| Alice Dye | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1927 Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Residence | Carmel, Indiana |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Rollins College |
| Occupation | Golf course designer |
| Spouse | Paul "Pete" Dye, Jr. |
| Children | Perry & P.B. (Paul Burke) |
Alice Dye (born 1927) is an American golf champion and golf course designer known as the "First Lady" of golf architecture in the United States.
She was born as Alice Holliday O'Neal in Indianapolis, Indiana and began playing golf at a young age, winning eleven Indianapolis Women's City titles. In 1946 she won the first of her nine Indiana Women's Golf Association Amateur Championships. While a student at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, she was captain of the golf team. At college she met Paul "Pete" Dye, Jr. following his discharge from World War II military service. She graduated in 1948 with a B.S. degree.
In early 1950, she and Pete Dye were married. Their marriage produced two sons, Perry and P.B. (Paul Burke), as well as one of the top design teams of American golf courses, famous for their design of the TPC at Sawgrass (it was Alice who came up with the idea of the Island Green, the signature 17th hole at Sawgrass' Stadium Course). She became the first woman president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, and the first to serve as an independent director of Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA).
She won the 1968 North and South Women's Amateur Golf Championship and was a member of the 1970 United States Curtis Cup team. Dye won the 1978 and 1979 United States Senior Women's Amateur Golf Championship as well as two Canadian Senior Women's Championships.
She has been a member of the USGA Women's Committee, the LPGA Advisory Council and a member of the Board of Directors of the Women's Western Amateur who honored her with their Woman of Distinction Award. She and her husband established a golf training program at Purdue University.
Alice Dye was inducted into the Indiana Golf Hall of Fame in 1976 and in 2004 was voted the PGA's First Lady of Golf Award. She collaborated on the book "From Birdies to Bunkers: Discover How Golf Can Bring Love, Humor and Success into Your Life" with Mark Shaw that was published in 2004 with a Foreword by Nancy Lopez.
Some of the golf courses designed by Alice Dye: