Alice Dye, innovative designer of the golf course, is dead at 91

In his memoirs, "Bury Me in a Pot Bunker" (1995, with Mark Shaw), Pete Dye wrote about his wife: " She may have a back seat for which publicity I have had in the last 30 years, but everyone in the golf industry knows how important her contributions have been, because she has an intuition for what makes a golf course challenging but playable. "

Alice O 'Neal was born in Indianapolis on February 19, 1927, to Perry and Lucy (Holliday) O & # 39; Neal. Her father, a company lawyer, was an avid golfer.

Alice developed her smooth swing at a junior club in a local country club and began to win teenage tournaments as a teenager.

She met Mr. Dye when they were students at Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida, where she was captain of the women's team and also played with Pete on the men's team. Alice graduated in 1948, but Pete stopped. They married in 1950 and settled in Indianapolis.

The couple sold insurance in the mid-fifties when they decided to continue the design of the golf course. They expanded their knowledge of the profession when they traveled through Great Britain in 1963 and visited numerous courses.

Alice Dye is survived by her husband; their sons, Perry and Paul Burke (known as P.B.) Dye; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Both sons are golf architects at Dye Designs.

Ms. Dye looked back on her career in her own book: "From Birdies to Bunkers: discover how golf can bring love, humor and success into your life" (2004), also written with Mr. Shaw.

In her 80s she offered insights for women playing golf

"Because they have to turn to so many holes recently, many women become self-conscious and worry that everyone analyzes theirs or judge golf swing, "she told The Times in 2012." That's not true, they might look at their shoes or their hats, and most men do not know enough about the golf swing to analyze it. "