Pete Dye Golf Club (pics, edited with more pics)

[Tom_Doak]

The seventeenth green is huge so there are probably some pinnable spots.  It was only half done the last time I saw it, unfortunately.

It's nice to see these pictures, Matt.  Many years ago I spent about three weeks in Clarksburg working on this course a little bit -- pretty much nothing that I did has survived, since that was in 1985, and I attended the opening of the front nine on my way back home from the opening of Stonewall, in 1993!

I think the course has some great holes, although it also has a bit of unfortunate tacky stuff ... like the waterfall coming out from underneath the green on #10.  I thought when I was working there that it might be one of Pete's best courses, but I did not really expect it to come out as #4 modern ... and I should point out that is a uniquely GOLFWEEK ranking, it finishes nowhere in the other magazine polls.  The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Mike H.:  Both The Honors Course and Pete Dye Golf Club were on rugged, steep, rocky sites ... not what I would normally call "parkland", but I guess there isn't much parkland golf being built anymore.

[Mike Hendren]

I think the course has some great holes, although it also has a bit of unfortunate tacky stuff ...

Tom,

Isn't that almost a Dye trade-mark?  The 5th and 18th at Whistling Straits and the 7th hole and original 18th green at The Honors come to immediate mind.  17th at TPC-Sawgrass comes close.

Mike

[Matt Kardash]

It's nice to see these pictures, Matt.  Many years ago I spent about three weeks in Clarksburg working on this course a little bit -- pretty much nothing that I did has survived, since that was in 1985, and I attended the opening of the front nine on my way back home from the opening of Stonewall, in 1993!

Tom, If I remember right you had something to do with that wall that follows the right side of 14, right?

[Tom_Doak]

matt k:  Yes, I had something to do with the wall. 

The original developer James D. LaRosa visited Pine Valley in the midst of building this course, and from that day forward he was somewhat obsessive about making this Pete's greatest course, and wondering where it would rank.  When Pete sent me in there, he told James D. that I was in charge of the GOLF Magazine course rankings, so Mr. LaRosa wanted to know exactly what I thought of every hole, and put me in the somewhat awkward position of critiquing the work to date!

All of the holes had been rough shaped, although the front nine was quite a bit further along than the back -- Charlie's comment is not surprising, because the front nine was built mostly in the 80's and the back nine in the 90's.  The only hole that I thought was really dull compared to the rest was #14, and Mr. LaRosa said he was thinking about building a stone wall through it, and assigned me to lay out the wall.  I've never seen a photo of the finished hole, so I don't know if it's anything like I flagged.  I am shocked to hear it was Charlie's absolute favorite!

[Greg Tallman]

Tom,

There is a wall along the right of the 14th and if memory serves me correctly you play over a portion of it when playing to the green... at least from way back where my drive winds up.

Cannot for the life of me though see how someone finds it the most compelling hole on the course. Oh well that is why this site is great.

I thought the fifith one of the cooler 5 pars that I have played to date.

[ChipOat]

He forgot to put in the railroad ties.  What kind of Pete Dye golf course doesn't have railroad ties?

As Hubert Green once said about Harbour Town, "This is the only golf course I've ever seen that could burn down".

[John Kavanaugh]

Nationwide Tour players publicly bitching about a fine private course that is hosting their lame asses.  Keep track of the guys name and when he lands a job at a muni folding shirts we will go ruffle the stacks.

I have never seen any good come from a private course hosting the Nationwide Tour.

[Tony Ristola]

He forgot to put in the railroad ties.  What kind of Pete Dye golf course doesn't have railroad ties?

As Hubert Green once said about Harbour Town, "This is the only golf course I've ever seen that could burn down".

He'd pretty much given up railroad ties and massive mounding after Brickyard Crossing.

With all the other stuff going on, and all the coal seams etc... it didn't need ties.