Crooked Stick Golf Club by Chris Wirthwein



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The definitive history of Pete Dye’s famed
“Top 100” golf course

The story of Crooked Stick Golf Club begins on the evening of February 17, 1964 when a small group of individuals gather for cocktails and dinner in downtown Indianapolis. After the meal, they listen as young Paul (Pete) Dye, Jr. and four of his colleagues describe an ambitious plan to build “the finest golf course in this area.”

Crooked Stick Golf Club recounts events leading up to and following that evening, but it is also the story of champion golfers and acclaimed course designers Pete and Alice Dye.

After a golfing trip to Scotland in 1963, the budding course designers returned to Indianapolis energized and determined to apply their newfound knowledge and appreciation for the ancient game to a course of their own. Crooked Stick was and still is that course.

From scouting and acquiring the land, to hawking the idea to members, and digging in the dirt to bring the course to life out of shapeless farm land, Pete and Alice Dye have put nearly a half century of their care and genius into what they often refer to as their “firstborn.” The result of this devotion speaks for itself.

Crooked Stick has been a perennial selection as a Top 100 course in the U.S. since the 1970s. The golf-only club has hosted six USGA National Championships, the 1991 PGA Championship (won by John Daly), the 2005 Solheim Cup matches, and is slated to host the 2012 BMW Championship.

"I don’t know how Crooked
Stick came out so good.
As far as the strategy
and appearance…
if I sat here for 100 years,
I’d probably do a lot worse
– and couldn’t do any better!"

Pete Dye