Golf course designer Perry Dye, ASGCA, dies at 68

Perry O’Neal Dye, ASGCA, died July 8, 2021 in Denver. He was age 68.

Perry Dye (Photo courtesy of ASCGA)

A member of one of the most famous families in golf, Dye received his first experience building golf courses at age 12, when he began an apprenticeship under his father, ASGCA Past President Pete Dye. He accompanied his father to work on sites in the Midwest and the Dominican Republic through his youth and college years.

In 1984, Perry formed Dye Designs, a company that builds unique, environmentally sensitive golf courses. In 1986, Dye Designs expanded internationally. In Japan alone, he designed nearly two dozen golf courses, and Dye-designed facilities can be found in more than 15 countries.

With more than 80 courses to his credit, Perry’s dedication to golf included promoting growth within the industry by cooperating with and supporting industry and professional groups, civic organizations and the general public.

A member of the Golf Course Builders Association of America, in 2004, he received the inaugural award that bears his name, the Perry O. Dye Service Award, which honors “exceptional individuals who have unselfishly contributed their influence to foster positive changes for the association and have continually endeavored to make it better.”

“This is a great loss for golf design, but right now we should all be sending our love and support to the Dye Family,” said ASGCA President Forrest Richardson. “Perry and I shared many good times, and I am so grateful to have spent time with him at the 2020 Golf Industry Show just before the COVID lockdowns began. As usual, he was full of life, smiling and telling stories. We will miss him.”

Courses designed by Dye include Pound Ridge Golf Club, Pound Ridge, New York; West One’s Country Club, Kato, Hyogo, Japan; Desert Pines Golf Club, Las Vegas; Auburn Hills, Wichita, Kansas; and Lykia Links, Antalya, Turkey.

Dye became an ASGCA member in 1996 and served on the ASGCA Board of Governors. He was preceded in death by his parents, ASGCA Past Presidents Pete and Alice Dye. He is survived by his brother, P.B. Dye, ASGCA, wife Ann, children and their spouses Lucy (Erik) Bowman and Lilly (Ross) Harmon, and grandchildren Brooks and Margaret Harmon. 

As Perry would say “Keep it in the fairway.” A Celebration of Life will be planned for later this fall.