In addition to being arguably the most significant architect of the last 40 years, Pete Dye is also one of the most candid and accessible to golf writers. He's a fantastic interview. In fact, I know I'm not alone in saying that over the years I've heard/read many of these sentiments from him almost verbatim (I thought I was reading an interview I did with him recently), and yet it never gets old to hear.

Good job Jay. I do wish you would have cleared out more room in part one for when he was talking about the cost of building holes. I think there's much important to learn there for the general public regarding the cost of golf and construction. He's getting at something fundamental there, in my opinion.

Jay,

Very interesting. I am more intrigued by Pound Ridge as those pictures did not match up to anything in this interview.

Thanks

fwiw, in his book Pete says about Radrick Farms that it was "built by a contractor who was unable to implement many of the creative ideas I envisioned.  That experience made us [he and Alice] question where we were headed....I felt we needed to focus on what type of Pete and Alide Dye golf course we wanted to design in the years ahead"

"Well, most of the golf courses are built by people in the golf course design business... With the pros, it’s a side line...  I don’t think there’s many out there that are into it for real... they have no idea what’s going on, or any understanding."

Does this stuff come as a surprise to the guys that have worked in the field with Pete Dye. Publicly taking the gloves off, or has this come with age? I can't recall him taking on the USGA in this manner; on equipment or maintenance, or mocking the game called signature design.

My guess is most of the vast changes he discusses (technology, maintenance, signature designers) probably achieved their destructive level after most had left to go out on their own.

Good and informative intereview, Jay.  As Officer Daley says above, not quite up to Ran's Minimalist standards, but good, nonetheless.  Lots of excellent points for constructive discussion.

Jim

If all Jack did was to suggest the small greens, he does deserve credit, IMO.  It is the most unique and intriguing characteristic of Harbourtown and the one which leads some people, including me, to sometimes refer to it as "great."

Rich

I wonder if that dog isn't a second generation "Sixty".  I heard stories of how the dog was having a ball running around the Whistling Straits site.  Isn't he named after a piece of construction equipment or tractor, with a sixty horse engine?

ONe of the funny lines I heard one of his associates say, was how Pete would come on site at Whistling, enjoy the fire up and smell of the diesel fuel in the morning, have Sixty run around, then make it back to his quarters early enough to watch "Hogan's Heros".  

As a newbie on this site, and not very good at searching past threads (being a largely computer illiterate lawyer not a computer person) I will presume that 17 at the Straits Course has been the subject of discourse here.  Seems to me as a customer, not a designer, that the hole makes much more sense with the big rock on the left side of the green, not the right.  When it's blowing hard to the east, the "average" (event the average ardent) player has little chance of getting the ball on the surface of the green.  Mr. Dye told me I was a pussy when I told him that, but I've hit too many good shots that ended up dead on that friggin hole. . .

Jay,

Any mention of his long delayed new course in New Jersey being built on a sand mine? It's somewhere near Manahawkin.

Does anyone know if the plans are dead for Pete donating his time for the design of a course on a Cistercian or Benedictine monestary grounds in Sparta Wisconsin?  Did ol Pete mention anything about donating for indulgences to balance out all the Dyabolical stuff he's done, Jay?  

Does anyone know if the plans are dead for Pete donating his time for the design of a course on a Cistercian or Benedictine monestary grounds in Sparta Wisconsin?  Did ol Pete mention anything about donating for indulgences to balance out all the Dyabolical stuff he's done, Jay?  

Brother Dick (or whatever) --

This is the last I've heard of it -- an Associated Press report from October of 1999:

SPARTA, Wis.  - A monastery planning the longest golf course in Wisconsin has decided to solicit private donations for the $7 million project designed by world-renowned course designer Pete Dye.

Our Lady of Spring Bank Cistercian Abbey, a Roman Catholic community of monks in the Town of Angelo east of Sparta, hopes to build ``The Monastery,'' what would be an 18-hole golf course. The course will support the monastery.

``This legacy will carry long into the new millennium,'' said the Rev. Bernard McCoy, a spokesman for the monks. ``We will carry out charitable causes locally, nationally and internationally with scholarships, education, aid to arts and culture, aid to the poor in various ways, helping out Third World nations and mission lands, build churches, whatever.''

McCoy, a spokesman for the monks, said he hoped to start the project by April 1, 2000, and open by July of 2001.

``It's a short amount of time, but you never know ... with monks something always special seems to happen,'' McCoy said. ``If the money comes in, the bulldozers will start going out, so people can start playing sooner.''

The monks and David Colbert of Sparta announced their original plans for the course on March 30. At that time, McCoy said they hoped to begin moving earth by Aug. 15.

However, there have been alterations to the original plan. McCoy told the La Crosse Tribune on Wednesday, McCoy said that rather than developing a corporation made up of investors, the monks, Dye and Colbert have decided to fund the project through donations.

McCoy said the course will be called ``The Monastery,'' because ``it connotes everything we want it to be - peace, reverence, solitude, beauty, hospitality.''

At 7,475 yards, The Monastery will be the longest course in Wisconsin, featuring five sets of tees with bent grass throughout the 300 acres.

Dye and his assistant, Tim Liddy, took a flight into La Crosse on Tuesday and made their first official visit to the abbey and the golf course property.

``Every few minutes, Pete would get out of the truck, sift the sand, kick a few trees and look at the wildflowers,'' McCoy said. ``It was a perfect time to visit. The colors are at their peak right now.''

Dye, Liddy, McCoy and other monks from the abbey then met to finalize fund-raising plans. They actually began several months ago when Dye, a devout Catholic, agreed to waive his $500,000 design fee as an in-kind gift. The monks hope to attract more donors.

``The direction we are going at this point is to have the whole course built on a donation basis through a fund-raising campaign with the abbey as the sole owner,'' McCoy said.

``We hope people will want to help Pete Dye and the monks invest in a course that keeps giving back to the community.''

Dye has designed many major courses including Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and Harbor Town in Hilton Head, S.C.

McCoy said the abbey will lease the land to the golf course, and although the monks own the land, it will become a separate corporation. He said that because the abbey is non-profit, it can lease the land tax free.

While the price tag for course development and clubhouse construction is $7 million, including Dye's fee, McCoy said he believes it could cost less.

Jay, I defend police officers accused of violating the civil rights of various ne'er-do-wells in the Chicago suburbs (alas, the City does not send their many cases to outside counsel).  If you've got an opening for a group in Sheboygan, or even back inland at the River or Meadow/Valleys, I'll try to fill a spot.

Jay, I defend police officers accused of violating the civil rights of various ne'er-do-wells in the Chicago suburbs...

Wow, it really is a small world!    Bill Steele, (one of our Dixie Cup participants) is an attorney in the Columbus OH area, in the same specialty biz.... and I was a P.O. violating folks civil rights!   gee...