Dye 'utterly surprised' by induction in Hall of Fame

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Renowned golf course architect Pete Dye was more than just surprised when he found out he was going to be among this year's inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He also was relieved.

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Pete Dye

DYE'S CREATION

Course Tour: TPC Sawgrass
Risk and Reward: The 16th

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Dye to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame

He had returned home from a design job and learned from his wife, Alice, that PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem had called.

"When I came back [home], Alice told me in the evening that Mr. Finchem had called," Dye said Tuesday in the media center at the TPC Sawgrass, "and all I could say is, 'I wonder what the heck has gone wrong now?' Another small crisis down there, what I done wrong somewhere. I'm trying to think of all the things I've done wrong. It's about 1,300,000, and I figured it was 1,300,001.

"So it was the next morning, and I was utterly surprised to be taken into the Hall, I really was."

Dye, 82, a native of Urbana, Ohio, who now has homes in Carmel, Ind., and Delray Beach, Fla., will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Monday, Nov. 10, as part of the Class of 2008. The World Golf Foundation Board of Directors Selection Committee voted to elect him via the Lifetime Achievement Category.

A former insurance salesman and a fine amateur golfer, Dye, with the help of his wife, Alice, has become one of the most influential golf course architects of the modern era with more than 120 courses to his credit, including THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, site of this week's marquee PGA TOUR event, THE PLAYERS Championship.

His designs have consistently ranked among the top courses in the country, and he and Alice have worked with many aspiring architects who are now in business for themselves. While many of his more famous works have hosted professional and top amateur events, Dye, a former president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, also has designed a number of less celebrated courses for universities and municipalities while accepting no fee.

"I never considered myself a Hall of Famer, and to be taken in, all the great players and people who are in there, it's kind of funny to be sticking a dirt digger in there along with them," said Dye, whose many honors include the 2004 PGA Distinguished Service Award and the 2005 PGA TOUR Lifetime Achievement Award. "It's really an honor to be taken into the Hall of Fame. You look who's there, Mr. (Charles Blair) Macdonald and Mr. (Robert Trent) Jones and Mr. (Donald) Ross, as far as the golf industry and design business; that's a pretty elite group."

In addition to TPC Sawgrass, Dye also designed the TPC Louisiana, site of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, TPC Virginia Beach, which hosts a Nationwide Tour event, and he is currently working on the TPC San Antonio, which is expected to host a TOUR event in the future.

Dye once said that he never imagined earning a living designing golf courses, and that doing so was a dream come true for a golf enthusiast. Now he is going to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame after a lifetime pursuing a labor of love.

"This is really a surprise," he said. "I guarantee, it might not be a surprise to you but it's a surprise to me. With all the great people that are in the Hall of Fame, it's an honor to be part of them because they've all given back to the game of golf and I'm certainly proud to be here as one of them."