When 38-year old Pete Dye qualified for the 1963 British Amateur, he and Alice seized the opportunity to visit the great courses of Scotland. He regretted his impetuous disparagement of the Old Course at St Andrews after a single round as a “goat ranch.” Seven rounds later, thanks to his strong showing in the event, he realized it was one of the world’s great tracks. The Dyes used this inaugural overseas jaunt to study and play more than 30 Scottish classics. This seminal visit helped clarify and articulate their vision of vibrantly memorable golf course designs.
They were particularly impressed by the Old Course, Turnberry, Prestwick, Carnoustie, Royal Dornoch, Muirfield, Troon, Nairn, Gullane, Western Gailes, and North Berwick. They came back to the Midwest eager to build courses with small greens and wide, undulating fairways. They wanted to incorporate pot bunkers, railroad ties, and blind holes into their work, experiment with contrasting grass mixes, and add gorse like vegetation to frame fairways.
It’s probably no coincidence that Pete Dye’s inaugural masterpiece, Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana, was the first course he designed after his initial foray to the British Isles. Up to that point, Dye had produced ten courses and made revisions on a dozen others. But Crooked Stick, which the Dye’s refer to as their “firstborn,” truly put Pete on the map.