Perry Dye, the eldest son of Pete and Alice Dye, died Thursday in Denver at age 68.
The American Society of Golf Course Architects reported the news on Perry Dye, who began working on courses for his father at age 12. No cause of death was listed.
Perry formed his own course architecture firm, Dye Designs, in 1984. He was known as an early “green” builder, plotting courses with smaller footprints that were mere environmentally sensitive. He built more than 80 courses in all, including more than 20 in Japan, and his course legacy stretches to 15 countries.
Among the courses he designed are Pound Ridge in New York, Auburn Hills in Kansas, Desert Pines in Las Vegas, West One’s Country Club in Japan and Lykia Links in Turkey. He also continued to work with his father on a number of courses.
He was a true, larger-than-life character, who could laugh and entertain with the best of them. Tough to prosper being in the shadow of Pete, his famous father, but he created his own memorable courses. R.I.P. https://t.co/uP2ao1BrIR
— Travelin' Joe Passov (@joepassov) July 9, 2021
“This is a great loss for golf design, but right now we should all be sending our love and support to the Dye Family,” ASGCA President Forrest Richardson said. “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.”
Perry became an ASGCA member in 1996 and served on the ASGCA board of governors. Also 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.”
Perry’s mother, Alice, died in 2019, and his father, Pete, died less than a year later in 2020. He is survived by his brother, P.B. Dye, wife Ann, children and their spouses Lucy (Erik) Bowman and Lilly (Ross) Harmon, and grandchildren Brooks and Margaret Harmon.