57 fluid: you were expected to become a part of the process. Sometimes Pete would have a definitive concept or vision for a hole; other times his directions were vague, allowing for individual interpretations. Within Pete’s system, you were given the freedom to work, to think, to experiment, to succeed and to fail. Most of all, you were given the opportunity to learn and be prepared. The results seem to suggest that his method worked.” Dye, famously, was not a lover of plans, and that has fed down to a lot of his followers. The degree to which a course needs to be planned depends on the nature of the project and the site – if you are building a totally core course on pure sand dunes that are no more than gently undulating, all you may need to build the course is a routing. Literally everything else can be decided on site. If you are building on clay, through what will become a substantial housing development, more detailed plans are almost certainly essential. And in most jurisdictions, some degree of detailed planning is likely to be required to get permission to build the course in the first place. Dyeciples tend therefore to favour on-site creativity, even if they draw quite detailed plans up front. “I call plans ‘Eighty per centers’, but the magic happens in the field,” says Brian Curley. “Pete knew how to get things built,” says Liddy. “He understood Dye once said of the Ocean course at Kiawah Island: “The wind will either be your best friend or your worst enemy” “Pete was always very good at explaining ideas,” says Brian Curley, who built several courses with Dye Photo: Kiawah Island Golf Resort Photo: Ken May
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