Anyone who has experienced a golf course construction project knows that the final product is a process of evolution. The same is true of the infamous 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. Standing on the tee, one cannot help but wonder where the inspiration truly came from.

It is well known that Pete Dye's wife Alice had the initial vision of the island green. Original plans only featured a small pond separating Nos. 16 and 17 that was to be more in play on the former. As earth was moved, the footprint grew and the pond crept into play on 17. Pete Dye famously said "we just kept digging. And then one day Alice came out and said, 'Why don't you just go ahead and make it an island?' So we did." 

It would be easy to reduce this to a punchline — a husband and wife bickering over a design decision that spiraled into one of the most famous holes in golf. The story could be presented as such because it is amusing and convenient. It's also a fallacy. 

Alice Dye was not an old-fashioned stay-at-home wife. She knew business. She knew people. And she knew golf. 

Alice was a true life partner to Pete and a significant part of his success as a golf course architect. She was a polished amateur golfer herself and well respected within the business. In a time where women were typically kept out of meeting rooms and away from construction projects, Alice was an active participant with a credible voice. She handled many logistical and regulatory discussions, helped Pete to interpret contour maps, and played a direct role in inspiring and refining many of Pete's famous designs. 

Commanding respect equal to that of her husband, Alice was the first female member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Later, she was elected as the first female president of the society. When Alice died, her impact on the game of golf was recounted by people she touched in the golf world. They praised her for her knowledge of the art, her influence on Pete Dye designs and her impact on women's golf. Colleagues widely agree that she was Pete's voice of reason and a valuable partner. 

No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass was not built amid an argument, it was envisioned by a powerful woman who garnered respect from her exclusively male peers in a time where that was unheard of. While players might curse her name after dunking two shots in the water, her impact on golf reaches far beyond the island green.

— Ryan Bain, assistant superintendent Noyac Golf Club, Sag Harbor, New York