June 2021 Ohio Golf Journal

the first PGA Tour tournament there,” remembers PB. “On the morning of that opening round on Thanksgiving Day, I was placing sod above the bunker next to the 18th green when they were teeing off the 10th.” Four days later, Arnold Palmer came walking down the 72nd hole of the tournament with a one-stroke lead. Palmer pulled his approach left of the 18th green. It finished in an oyster bed at low tide. Palmer chipped to 15 feet and then made the putt to win the tournament. “Afterwards, Palmer publicly thanked Pete Dye for designing such a great golf course. Thank goodness that it was low tide and Palmer found his ball.” That endorsement helped launch the career of Pete Dye and gave him the credibility that he needed to become an established, respected, and much sought-after golf course designer/architect. Any story about Pete Dye would be incomplete without references to his time living and working in the Dominican Republic, which is where Pete died. There are 11 courses in the Dominican Republic which were designed by either Pete, PB, or the both of them. The most famous being, Teeth of the Dog. “Dad loved the Dominican Republic.” On the day that Pete died, PB remembers that his dad had enjoyed a healthy breakfast, was watching reruns of Gunsmoke, his eyes just closed, and he took his last breath. “It was a great way to go, and he was never in pain,” says PB. To honor the Dye family legacy, PB maintains a home in Urbana, Ohio, where he was born. He sits on the board of directors of the Urbana Country Club and serves as the club’s greens chairman. PB’s grandfather (Paul Francis Dye) designed Urbana’s first nine holes in 1922, PB designed the second nine, in 1992. “My grandmother, at age 94, told me to design the other nine holes of the Urbana Country Club in 1992 so I did.” In 2022, the Urbana Country Club will celebrate with a centennial celebration. PB will be there as a way to honor the Dye family. Clearly, PB has the same qualities as his father: authentic, genuine, dedicated, and passionate. Ohio Golf Journal