Top 10 Dye Courses

[redanman]

We need to list at least 10 for Pete and Alice.

Let's start with

The Golf Club
PGA West Stadium
TPC Sawgrass
Long Cove
Harbour Town


always there

THe sleeepers?

[SPDB]

1. The Golf Club
2. Casa de Campo
3. Sawgrass
4. Stadium
5. Oak Tree
6. Harbour Town
7. Long Cove
8. Bulle Rock

give up

[A.G._Crockett]

Gee, maybe I'll throw in the Ocean Course as a sleeper...

[Scott_Burroughs]

So many to choose from.

How about:

Blackwolf Run (River)
Whistling Straits (Straits)
Pete Dye GC

Crooked Stick


for Geoff Shack's enjoyment:

Wintonbury Hills

 

[Craig Van Egmond]

I've seen very few of Dye's courses that were actually his and not Perry's but here are the top 2.

PGA Stadium
Wolf Course at Pauite

[Jim Franklin]

1. Pete Dye GC
2. The Golf Club
3. Whistling Straits
4. The Ocean Course
5. The Honors Course
6. TPC Sawgrass
7. Harbour Town
8. Long Cove
9. Crooked Stick
10. Bulle Rock

[dfrey]

I guess SPDB is too important to change his name?

I'd like to throw in Old Marsh as one of Dye's best.  It isn't in his top 5, but I think he did a great job!

[Jim Franklin]

I don't have a problem with SPDB keeping his anonymity, it's a tribute to him for sticking to his principles, but I am jealous that I haven't played Casa de Campo yet and he has

[Top100Guru]

Not In Any Particular Order:

The Golf Club
The Ocean Course
TPC Sawgrass
Casa de Campo
Harbour Town
Long Cove
Blackwolf Run - River Course
Whistling Straits - Straits Course
Pete Dye GC
Crooked Stick

[Tom_Doak]

I can't really vote for Whistling Straits based on when I saw it.  My top ten:

1.  Teeth of the Dog
2.  The Golf Club
3.  Long Cove
4.  TPC at Sawgrass
5.  Kiawah Island (Ocean)
6.  Pete Dye Golf Club
7.  Harbour Town
8.  Crooked Stick
9.  The Honors Course
10. Blackwolf Run (River)

Crooked Stick would have been a couple places higher as it was in 1980.

[jim_lewis]

That I have played, in order:

Pete Dye GC
The Golf Club
Long Cove
Harbour Town
Kiawah-Ocean
Honors
TPC-Sawgrass
Riverdale Dunes
Austin CC

That's only 9.  I have played several others, but did not lkie them very much.

[SJ_McCarthy]

I know this will raise some eyebrows and most certainly many will argue the point, but the fact that Secession is a Dye course, eventhough Devlin gets credit is not well known....

[Top100Guru]

Good Point Tom.....I can't vote for Honors over The Straits based on the five separate times I've played each....looks like we are in agreement on the others though!!!

Hey Steve!!!!!!!!

[cary lichtenstein]

Clearly, Pete Dye has done alot of wonderful courses

[Tim Liddy]

I can’t pass this up:

(Based on my preference of which golf course I would play tomorrow if given the opportunity –of course I am working)

1. Teeth of the Dog
2. Kiawah Island (Ocean)
3. Whistling Straits
4. Colleton River
5. TPC at Sawgrass
6. The Golf Club
7. Bulle Rock
8. The Honors Course
9. Blackwolf Run (Composite)
10. Harbour Town (maybe Long Cove)

[Jeff_Mingay]

Tim,

As someone who knows Pete and his work well, I'm surprised - probably more interested, actually - to see Colleton River 4th on your list, above Sawgrass, The Golf Club, Honors, Blackwolf Run, and Harbour Town, with no mention of Crooked Stick. Interesting.

Care to elaborate on Colleton River? I've not visited.

[SPDB]

I was way too premature with my post, please forgive the inclusion of Bulle Rock over The HOnors Course, Ocean and Straits.

[Matt Kardash]

I know Mike Vegis said that Pete thinks that Colleton River is one of his best courses.

I once inquired about this course on this board, and it seemed that not many people have played it. Maybe that's why no one really knows much about it.

[Tom_Doak]

SJ McCarthy:

I don't know how much of Secession you can say is a Pete Dye course.  I believe Pete did the routing, but left the project when the job at Kiawah Island came up.  P.B. Dye took over the project, and started construction, before he had a falling out with the clients.  I actually interviewed for the job at that point, but they hired Devlin.

When I went for the interview, they had dug some ponds and moved some dirt, but there were no green complexes or bunkers in place.  All of that is Devlin's work.  At best, Pete Dye did the routing plan, which is certainly important, but does not make it a "Pete Dye" course.

After all, George Cobb did the routing for Harbour Town.

[redanman]

Tom Doak and Tim Liddy, ever so many thanks, it adds such a perspective your having worked on so many each.  Tim, I am glad to see that you think so much of Bulle Rock, i think it gets passed over a bit and I am noting the difference each of you has in the place of Long Cove, a course I know Tom loves so well, but I've not gotten as excited about. (I must return to it again).  I was really taken with the Golf Club.


How close did TPC Stadium at PGA West come for each of you?  I've always thought it had a real sense of black humor about it.

[jim_lewis]

Matt:

I've played Pete's Colleton River course.  If you check my post above, you will notice that I only listed 9 Dye courses, because I did not think that any of the other Dye courses I've played deserved to be on the list. The Colleton River course is one of those that I deliberately excluded. It is a mystery to me how Pete or Tim could consider it one of his best.

[Andy Hughes]

TDoak, you have Teeth of the Dog as Dye's best course.  I understand the area is stunning, but what about the course  makes it in your mind his finest?
Thanks in advance.

[Tim Liddy]

I like Colleton because of its shot values, Scottish heritage (more than an occasional bad bounce) and a great low country site. I am sure the overcooked shaping style is a bit over the top for some, but to me it is high sculpture that only Pete Dye can accomplish. It is pure Pete Dye –some say artificial, but I see it is an art form that is pure, has taken a life time to develop and can not be replicated. I love it

[Brad Klein]

That I've played:

1. The Golf Club
2. Harbour Town (esp. back nine)
3. PGA West-Stadium Course
4. Pete Dye Golf Club
5. Whistling Straits
6. Blackwolf Run-River Course
7. Long Cove
8. Crooked Stick (esp. back nine)
9. Firethorn (extremely underrated)
10. TPC-Stadium Course

[SJ_McCarthy]

SJ McCarthy:

I don't know how much of Secession you can say is a Pete Dye course.  I believe Pete did the routing, but left the project when the job at Kiawah Island came up.  P.B. Dye took over the project, and started construction, before he had a falling out with the clients.  I actually interviewed for the job at that point, but they hired Devlin.

When I went for the interview, they had dug some ponds and moved some dirt, but there were no green complexes or bunkers in place.  All of that is Devlin's work.  At best, Pete Dye did the routing plan, which is certainly important, but does not make it a "Pete Dye" course.

After all, George Cobb did the routing for Harbour Town.

Tom,

You are right on for the most part.  Pete did the ENTIRE routing plan, PB did the initial layout and shaping on 14+ holes.  The 14th is where the wheels in the relationship fell off.  Now, that being said, if the chef designs the menu, buys the goods mixes the ingridents, puts it in the oven, then another chef lets it cook and serves it, who's "creation" is it?

Let's be realistic, based on Bruce's other works, does Secession "feel" like one of his? Or does it feel like one of Pete / PB's work when you walk and play it?