ORLANDO, Fla. — Legendary golf architect Pete Dye passed away Thursday at the age of 94. Dye, who designed Southern Hills Plantation in Brooksville and TPC at Lake Nona, has deep Central Florida roots.

• Pete Dye designed championship golf courses across the country
• Went to Rollins College and played golf, met his wife
• RELATED: Dye Designs Course List

Before Pete Dye made a name for himself developing the iconic TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course in Ponta Vedra, he played his college golf at Dubsdread in Orlando while attending Rollins College. Little did he know in 1948 how much influence he would have on the game of golf.

“I would see his golf courses, particularly TPC Sawgrass and harbor town just jump out of the screen,” V.P. & Sr. Golf Course Architect for Arnold Palmer Design Company Brandon Johnson said.


It wasn’t Tiger or Jack who had the biggest influence on Johnson, it was Pete Dye and his creativity of molding holes and not shots.

“They are just so unique, you know he was doing things that people weren’t use to seeing," Johnson explains. "He was doing things they weren’t use to playing and he really challenges the player.”

Players like PGA Tour veteran Pat Sheehan have competed in The Players Championship, as well as tournaments on several other Pete Dye Courses. He has clear memories of playing on a Pete Dye golf course.

“Scary holes to look at," Sheehan said. "You had to figure out how to play them. It wasn’t just hit a shot and go find it it was definitely a strategy to play the holes, all of them really."

A Pete Dye course typically has a nickname of being "dye-a-bolical." It was Dye’s imagination and artistry that Johnson learned about while becoming an architect himself. Those traits influence his course designs.

“He changed the way golf course architects practiced and what we thought about," Johnson said.  "He was doing things that people thought couldn’t be done, and it’s like, wow, he did that?”

Dye made golfers and writers of the sport ask the same exact question.

“Everything he did to a golf course was there for a reason, it made you think," Golf Channel insider Jaime Diaz said. "You were punished for bad shots I thought in a fair way, and there were rewards if you could figure it out. So I think one of the great strategic architects of all time.”

Dye’s courses have hosted many major championships and can be found around the world. All of them offer something different, for everyone.

“It's sad, he was a big name in golf, it's a sad day for golf," Sheehan said. "He has a lot of golf courses out there that people still love playing.”

Diabolical or not, each Pete Dye course is a special one, and the former Rollins golfer will forever be remembered for his lasting impact on the sport.

As for the love of Dye’s life, he met her in Central Florida too. His wife Alice was the captain of the Rollins women’s golf team and the two were married for nearly 70 years.