Course architect Pete Dye heads World
Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2008

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (May 6, 2008) – Renowned golf course architect Pete Dye will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Monday, Nov. 10, as part of the Class of 2008. Dye, selected in the Lifetime Achievement Category, was on hand at the Players' Championship today for the announcement.
“I am surprised and extremely honored to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and to be included with those who have contributed to the game I love,” Dye said.
Dye is one of the most influential golf course architects of the modern era with more than 120 courses to his credit, many of which have hosted numerous US PGA Tour and LPGA events, major championships, a Ryder Cup and a Solheim Cup.
His work includes such famed courses as the Players' Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, site of this week’s Players' Championship; Harbour Town Golf Links; a design with Jack Nicklaus; Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana ; PGA West at LaQuinta in Palm Springs, California; Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run in Kohler , Wisconsin and the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
The courses Dye designed consistently rank among the top courses in the country—many in the top 10—according to major golf publications like Golf Digest, Golf Magazine and Golfweek.
A past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (GCSAA), Dye has an Honorary Doctorate in landscape architecture from Purdue University and has received several awards throughout his career, including the 1995 Donald Ross Award from the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), 2003 Old Tom Morris Award from the GCSAA, 2004 PGA Distinguished Service Award and the 2005 PGA TOUR Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Pete’s impact as a modern golf course designer is indisputable,” said Timothy W. Finchem, PGA TOUR Commissioner. “His designs are fixtures on the PGA TOUR schedule as they present the world’s best players a challenging, yet fair test of golf and often help provide drama to our tournaments.”
Born on December 29, 1925 in Urbana, Ohio, Dye was a respected amateur who won the 1958 Indiana State Amateur Championship and the Indianapolis District Championship. He played in The Western Amateur and five USGA Amateur Championships, as well as the 1957 U.S. Open and 1963 Amateur Championship.
Following time in the United States Army's 82nd Airborne during World War II, Dye attended Rollins College , which is where he met his wife of 58 years, Alice.
Dye lives in Delray Beach , Florida and Carmel , Indiana and continues to add to his resume of golf courses. Projects currently underway include the Tournament Players Club in San Antonio , Texas , and French Lick Resort, French Lick, Ind. —where there is an additional course by Donald Ross, which hosted the 1923 PGA Championship won by Walter Hagen.
“Pete Dye’s impact and influence as an architect is among the most far-reaching the sport has known,” said Jack Peter, the Hall of Fame’s COO and Senior Vice President. “Pete will join the likes of Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and Alister MacKenzie on a very short list of golf course architects in the Hall of Fame who have left an indelible mark on the landscape of the game.”
Dye was selected by the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors Selection Committee. Additional members of the 2008 Class of Inductees will be announced at the United States Open at Torrey Pines and The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
The 2008 World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Monday, November 10, at 6 p.m. on the Hall of Fame Lawn at World Golf Village in St. Augustine , Florida.
For more information about the ceremony, visit www.wgv.com .