Legendary Golf Architect Pete Dye Battles Alzheimer’s

Pete Dye is one of the world’s most respected golf architects. But the 92-year-old is suffering from the ravages of Alzheimer’s. It’s one of the cruelest of diseases. My folks suffer from it as do many of my friends’ family members. It’s simply devastating to watch your seemingly healthy parent’s memory disappear.

Golf World’s Dave Shedloski writes a terrific piece on the irony of how Dye can still play golf well while not remembering one shot or the course he played on. Dye is one of only four golf course architects enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Noted courses he designed include PGA West, The Golf Club, Harbour Town, Oak Tree National, Whistling Straits, Crooked Stick and TPC Sawgrass.

“It’s the end of an era,” added Bill Coore, who worked for Dye for three years and is now enjoying a sensational run partnering with former Masters winner Ben Crenshaw. “Before Pete came along, golf architecture was Robert Trent Jones and that philosophy. That was the standard. Pete took the game and design in a different direction.”

“There are moments of brightness, and it’s when he’s walking down a fairway,” Perry said. “And whether he mumbles something or draws something up or just is standing there and looking at a golf hole, it’s kind of the best he can be anymore. Something kicks in.”

“You put my dad on a golf course, and he goes into a different mode,” P.B. added. “He knows how to hit the golf ball and can shoot a pretty decent number from the forward tees. It’s almost like he sees things differently on the course. But once he leaves, he doesn’t know what golf course he played or what he shot. He might not remember who he played with. But on the golf course, he enters a world he knows.”

It’s somewhat like the magic of music. Your loved one may not remember what they said or who you are, but brighten immediately when a favorite song is played.

“About 18 months ago we played golf together, and I knew he was starting to struggle,” said Tim Finchem, the former PGA Tour commissioner. “But here’s the thing. Golf was still in there. I played with him at Gulfstream. He was one over par on the back. He’d hit a tee shot and ask, ‘where’d it go?’ It’s in the middle of the fairway, Pete. He’d hit another shot. ‘Where’d it go?’ Middle of the green, Pete. He made everything he looked at almost. It was incredible.”