Dye Designs Group, which has contributed to the Dye family’s golf course architecture legacy for more than 30 years, has begun a project to update all 18 greens at South Korea’s Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.
Owned by KOLON Industries, one of the country’s leading textile and chemical manufacturers, Woo Jeong Hills was designed by the late Perry Dye and opened in 1992. It is regarded as a top course in South Korea, and as a long-time host of the KOLON Korea Open. Woo Jeong Hills is set amid mountainous terrain and noted for many Dye-design hallmarks, including challenging bunkers and strategically placed water hazards.
DDG’s mother-son tandem of Cynthia Dye McGarey and Matt McGarey has been tasked with redesigning and shaping the course’s 18 greens, plus two practice greens. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of March.
“It’s been more than 30 years since Woo Jeong Hills opened, so updating the size, contouring and drainage of its greens is important to ensure it remains among Asia’s best,” said Cynthia Dye McGarey, a long-time member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA). “This project is especially meaningful to us given we’re refreshing my cousin Perry’s first golf course design in South Korea, a country he enjoyed and where he did so much great work.”
“We have all worked very hard to ensure the long-term viability of our championship golf course and our Chairman, Mr. Lee of KOLON, has been personally involved with all major decisions,” said Mr. Jongyoon Lee, President of Woo Jeong Hills C.C. “Thanks to Dye Designs Group’s Cynthia Dye McGarey and Matt McGarey, we are confident that the integrity of the original design will be respected, and that the new greens will excite our members and challenge professional competitors during future KOLON Korea Opens.”
The Dye Designs Group work is scheduled to be finished in time for member play in late Spring 2025. Woo Jeong Hills has hosted the prestigious KOLON Korea Open, an Asian Tour event, since 2003. As part of the Open Qualifying Series, the winner and runner up of the KOLON Korea Open have received exemptions into the Open Championship. Past tournament winners at Woo Jeong Hills include Vijay Singh, John Daly, Rickie Fowler, Y.E. Yang and K.H. Lee.
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Photo: Cynthia Dye McGarey (third from left) and her team in South Korea (Dye Designs Group)