Nobody can mention Harbour Town Golf Links without mentioning Pete Dye in the same breath. There’s been said about each during this week’s RBC Heritage at Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C., where Dye, in 1969 created Harbour Town. Almost immediately, the names Dye and Harbour Town became inseparable – and remain that way.
John Farrell has seen that dynamic at work (and play) since he came to Sea Pines in 1989 as head professional of the resort’s Plantation Course. Farrell would later become director of golf for the resort’s three courses, including Harbour Town, which gave him unique insights into the world of not only Pete Dye, but that of Alice Dye, his wife of nearly 70 years until her death in 2019.
Alice Dye – along with Jack Nicklaus – is credited as co-designer of Harbour Town Golf Links.
“Any time i was in room with Pete, it was an honor,’’ said Farrell, now Sea Pines Resort’s Director of Sports. “But what I’m most grateful for was when I wasin a room with Pete and Alice together.
“I loved the way they talked to each other. I loved is reverence for her and she for him. I liked the way they talked to each other – how he looked to her for guidance and she to him. It was a great love story from where I sat.’’
And Farrell had the nest seat at Sea Pines.
Photo: Pete and Alice Dye