of island and beachfront property approximately southwest of Charleston. Opened in May 1974 it consistently ranks as one of the country’s ...

(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 primarily a private beach and golf resort. It is home to the Kiawah Island Golf ...

Tournament wins

*1968

*1978

*1979

*1983 Canadian Women's Senior Championship *1984 Canadian Women's Senior Championship

Team appearances

Amateur *

(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 Golf course architects Golfers from Indiana American women sportswriters American women non-fiction writers Sportspeople from Indianapolis Sportspeople from Carmel, Indiana 1927 births 2019 deaths