A Trio of Very Underrated Pete Dye Designs

Course architect Pete Dye's portfolio of championship-worthy courses is undeniable — just look at this year's Players Championship, PGA Championship and Ryder Cup venues — but here are three that demand more attention.

Casa de Campo (Dye Fore) | La Romana, Dominican Republic

Casa de Campo

By Pete Dye's own admission, his personal favorite design was Casa de Campo’s Teeth of the Dog, which boasts seven holes practically submerged in the Carribbean Sea. Understandably, its siblings at the resort get overlooked. The 27-hole Dye Fore, a 10-minute shuttle ride from the resort, is the most underrated course in the Caribbean. Concocted by Dye in 2003, Dye Fore soars with several holes of the Marina nine doglegging around a boat-filled harbor, then peaking on the Chavon nine, which sports a fistful of holes draped atop 300-foot cliffs that peer down at the Chavon River. Both par 3s, the 3rd and 6th are unforgettable.

Nemacolin (Mystic Rock) | Farmington, Pa.

Nemacolin

Briefly in the limelight as host to the PGA Tour’s 84 Lumber Classic from 2003-2006, Nemacolin’s Mystic Rock dates to 1995. Pete Dye and associate Tim Liddy added a second, excellent layout in 2017, but the original course rocks for all the right reasons. With hilly, tree-lined terrain, boulder outcroppings and undulating greens, it’s unquestionably a brute (77 rating / 149 slope) from the 7,500-yard tips. Yet, typical of Dye, accommodating angles into greens and welcoming bailout areas give resort guests a chance to keep playing with the same ball for awhile.

Blackwolf Run (River Course) | Kohler, Wis.

Whistling Straits

Usually an afterthought to its sister course, Whistling Straits, Blackwolf Run’s River has a major championship pedigree of its own. The U.S. Women’s Open visited here in 1998 and 2012. Pete Dye’s wickedly penal hazards pair perfectly with pulse-quickening risk-reward opportunities at holes such as the 361-yard, par-4 9th, where three legitimate options confront players off the tee, and at the ruggedly handsome closing stretch of holes, 16 through 18, that incorporate a twisting arm of the Sheboygan River.