Widely respected golf course architect Pete Dye has been selected to receive the 2003 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). The award presentation will take place at the GCSAA Dinner Show, Saturday, Feb. 15, during the Association’s 74th International Golf Course Conference and Show, Feb. 10-15, in Atlanta.
GCSAA’s most prestigious honour, the Old Tom Morris Award, is presented each year to an individual who “through a continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf has helped to mould the welfare of the game in a manner and style exemplified by Old Tom Morris.” Morris (1821-1908) was greenkeeper and golf professional at St. Andrews, a four-time winner of The Open Championship (1861, ’62, ’64 and ’67) and ranked as one of the top links designers of the 19th century.
Dye, a member and past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), has designed some of the country’s truly unique and challenging golf courses. Influenced by classical Scottish course design, he has created courses that combine those teachings with modern design.
Dye has to his credit course layouts such as The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel, The Ocean Course, Kiawah, The Honors Golf Club, Chattanooga, Brickyard Crossing, Indianapolis, and Old Marsh, North Palm Beach, Florida
These and others have set him apart from his peers as a true innovator in golf course architecture. Known for island greens, tiny pot bunkers and the use of railroad ties in bulkhead construction, Dye’s golf course designs provide some of the most enjoyable challenges in golf.
“Pete Dye has been an innovator in golf course design,” GCSAA president Michael Wallace, CGCS, said. “His passion for the game and his desire to provide a challenging and enjoyable experience for the golfer certainly warrants GCSAA’s recognition through presentation of the Old Tom Morris Award.”
GCSAA www.gcsaa.org.
Previous Old Tom Morris Award Winners:
1983-Arnold Palmer
1984-Bob Hope
1985-Gerald Ford
1986-Patty Berg
1987-Robert Trent Jones, Sr.
1988-Gene Sarazen
1989-Chi Chi Rodriguez
1990-Sherwood Moore, CGCS
1991-William C. Campbell
1992-Tom Watson
1993-Dinah Shore
1994-Byron Nelson
1995-Dr. James R. Watson
1996-Tom Fazio
1997-Ben Crenshaw
1998-Ken Venturi
1999-Jaime Ortiz-Patià±o
2000-Nancy Lopez
2001-Tim Finchem
2002-Walter Woods
Note: The title “CGCS,” after a superintendent’s name, stands for Certified Golf Course Superintendent, which recognizes the achievement of high standards of professionalism through education and experience.