dye preserve brochure

C O N T E N T SFOREWORD BY PETE DYE AND JOE WEBSTER 4

PETE & ALICE: A GOLFING PARTNERSHIP 6

THE SETTING 10

THE CLUBHOUSE 16

THE MEMBERSHIP 28

THE COURSE 32

DYE ON DYE: HOLE BY HOLE 34

A FRATERNAL SPIRIT 70

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 72

With the explosion in popularity of golf and the building of

dozens of new golf clubs in south Florida in recent years, the ques-

tion inevitably arises: “Who needs another one?”

Having worked together on other golf clubs and been

good friends for thirty-five years, we thought carefully about that

and decided there was a special kind of need. We knew many

golfers who were looking for a traditional style of club that would

be similar to their home clubs where they had played the game

most of their lives. We think of these people as “ardent” golfers, players steeped in the

traditions, history and camaraderie of the game, and whose golfing antecedents often go

back generations.

These golfers are used to playing regularly on great courses, socializing in

comfortable but unostentatious clubhouses and enjoying a strong fraternal spirit among

their memberships. Many of them had acquired second homes in south Florida but not yet

a satisfactory golf club. They were used to going to their clubs from their homes and thus

were not enamored of the housing development, gated-community style of golf club. In

short, they were looking for a golfing environment that would approximate, if not exactly

replicate, their home clubs, somewhere to play the game where the

overall “feel” was right.

With the need identified, we were faced with the chal-

lenge: “Could we create a golf club here that would give those

golfers the same sense of all-round comfort—sporting, physical

and social—that characterized their other clubs?”

Those clubs had invariably been founded by groups of

like-minded people getting together, raising money, building the

golf club, inviting their friends to join and then letting those friends invite other friends to

do the same. And that is how it happened—and is still happening—at The Dye Preserve,

for the Club remains a work in progress. We have built what we believe is a fine golf

course; our members and their guests can rest and refresh themselves in a pleasant and

comfortable clubhouse; and our membership has evolved as friends invited other friends.

It is, of course, far too early to judge whether the reality matches the dream.

Success in ventures of this kind ultimately depends not so much on the grasses and the

greens of the golf course, or on the bricks, mortar and furnishings of the clubhouse, but

on the human quality of the golfers who use them.

5

F O R E W O R D

P E T E D Y E J O E W E B S T E R

It would have taken a psychic with special powers to predict

that Pete Dye would become one of America’s most famous

golf course designers. A Second World War paratrooper, a

successful insurance salesman, a fine amateur golfer, a skilled

greenskeeper and happily married, Pete had reached his early

thirties and seemed settled and content. “In those days, I never had the urge to design

a golf course,” he said. “But I have always been interested in golf course maintenance.”

He grew up with golf literally in his backyard. His father, a devotee of the game,

built a 9-hole golf course on his wife’s farm in Urbana, Ohio, and that was where Pete

learned to play and look after a golf course. Then things changed quite dramatically.

“One day in 1960 when I was selling insurance,” he recalled, “a farmer asked if

my wife, Alice, and I would build him a 9-hole golf course in his housing development.

We agreed and were so proud of it that Alice made a Christmas card showing the routing

and sent it to our friends. She had won the North and South Championship at Pinehurst

and had become friendly with Richard Tufts, owner of the club and a former president of

the USGA. So she put him on the mailing list. A very nice letter came back: ‘It’s wonderful

that you and Pete have built a golf course,’ he began. ‘But don’t

you think crossing a creek thirteen times on a 9-hole course is

a bit much!’ ”

Pete’s travels across the water notwithstanding, he was

selected to design the University of Michigan’s golf course

shortly afterwards and has never looked back. “I have built about 100 courses in a little

over forty years,” he said without a trace of irony or hubris, “and each time I made a few

sketches and some notes to show the owner where the course was going. Then I’d bring

in the crew and we’d start building and hitting balls. If I had to be what they call a ‘golf

course architect’ and make plans and all that, I would still be peddling insurance.”

Pete is a simple man. He has lived in the same house in Delray Beach in Florida

for forty years. He doesn’t have an office or a letterhead. He is not a believer in contracts—

a handshake will do—and he doesn’t own a car. (When working, he rents a modest com-

pact.) But he is a man with a vision—and a mission—about building golf courses.

Whatever you call him—designer, builder, architect—his list of credits is

extraordinary. They include such classics as the TPC Stadium Course at Sawgrass in

7

left: Pete and his constant companion Sixty.inset: Alice and Pete Dye; photo taken by Ken May

P E T E A N D A L I C EA G O L F I N G P A R T N E R S H I P

Florida; the PGA West Stadium Course in California; the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island,

Harbor Town Golf Links and Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina;

Brickyard Crossing and Crooked Stick in Indiana; the Honors Course in Tennessee; the

Teeth of the Dog in the Dominican Republic; and Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Along

with several others, these feature regularly in Golf Digest’s top-100 golf courses.

Dye courses have attracted many top-flight competitions, from the Ryder Cup at

the Ocean Course in 1991 to the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in 2004. The 2007

Senior PGA Championship and the 2012 PGA Championship will be held at the Ocean

Course, while Whistling Straits is booked years ahead with the 2007 U.S. Senior Open, the

2010 and 2015 PGA Championships and the 2020 Ryder Cup.

Pete Dye, a self-described “digger” who gets his hands dirty with mud and sand

rather than blueprint ink, has remained true to his love of golf course maintenance by

keeping it in mind when he is designing and building courses. This concern for the men

and women on the grounds who have to maintain what he has created, won him the Golf

Course Superintendents Association of America’s Old Tom Morris Award in 2003, an

unusual accolade for a golf course architect.

The Dyes always have been a design team, and Alice’s input has focused on mak-

ing each course manageable for the lady golfers. (She has been called the “patron saint of

forward tees.”) Alice’s golfing credentials cover all aspects of the game. She was a superb

amateur player winning fifty amateur titles, including two USGA Senior Women’s

Amateur Championships, nine Indiana Women’s Amateurs and three Florida Women’s

Amateur titles. She also was on the 1970 Curtis Cup team and captained the 1992 U.S.

Women’s World Cup team.

As a golf administrator, she was the first woman to serve as an independent

director of the PGA of America, the first woman president of the American Society of Golf

Course Architects and a past member of the USGA Women’s Committee and LPGA

Advisory Council. It was no surprise that she was chosen as the recipient of the PGA First

Lady of Golf Award in 2004.

The Dyes also have given back to the game by funding a pilot program at Purdue

University: Golf for Business & Life. The program is taught by PGA professionals who

instruct college students in the basic skills, etiquette and terminology of golf. Pete built the

university’s golf course—his fee was one dollar—and the Dyes have raised money for the

golf course and golf program.

Pete Dye always has seen himself as a traditionalist in golf course design.

Donald Ross, whom he knew during the Second World War when he was posted close

to Pinehurst, was an important influence. Pete is also a great admirer of Seth Raynor’s

work. He and Alice spent time studying the classic golf courses of Scotland and England

when they visited in 1963, the year that Pete played in the British Amateur. From the old

country, he absorbed some of the elements that became features of many of his courses:

Railroad ties shoring up bunkers, smallish greens with considerable movement, rolling

well-guarded fairways, and pot bunkers. (His engaging autobiography is called Bury Me

in a Pot Bunker).

8

Controversy is no stranger to the designer. Ben Crenshaw described the Stadium

Course at TPC as, “Star Wars golf… this place was designed by Darth Vader.” PGA

Magazine described Pete as: “The most loved, hated and imitated golf-course architect of

the pasty fifty years.” He has often been called, “The man golfers love to hate,” and his

toughest courses “Dye-abolical.”

Pete defends himself against the charge that many of his courses beat the aver-

age golfer to death by saying that his sights are always set on the large number of golfers

who play the great courses regularly—courses like Seminole, Pine Valley, Shinnecock,

Royal St. Georges and St. Andrew’s.

“You’ll never hear me call that kind of golfer average,” he said. “He is the ardent

golfer and that’s who I build for.”

Pete Dye, like his hero Donald Ross, believes that a golf course is never finished.

He constantly revisits his creations, walks all over them and tweaks them where neces-

sary. “A golf course is a living event,” he often has said.

How would he like to be remembered? In his autobiography’s epilogue, he

evokes Donald Ross’s dictum, “My work will tell my story.” He hopes that his courses

also will tell his story, that golfers, no matter how much they “kick and curse,” will always

find a trip around a Pete Dye golf course a “memorable” experience. Given the abundant

evidence (and The Dye Preserve is now part of the legacy), there is no reason to suppose

they will be disappointed.

9

C O U R S E S T O D Y E F O R

above: Pete Dye with Sixty.

Crooked Stick Golf Club (1964) Carmel, Indiana1982 U.S. Junior Amateur1983 U.S. Senior Amateur1989 U.S. Mid-Amateur1991 PGA Championship1993 U.S. Women’s Open2005 Solheim Cup2007 U.S. Women’s Amateur2009 U.S. Senior Open

The Golf Club (1967) New Albany, Ohio

Harbour Town Golf Links (1969) Hilton Head Island, South Carolina1969 – 2005 MCI Heritage Classic

(PGA Tour)1989 THE TOUR Championship

(PGA Tour)

Teeth of the Dog (1971)Casa de Campo, La Romana, Dominican Republic

Oak Tree Golf Club (1975) Edmund, Oklahoma1988 PGA Championship (First Pete Dye course to host a majorchampionship)2006 Senior PGA Championship

TPC Sawgrass (1981) Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida1982 – 2005 The Player’s

Championship (PGA Tour)1994 U.S. Amateur

Long Cove Club (1981) Hilton Head Island, South Carolina1991 U.S. Mid-Amateur 2003 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur

The Honors Course (1983) Ooltewah, Tennessee1991 U.S. Amateur1994 Curtis Cup2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur

Blackwolf Run (1990) Kohler, Wisconsin1998 U.S. Women’s Open2012 U.S. Women’s Open

The Ocean Course (1991) Kiawah Island, South Carolina1991 Ryder Cup1997 World Cup of Golf2001 UBS Warburg Cup2003 World Cup of Golf2007 Senior PGA Championship2012 PGA Championship

Pete Dye Golf Club (1994) Bridgeport, West Virginia2004 – 2005 National Mining

Association Pete Dye Classic

Bulle Rock Golf Course (1997) Havre de Grace, Maryland

Whistling Straits (1998) Haven, Wisconsin1999 PGA Club Professional

Championship2004 PGA Championship2007 U.S. Senior Open2010 PGA Championship2015 PGA Championship2020 Ryder Cup

TPC of Louisiana (2004)Avondale, Louisiana2005 Zurich Classic (PGA Tour)

11

The Dye Preserve covers 175 pristine acres where native flora and

fauna flourish, encouraged rather than deterred by the presence of a golf

course that seems as if it has been there for decades. Entering the Dye,

you feel as if you have crossed an invisible frontier into another country,

yet it is only half an hour’s drive from Palm Beach and Stuart, and ten

minutes from Jupiter.

Cypress hammocks, diaphanously veiled in Spanish moss, pine

trees, live and laurel oaks, sable and cabbage palms, saw palmettos and forty varieties of

bromeliads suggest the Carolinas rather than south Florida. Ponds and lakes, teeming

with fish, four kinds of turtles and alligators, punctuate the property. Wading birds—ibis,

heron, egrets and sand hill cranes—grace it with their long-legged hauteur. Red-tailed

hawks, eagles and proud ospreys fly in and out. Golfers have become used to seeing fox,

raccoon, wild pigs, and even deer with their young fawns.

The golf course has been designed to fit snugly into this magi-

cal piece of land. Trees have been thinned, but not obliterated, and are

there for a purpose. They either frame a hole or guide the eye along the

sweeping vistas of the golf course. Pathways are made from coquina, the

pale, crushed seashell that turns dove gray with the weather. The

bridges, with their signature low wooden railings, are never straight but

curve sinuously, an invitation to explore this green kingdom on foot. At

one level, the Dye is a golf course; at another, it is a walk in the country.

The land earns its designation, “Preserve,” because that is what it is: A nature

preserve fortunate enough to be surrounded by thousands of acres of wood and

grassland. The only sounds at The Dye Preserve are those of the natural world and of

the game of golf—birdsong, club driving ball, golf shoes crunching gravel, the wind in

the trees.

11

T H E S E T T I N G

left: Twilight falling, eighteenth green

1313

above: The Clubhouse, as seen from the fourth green.

1414

The Lagoon between the sixteenth and seventeenth holes.

It all began around Joe and Mary Webster’s dining room table with

a rough sketch on the back of an envelope. The couple had been

thinking about the Clubhouse’s design, its furnishings and its land-

scaping for a long time. Their basic philosophy was to create a build-

ing that was spacious and casually elegant, equipped with the com-

forts of modern life, yet unobtrusive and in harmony with the natural

world around it.

They wanted it to look as though it had once been a private

residence. “We didn’t want it to glow in the dark,” said Mary Webster.

“We wanted people to drive up and ask how long it had been there.”

The first task was to assemble a team, one that could work

together seamlessly. This team would consist primarily of an archi-

tect, a landscape architect, a contractor and an interior designer.

Choosing an architect to design a golf clubhouse seems like a simple enough task, but, as

the Websters knew, there were pitfalls. “Designing a workable clubhouse is not rocket

science. There is a basic formula: Make sure you can see the first tee and the ninth and

eighteenth greens from the golf shop,” said Joe Webster. “But it’s amazing how many

clubs out there don’t allow you to do that.”

They interviewed several architects, one of whom was Wade Setliff of

Architectural Design Group in Lakeland, Fla. Wade had built clubhouses for three golf

clubs on Sea Island, Georgia (the Cloister, the Lodge and Ocean Forest), and designed

the Kauri Cliffs Lodge in Matauri Bay, New Zealand, just to name a few. After listening

to their goals and ideas for the Clubhouse, he invited them to take a look at a small golf

club he had designed outside of Jacksonville, Fla. The clubhouse was not too big, the

scale was good, and it was very close to what they wanted. Wade Setliff was immediately

brought on board.

Morgan Wheelock, a well-known landscape architect and

friend of the Websters, was invited to present a proposal of what he

would do with the grounds surrounding the Clubhouse. His portfolio

was as impressive as it was wide-ranging with award-winning work

on private homes in the United States, and landscaping projects

involving the American ambassador’s residence in London, a military

museum in France and resorts in Italy and the Caribbean. After the

first meeting, the Websters were confident that he could work with

the native flora and would introduce nothing that would conflict with

its natural beauty.

The search for an interior designer took a bit longer. “We had

been collecting pictures of houses and rooms we loved for years, so

we knew exactly what we wanted,” said Mary Webster. “But having a

vision and communicating it successfully to someone sitting on the other side of the table

are two different things. We didn’t want it to look too new, but we weren’t going for shabby

either. It had to have a sense of permanence, a weightiness that says: ‘We’re here to stay.’ ”

Unable to find exactly the right firm, Mary feared she might have to go it alone,

and that was giving her nightmares. Desperate to find someone with the skill and good

taste to get the job done, on a whim, she called Edward Lobrano, a college friend who had

been working in San Francisco but had recently moved back to the East Coast. After work-

ing for several large interior design firms, Lobrano established his own boutique business

with offices on both coasts and had his work featured in Architectural Digest, Interior

Design Magazine, Quest Magazine and California Homes, among others.

“I called to get Ed’s advice on how to tackle this project,” Mary Webster

recalled. “After listening to me carry on in near-hysterics for almost an hour, he said:

‘I think I’d better come down there.’ He was interested in doing something like this in

17

left: The Dye Room

T H E C L U B H O U S E

18

above: The Entrance Hall and Gallery

19

above: The Gallery leading into the Mixed Grill

20

above: The Ladies’ Locker Room top: The Ladies’ Sitting Room bottom: The Ladies’ Vanity

21

above: The sitting area of the Ladies' Locker Room.

Florida so, after meeting with Joe, who also knew him, and the architect, Ed agreed to do

it. I flew to New York with a box of photographs the size of a suitcase and dumped them

on Lobrano’s desk. He knew immediately what we wanted; he got it.”

“The next time I went up there,” she continued, “he had this huge pile of fabrics

lying on the floor of his office, and I loved them all. We narrowed them down to a precious

few, and those are the ones he used in the Clubhouse. Ed is a stickler for detail, right down

to the color of the nail heads on the dining room chairs. Most of the furniture is handmade

and the finishes are exquisite. Ed never let us settle; he wanted nothing but the best. He

could almost read our minds.”

From day one, muralist Marcia Wendel was going to paint a mural for the

Entrance Hall—that was a given as far as the team was concerned. A native Floridian,

Marcia had developed a great passion for the flowers, trees and wildlife of her home state.

She had done several murals for clubs in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Library Bar at the

Everglades Club in Palm Beach. Her clients are from all over the United States.

“The first time I popped into her studio during the painting of our mural, I burst

into tears… and it was barely finished,” said Mary Webster. “Marcia must have painted

one bird five or six times before she was happy with it. Like Ed, she has this extraordinary

attention to detail.”

Kevin Butler, a Founding Member of the Dye and a friend of Punch Martyn, one

of the Club’s principle partners, was selected to be the general contractor. After a few per-

mit glitches, not to mention two dangerously close hurricanes in September of 2004, the

Clubhouse opened in April 2005.

From outside, the Dye’s Clubhouse is so understated that it is easy to miss its low

profile and raw bronze name plate. But inside, it is spacious, opulent without being flashy,

settled and inviting. On a single floor, its design reflects the bungalow style popular in the

22

above: The Men’s Card Room

23

above: The porch overlooking the ninth hole and eighteenth greens.

24

above: The Men's Locker Room

26

1920s and 1930s with wide verandahs back and front, a comfortable, residential lodge

rather than a glitzy, look-at-me mansion.

The lavish use of wood—hand-rubbed Costa Rican cedar for the walls, pine for

the floors—gives one the feeling that the place has been around for years. The furnishings

add warmth and, with their soft colors, are easy on the eye. There is a lot of air and space

in the building and its purpose is clear: To accommodate the physical, social and esthetic

needs of the members.

The Entrance Hall is wide, high-ceilinged, and its walls are decorated with the

muted but gorgeously painted Marcia Wendel mural. Her depiction of the watery wilder-

ness with its wildlife around the Clubhouse is a convincing and elegant transition from

raw nature to snug haven.

The Dye Room, to the right of the entry, serves as a library and reading room

with paneled walls, deep sofas, a generous fireplace and bookshelves displaying the

Club’s trophies, a few old photos of Pete Dye, as many books on golf as any library around

and a portrait of Dye. A long, arched gallery, adorned with Audubons, sporting prints,

and the Club’s championship boards, leads into the Mixed Grill, the largest room in the

Clubhouse, which has an exposed ceiling supported by massive trusses. A communal

table sits center stage with a supporting cast of smaller individual tables around it. Floor-

to-ceiling doors, which open out to a comfortable porch, grass terrace and the course

beyond, flood the room with natural light.

The Men’s Card Room, with its bar, card tables and smoking porch, was

designed to take the member a little nearer to the action, granting him excellent views of

the ninth and eighteenth holes. The Clubhouse faces due east ensuring guaranteed shade

in the afternoon, time to sink into one of the well-cushioned wicker chairs and round off

the day’s play with a cocktail and a cigar. The Men’s Locker Room is spacious with large,

polished-pine lockers, powerful showers and an alert and helpful attendant.

The ladies’ equivalent is a bit fancier, cozier, more intimate. It has a casually ele-

gant sitting room with comfortable armchairs around the fireplace and unusually refined

lockers made from Costa Rican teak glazed the color of pale celery. The Golf Shop is at the

north end of the Gallery, next to the Men’s Locker Room, and the administrative offices

are tucked away just off the main entrance.

It is not often that the finished piece fulfills the promise of the design or the

dreams of the designer. But here the gap between plan (on that long-lost envelope) and

product appears to be infinitesimally narrow. “The Dye Clubhouse is second to none,”

concluded a member familiar with many of them. “The attention to detail here is remark-

able and it is perfect for this golfing environment.”

27

above: The Mixed Grill

The Dye Preserve, although young in comparison to other golf

clubs, nevertheless has a history. Joe Webster, the current Club

president, and three partners bought the land in 1988. An existing

golf course had fallen into disrepair, so Webster decided to call

his old friend Pete Dye and ask him to design a new course. The

architect agreed, bulldozed the old course and laid out a new one. A clubhouse was built,

members signed up and Cypress Links, as the new club was called, opened its doors and

ran successfully for more than a decade.

By 2001, however, the rapidly changing world of golf persuaded the owners that it

was time to upgrade the golf course and the club. Cypress Links was dissolved—the mem-

bers had their financial stakes returned in full—and the clubhouse was demolished.

Pondering the next step, Joe Webster picked up the telephone one day and called Pete Dye.

“How would you like to rebuild that golf course of yours down here in Jupiter, Pete?”

“You know I love rebuilding my own golf courses, Joe,” Dye said with a laugh.

“That’s what I call my estate play. I’ll use up all your money so that when I’m gone, you

can’t change a damn thing!”

Pete Dye and Joe Webster first met when Pete was building Harbor Town back

in 1968. Over the years they continued to collaborate, building the first twenty-seven

holes at Amelia Island, Long Cove Club, Cypress Links Golf Club and

The Dye Preserve. The land in Jupiter, they knew, was special, but it

would still be a mighty undertaking, physically and financially, for the

golf course to fulfill its promise. What they had going for them was a

mutual passion for building golf courses and a shared vision for the

new venture. “We had this loose plan about Pete building a completely new Pete Dye golf

course,” Joe Webster recalled. “Then 9/11 happened and things were put on hold.”

But not for long.

“We knew we had to tear the old golf course apart and rebuild it,” he went on.

“We shut it down on April 1, 2002. Acting as our own contractor, we rented the equipment

and Pete’s guys came pouring in from all over the country. It was exciting—and scary! We

worked 100-plus hour weeks through the summer and most weeks we paid out more in

overtime than we did regular time.”

Pete Dye always has worked to his own rhythm. “With Pete you get

no plans,” continued Joe Webster. “But he has a complete understanding of the golf

course in his head, and he was here nearly every day building it by hand. When we

opened six months after we had started, it was clear that he had built a remarkable

golf course.”

29

T H E M E M B E R S H I P

30

Meanwhile, a membership was forming with, at its core, thirty-two Founding

Members, prominent people in their different professions, veteran golfers from many states.

Their common desire was to have a club in south Florida where they could bring their

friends to play on a great golf course in the traditional way and among congenial people.

“Our typical member,” said Joe Webster, “is also a member of other great clubs

in the United States and overseas. The mix is a fairly even balance between professional

people who live and work here and people who come down for the season.”

Membership is by invitation only. Homogeneity is guaranteed through the

process of selection, handled by a membership committee, with friends inviting friends

who invite further friends. The spread is wide with members coming from twenty dif-

ferent states and five foreign countries, and an unusual feature is the comparative

youthfulness of the membership, the average age being 57 years old.

The Dye is a pure golf club. There are no real estate developments, no swimming,

no tennis, no paddleball, no dinners—food service is limited to breakfast, lunch and cock-

tails. Everything revolves around the game of golf, but it is not a golf boot camp.

Memberships are family memberships, where members are encouraged to bring their

sons and daughters to learn the game, including its history and its etiquette.

Pete Dye spent part of his youth at Pinehurst where he became a lifelong admirer ofDonald Ross, and Pinehurst was clearly on his mind when he set out to design this golfcourse. “We aimed at making a different kind of golf course down here,” he said. What hebuilt was in effect a non-Floridian golf course in Florida, a task inspired and helped by thequality of the soil, the grasses and the trees.

“I tried to give the course a clean, well-defined look using the natural features andmaterials,” the designer explained. “South Florida is dead flat so the golfer needs somehelp to see the shape of every hole from the tee. The rough is St. Augustine grass, whichDonald Ross used on the old Gulfstream course in 1923, and gives the fairways great defi-nition and a kind of Northern feel. The fairways themselves are Bermuda, and the greensTifeagle. The tees are paspalum, which is a salt-water resistant grass. The bunkers havegrass faces that help define them, and there is mulch under the trees that gives color andmakes it easier to find your ball. You’ve got to work on it to lose your ball out here.”

Pete Dye’s reputation for building punishing golf courses still occasionallyhaunts him like the albatross in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. But he may have laid it to rest at the Dye. If there is one word to describe Pete Dye’s creation, it is “playable.” There is plenty of room to drive the ball, there are no forced carries, the green speed is consistent and the course is always in perfect condition.

It is a golf course that requires strategy: It doesn’t wear the golfer out, yet it doesn’t yield par easily. There is room for error. Poor—as opposed to bad—shots are notsavagely penalized, while good shots are rewarded. The golf course is both competitiveand fun to play. In the opinion of many golfers, it has a definite “Pinehurst” quality.

The course measures 5,161 yards from the front tees; 6,165 yards from the mid-dle tees; the back tees measure 6,623 yards, which most low handicappers are happy toplay; and from all the way back it is 7,083 yards.

“When you stand on the 150-yard marker and look in, every hole is perfectlyframed,” said Joe Webster. “You see exactly what Pete’s asking you to do on each shot. Hewants people to be able finish the hole with a wide variety of shots around the greens. He is not trying to dictate every shot, and he leaves a great deal up to the skills of the golfer.

“The same number of holes play right to left as left to right, and the same numberof holes are bunkered left as bunkered right,” he continued. “There are no concessions tothose who fade or draw the ball. The four par threes go into four different points of the com-pass, all playing differently according to the wind. Pete makes you use every club in the bag.”

The Dye always has had a strong appeal for lady golfers. “Alice came here a lotwhen we were building the course,” said her husband. “She was always thinking aboutthe ladies and the fine line between ‘too easy’ and ‘too difficult.’ ” As a result, the place-ment of the forward tees—Alice Dye’s preferred term for them—makes the golf course aneminently manageable one for the lady golfer.

There are no tee times at the Dye, and it was never intended to be a club wheremembers had to bring their own game. Members call in to put their names down, follow-ing the practice in some of the older British and Irish golf clubs.

Competitions include Club championships for the men and ladies, and annualmember-guest and member-member tournaments. The Club also hosts the National Senior-Junior Team Championship. The silver perpetual trophies for the Club competitions wereacquired from the silversmith who crafted several of the championship trophies for theRoyal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, enhancing the sense of golf tradition at the Dye.

The Dye Preserve golf course was built in one hundred-and-twenty-nine fifteenhour days during a torrid summer in 2002 and opened the day after Thanksgiving thesame year. During the construction, its designer was there every step of the way.

“Pete would come out at eight o’clock in the morning with his dog, Sixty,” JoeWebster recalled. “He’d be wearing short pants and Nike shoes. He’d put a bottle of water in each back pocket and walk for eight to ten hours. He was seventy-seven yearsold and he walked every thirty-year-old on the job into the dirt.”

“When Joe asked me if he could name the Club the Dye Preserve,” said Pete, per-haps with his own albatross on his mind, “my wife Alice said, quick as a flash: ‘Does JoeWebster have any idea how many people hate your golf courses, Pete?’ ” Pete laughed.“But I was honored and any golfer, man or woman, can play this course because there areno tricks. What you see is what you get.”

33

left: Fourth tee, third green

T H E C O U R S EH O L E D E S C R I P T I O N S B Y P E T E D Y E

34

You start to get a glimpse of the character of this course

on the first hole, which opens off the tee a little left

to right. The cypress trees on either side of the fairway

and the variety of grasses—TifEagle, paspalum and St.

Augustine—provide definition. St. Augustine, a grass

that Donald Ross used on the old Gulfstream golf course

in 1923, frames every hole, and, in my opinion, is a grass

that has been overlooked on many south Florida golf

courses for a long time.

There’s a lot of mulch scattered on either side of the

fairway, so if your ball gets in there, don’t worry; it will

roll. The whole philosophy of this course is to get you

around without losing a bunch of golf balls, but on this

first hole, hang left—it’s your best chance to get a good

shot at the green. From any place in the fairway, you’re

going to be all right, but you’ll be much better off

staying left.

Once you’re in the landing area, you’ll see that the

green sits a little opposite of your tee shot. The hole sets

off right to left, but there’s a lot of room for your second

shot, especially to the right of the green, which opens that

way. So hang right on your second shot. There’s a little la-

goon on the left, but it should be out of play as long as

you keep your ball right. This green is large for a par five,

but as this is the opening hole: The object is to get you up

and running.

H O L E O N EPar 5

Championship 559Back 538, Middle 480, Front 406

36

After playing a par five, this hole is a short par four.

Where the first hole went left to right, this one is almost

dead straight; if it has any movement to it at all, it’s a bit

right to left off the tee, but you’re better off hanging on

the right side of the fairway.

There are a couple of small bunkers if you get too far

right; however, it’s still more open on the right than it is

on the left. The backdrop to this golf hole is truly superb,

and the St. Augustine grass makes it look like it’s going

right to left off the tee. If you get a good drive, the green

is wide open. We’ve done everything humanly possible to

keep openings in front of all of the greens. This one rolls

around a little bit here and there, opening left to right, so

if you have a little fade, you ought to be okay. But keep

your approach towards the left side of the green; it kicks

in that way. And the bunker on the right side—stay out of

it. You can get a bad lie in there, costing you a few extra

shots, but if you hang left, you’ll be okay. From the green,

you can see all the way down the sixth hole, giving you

yet another glimpse of the unique character of this course.

H O L E T W OPar 4


38

If you play this hole from the proper tee, you shouldn’t

have too much of a shot to the green, which is big. It

opens on the front right, and it’s got a little roll to it, but

it’s fair. There is plenty of room to play golf on this hole,

and there’s a lot variation. It plays 131 yards from the

front tee to 170 yards from the championship tee.

Normally, you’ve got a little breeze in your nose, but

it’s usually off on your right side. Notice the variety of

runoff around the green. But with all the natural beauty

of the place, not to mention the wildlife, it’s hard to

decide whether to play golf or just stand there and take

it all in.

H O L E T H R E EPar 3


I always try to come up with at least one par four that’s got

some real length to it, and, believe me, this one does. It

plays southwest—the prevailing wind being with you in

the winter and against you in the summer.

There is a big difference of 60 yards between the middle

tee and the championship tee. The hole turns left to right off

the tee, but there is plenty of room out there to get your ball

in the fairway. The green is wide open in front—the open-

ing here must be at least 60 to 70 feet wide right in front of

the green. You’ve got a few hungry-looking bunkers right

and left, so just take that three or four wood, hit your ball on

up in there and it should slide right on in. But if you hit it

short and it doesn’t bounce on in, just let that fade slide on

in a little left to right and you’ll be okay. But look again:

There is water on the right, but it should be out of play.

On your second shot, notice the great background—

the bunker, the green and a magnificent view of the

Clubhouse, which is tucked away to the right and not

directly behind the green.

H O L E F O U RPar 4


43

This hole, in my opinion, is an interesting challenge for

all skill levels and is the epitome of a risk-reward golf

hole. If you’re brave enough to go for the green from the

tee, your shot must not only avoid the water, but you’ve

also got to negotiate three fairway bunkers and one

greenside bunker. You may miss the water, but par will

be hard to obtain.

The short, straight hitter should play to the fairway,

wedge to the green, and will most likely leave with more

pars than his longer-hitting opponent. The left side of the

green rolls off towards the water, but a small shelf at

the water’s edge will hold a shot that has gently rolled off

the green. This green is relatively flat and should enable

the player to make a good putt.

H O L E F I V EPar 4


This hole is a great par five that runs in the opposite direc-

tion of hole number one. It is a straight-off-the-tee hole and

much wider than it appears. Even if you let it fade off to the

right, you can still play golf.

Everyone can use their driver on this par five, so de-

pending on the wind, you can get pretty close to the hole in

two if you play from the proper tee. On your second shot,

watch that bunker a 100 yards or so short of the green.

There’s plenty of room to bail out on the right side, so, you

have an open shot, and it will give you a much better view

of the green. There’s no water around the green, so the

good player can gamble, but there are a few bunkers up

there that might challenge him. But I love this green: It’s

got a lot of size to it for a par five, the rolls are very subtle

and there’s plenty of room to play golf.

H O L E S I XPar 5


46

There’s a bit of a walk from the sixth green to the seventh

tee, but the beautiful cypress hammock on your right

makes the walk worthwhile—don’t fail to notice it. This

par three goes from 137 to 196 yards and runs a little right

to left. The bunkers on the left side have some beef to

them, but I love the way this hole sets in there, and it’s got

a great backdrop. For playability, number seven requires

a good tee shot. I wish I could tell you that on this hole

you’ve got a lot of room for error, but you don’t. So, pull

out one of your better iron shots. The mulching around

the seventh hole, off the tee and around the green, helps

you not to lose your ball and requires a different kind of

shot, one unfamiliar to most golfers, but you can bounce

it out of there one way or another and get it on the green.

H O L E S E V E NPar 3


When you stand on the back tee here on the eighth hole,

it seems as if you have no place to go, but as you move to-

wards the forward tee, you’ll notice that the hole looks

much wider and there’s plenty of room out there. It sets

up a little left to right. After you’ve played this hole three

or four times, it will begin to look more open. Hang on

the left side and you’ll be okay.

Moving towards the green, notice how well the

St. Augustine frames the hole. The cypress hammock on

the right has been cleaned out considerably, so if you

let one fly off to the right, you’ve got a good chance of

finding your ball. You ought to have a short second shot

on this hole, because the green is wide open in the front.

There are a couple of bunkers on the left that guard the

green and water behind, so stay right and you’ll be fine.

H O L E E I G H TPar 4


48

51

This long par four offers a lot of variety from the front to

back tees—everybody’s got a shot. It sets up right to left

off the tees giving you plenty of room on the right even if

you give it a little cut. Then it turns around and goes left

to right balancing the hole nicely. As you approach the

green, you’ll notice that the Clubhouse sits off to your left.

You can sit in the Clubhouse and see the ninth green, yet

when you play this hole, you’re not looking directly at the

Clubhouse, which is a real bonus. The little mounds on

both sides of the front and back tees are all planted in

St. Augustine, which, like elsewhere on the course, gives

them great definition.

One thing you can say about this golf course, the fair-

ways are plenty wide. And here on the ninth hole, the

fairway is between a 100 to 150 feet wide. There is plenty

of room on the right, but you’re better off playing straight

down the middle of the road, because even though the

green is wide open in front, the contouring is really good

and the ball bounces around one way or another. You

don’t have to carry it in there, because you’ve got a good

chance of rolling her in right onto the green, especially if

you’re coming in a little left to right. Just stay away from

the little bunker on the front right and you’ll be okay.

But as I stand in the fairway of this hole, I can see three

bunkers and not one of them is the same. You get a variety

of different little shots here, especially if your ball rolls off

the green, because the runoff around this green is excel-

lent. It goes down the hill, then comes back up a little

knoll, which gives you several different shots.You might

have a little downhill pitch, but if you roll it up on the

green, you’ll be okay.

H O L E N I N EPar 4


52

From the back tee on this hole, you feel like you’re com-

ing out of a tunnel. If you think it’s too narrow, you

shouldn’t be playing from back there. This hole offers a

great variety from the front to the back tees. It’s a great

starting hole to the back nine—setting up left to right—

the opposite of the first hole. There’s a great view of the

tees from the Clubhouse, and folks can see you teeing off,

so hit a good one. From the championship tee it’s a bit

tighter, because 230 to 240 yards off the tee, there is a

bunker on the left that comes into play. But from the

back tee you’ve got a clear shot.

In order to hit a good second shot, watch the water

on the right side and just pop it down the middle.

Another 40 yards or so is not going to help you a lot,

because you’ve got a good shot to the green on this par

five. The green’s a pretty good size and opens right to

left: It’s got more depth to it than it appears, and there’s

plenty of room in the back. You’ve got a nice run off

behind the green, and it’s not nearly as severe as it looks

from your pitch shot. But after you play this hole a

couple of times, you’ll realize that you’ve got plenty of

room to hit your third shot to the green.

H O L E T E NPar 5


54

Number eleven is a good, long par four. Years ago, Donald

Ross would have a short par five followed by a long par

four or vice versa, but here on the back tee on number

eleven, it sets up right to left, but from the front tee, it’s just

the opposite. So if you play this hole from the front tees,

you’ve got plenty of room on the left side. The fairway

kicks back left to right, giving you a fighting chance. The

pine and cypress area on the right has been cleaned up and

mulched down, so if you slip a little off to the right, you can

find your ball. The definition provided by the mulch and

the St. Augustine—both of which are special features of

the course—sets up this hole. On Northern golf courses,

the fescue defines the fairways, but the St. Augustine gives

the fairways here in south Florida great definition.

You need a long second shot into the green here on

number eleven, but I want to emphasize that the green is

wide open in front. You can see the water and all the

bunkering on the left, so keep your ball to the right. If you

hit to the right, it’s going to kick in a little bit, so it’s not a

bad shot from over there. There is as much nature as

you’ll ever see on this hole, making it hard to concentrate

on your game, so don’t fail to notice it.

The fairway on this hole has a good roll to it. The

bunkering on the left side of the green is shallow, but the

faces are pretty severe. There’s plenty of room between the

green and the water, but you’ve got to stay right on this

hole. The runoff on the right side is good, backed by the

St. Augustine on the mound. I don’t believe that you can

get a better long par four than this. You can bump it in

from the front and there is just enough of a little kick that

your ball is going to run. I love this green. The front is

wide open and it sets off right to left, and the contour

around it falls in the same direction. This is a large green

for a long par four, and it’s one of the few holes on the

course I could lengthen if I had to, but I have yet to have

anyone make such a request. As you walk off the green,

you can’t help but notice the beauty behind it—the lagoon

and the cypress trees—they are truly wonderful. So even

if you didn’t score well, I hope you enjoyed the scenery.

H O L E E L E V E N Par 4


57

As opposed to number eleven, this hole sits a little right

to left. Looking at it, you’ll notice the bunkers down by

the green and the bunkering that frames the landing area

also sets up the hole right to left. Here you’ve got a long,

shallow bunker framing the left side of the fairway. Look

at the difference between that bunker and the ones up by

the green. The fairway bunker on the right is out of play

for most of us mortals, but a long hitter might reach the

bunker on the right and wish he never had. There’s a

mound on the right side that will kick your ball back into

the fairway, so you want to stay as much on the left side

as you can.

The green is wide open in the front and sets up a

little bit left to right, and there is a variety of good runoff

behind the green. You have two options here: You can

either carry it right onto the green or run it in. But stay out

of those bunkers if you can, because they aren’t too kind,

especially the one on the front right of the green. Ideally,

you want to slide your ball in between them.

H O L E T W E L V EPar 4


58

This green is a semi-redan green of about 7,000 square feet,

with an elevation change from bunker to green of 8 feet.

The right side of a redan green that sets up right to left

would normally be 2 feet higher than the left. However,

with the speed of today’s greens, the slope on this green

drops about 8 to 9 inches. Redan greens were first intro-

duced in America during the 1920s by such great golf

course architects as Donald Ross and Seth Raynor.

This is as close to a true redan green as you will find

in south Florida. With sand completely around the left and

rear of the green and a bunker beyond a shelf of closely

mown grass on the right, this green reads as a pseudo-

island green. The tees are elevated for a clear view of the

green. The back tees, however, are a bit lower, offering a

slightly obstructed view of the green with an uphill carry

of over 200 yards. This is truly a classic golf hole.

H O L E T H I R T E E NPar 3


There is not a lot of length to this hole, and while I hate to

brag, it sure has got a lot of character. It sets up left to right

and the bunkering directs you down the left side of the

fairway. The pine trees on your right are stately and define

the hole beautifully. You know right off the bat that you

want to hit your ball towards that bunker on the left side,

which will give you a good shot to the green. The more

your ball kind of sneaks off to the right, the better opening

you’ll have.

The hole sets up left to right off the tee, then right to left

to the green. That’s an old Donald Ross trait. From the tee,

looking down at the first and second bunkers on the fairway

and then those down by the green, you will notice that they

all have a different look to them. The bunker on the left is

severe enough to make you want to stay away from that

side and indicates that the green sits right to left. It’s got

plenty of severity to it. The cypress trees in this area have all

been trimmed and mulched down, so you can find your ball

should you whip it off over there to the left, but it is best to

stay right. It’s not going to be the easiest shot in the world

from the right side, but the variety of runoff is good. What we

tried to do with the runoff on many of these holes is to give

you a wide range of shots. This way you can run off the hill

and back up again, giving you a real challenge.

H O L E F O U R T E E NPar 4


63

There is a nice walk from the green on number fourteen

to this fifteenth tee. Here again, the St. Augustine grass

really defines the tee and gives it a great look. When you

stand on the tee of this hole, you know you’ve got to drive

your ball towards the bunkers on the left. The definition

of the fairway bunker on the left really turns this hole left

to right going into the green. There are some bunkers up

there short of the green that just keep on turning the hole

to the right. I think this hole sets up really well. But keep

your ball on the left a bit because there’s more trouble on

the right than there is on the left. There’s the little lagoon

that goes down the right side, but you’ve got plenty of

fairway if you just stay left.

When you get up to the landing area on this hole,

you’ve got plenty of room and should get a flat lie. So rip

it down there—give it a good shot—and go straight at the

green. The bunker on the front left is pretty severe, so

slide your ball in on the right side just a little. The green

has nice contours, which are a little smaller than some,

but the runoff on both sides is very playable.

H O L E F I F T E E NPar 5


64

This relatively short par four demands accuracy from

not only your tee shot but your approach to the green as

well. It’s sort of a backward hole, running right to left

from the tee, then you get the feeling that the green sits

left to right, when actually it sits back to the left. A long

bunker stretches from the tee, down the left side of the

fairway, to within 200 yards of the green. A smaller

bunker—also on the left and just beyond the long

bunker—guards the fairway along with a cross bunker on

the right. With plenty of sand left and water on the right,

this tee shot is visually intimidating.

You’ve got three options off the tee. First, you can play

back to the widest part of the fairway short of the bunker

on the right, leaving about 165 yards. Second, you can drive

between the bunkers to a narrow fairway only 20 yards

wide, leaving 130 to 150 yards in. Third, drive over the cross

bunker and beyond the bunkers on the left between the

lagoon on the right and the cypress trees on the left, leaving

a rewarding approach of only 100 to 120 yards to the green.

The bunkers around this green are severe, but most are

18 to 20 feet away from the putting surface. The elevated

green, with its closely mown chipping areas, can kick an

errant shot into one of the three deep bunkers that

surround this green. There’s a small pot bunker on the

front right that is highly visible from the fairway. This

hole is in a secluded area with many open views—the

long view behind the twelfth to the thirteenth hole just to

name one. This is an intimidating hole from tee to green.

H O L E S I X T E E NPar 4


Everybody says that there should never be two hard par

threes on any golf course; however, this is not the case on

the back nine here. As you look from tee to green, the

scenery is breath-taking—the lake, the bulkheading, the

cypress trees—all are truly spectacular. You’ve got all the

length in the world here—probably more than you need.

The tee area must be 10,000-square feet—I mean it’s

enormous! So whomever you’re playing with, don’t let him

put you on the wrong tee. If you want to lose a ball, just

go on back to the championship tee, but from the back or

middle tees, it is truly a wonderful shot. It sets in there left

to right, so if you get over that little pot bunker in front of

the green, you’ll be okay.

And then there’s the bunkering on the left side, which

really sets off the green. If you get in the one midway on the

left side of the green, it’s got enough bank to give you a

little test, especially if you’re shooting back towards the

water. The green is big for this long par three, and there

will be a few bogeys on this hole—maybe even a couple of

doubles, but after a while you’re going to roll one up there

and get a deuce.

H O L E S E V E N T E E NPar 3


68

Setting up right to left, this is a great par four finishing

hole. If you’re going to err, err a bit to the right. The front

tee is far enough forward to give the ladies a fighting

chance. And whether you drive or walk over the bridge

onto the eighteenth fairway, you will get another sensa-

tional view of the Clubhouse. Here again, the hole sets

upslightly right to left off the front and back tees. But

when you get to the green, it sets up left to right.

There is a variety of the bunkering on the front right

about a 100 yards short of the green. But there’s at least a

60-foot opening in front of the green, so I don’t know how

it can get much better. If possible, try to stay out of the

bunkers on the right, especially that little 3 footer up there;

if your ball lands in that one, it can really ruin your day.

There’s plenty of room to bounce around on the left side of

the green, so if you hit a good one, you should make par.

H O L E E I G H T E E NPar 4


71

A F R A T E R N A L S P I R I T

left: The end of a perfect day

When the legendary golf clubs of America and the British Isles

were founded over a century ago they had much in com-

mon: Visionary founders, great tracts of land sculpted into chal-

lenging and intriguing golf courses, and homogenous, convivial

memberships that honored the rules of the game on the fairways

and its fraternal spirit in the clubhouse.

Trying to build a new golf club in the image of places like

St. Andrews, Muirfield, Royal St. Georges, The Country Club, Shinnecock and Seminole

might seem an act of folly tinged with hubris. Yet, if the essential elements are available

and the golfing inspiration remains pure, there is no reason not to believe that a golf club,

cast in the traditional mold, can be created and then, like an exceptional wine, aspire to

greatness with care and time.

Such is the ambition of The Dye Preserve Golf Club—to evoke the best traditions

of the game but provide its members with all the prerequisites of modern life. How do you

go about that? “The goal is to have a really good golf course, an at-

tractive clubhouse and then fill it up with a bunch of highly compat-

ible people who really enjoy playing golf with each other here and

do it as often as they can,” said Joe Webster. “If you can achieve that,

you can probably stack up with the best golf clubs in the country.”

While the golf course and the Clubhouse were built in

double time, the Dye deliberately slowed its pace in building up

the membership. The old fear of a rotten apple ruining the rest in the barrel—of bad driv-

ing out good, it rarely happens the other way around—affects most human organizations,

and golf clubs are no exception. That is one of the reasons for the Dye opting to move

slowly towards achieving its full membership target of 300.

“We promised our members that we would not rush out and make a mess of this

thing,” said Joe Webster. “They then had the responsibility of inviting compatible golfers

to join them. We planted the tree; now we have to let it grow.”

7373

As with any endeavor, the end result is a reflection of the dedication of

many individuals. This was certainly the case with the formation of this

club and this book. Both exist due to the support of the partners of the Dye

who have been together since 1988 and who “stepped up” after 9/11 to

support and create The Dye Preserve Golf Club. To Charles Bradshaw,

Charles P. Martyn III and William S. Rose, thank you. Thanks also to David

Jackson, who joined this group in 2002.

The membership of The Dye Preserve is a manifestation of the character and

friendship of the thirty-two Founding Members of the club who believed in the project.

The golf course was built by Pete Dye and his disciples who, along with Jim Kilgore and

his maintenance staff, have created a magnificent golf experience. Jack Carmody of

Gunster Yoakly and Rocky Biby of Kimley Horne Engineers secured the permits and nav-

igated the maze of zoning issues in Martin County. The Clubhouse is a proof positive of

the talents of Wade Setliff of Architectural Design Group, Kevin and Scott Butler of Butler

Construction, and Don Skowron of Morgan Wheelock and Associates. Edward

Lobrano, working with Mary Webster, created the extraordinary colors

and interiors of the Clubhouse.

This book is an accumulation of the artistic talents of many indi-

viduals. The original impetus evolved from the genius of Jeff Lewis of

Cobalt Design. Larry Hasak, James Garvin and the entire staff of Hasak

Publishing assembled and designed the book, and John de St. Jorre wrote

the majority of it. Three brilliant photographers contributed their pictures

which grace each page: Anthony Edgeworth, a member of the club, captured the essence

of the setting, the membership and Pete Dye, and Tony provided the model for the book

with his many published works on golf; Kim Sargent’s thoughtful eye produced the flaw-

less photographs of the Clubhouse interiors; and Paul Hundley arose early many a morning

and waited late many an afternoon to capture the light reflected on each of the eighteen

holes depicted herein.

This project and this book are merely a glimpse into the incredible style, skill and

spirit of Mary Webster. —Joe Webster

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

T H E D Y E P R E S E R V E

1 8 0 8 C o l o n y Wa y

J u p i t e r , F l o r i d a 3 3 4 7 8

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