P.B. Dye Left His Mark at Olde Cypress
P.B. Dye Left His Mark at Olde Cypress
I first spoke with P.B. over the phone. He was in the Caribbean; I was back in the U.S. He was about to leave for the States, including trips to Florida, South Carolina, and to be honest, all over. We ended up meeting in S.C. to talk Olde Cypress. Truth be told, one of my favorite golf courses in a state filled with over 1,200 of them.
And speaking with P.B., it was like he'd designed Olde Cypress last year or recently. Not back in 2000. He was all sorts of charged up to talk about it; nothing in temporal order, of course! But that's what makes talking to P.B. about a P.B. Dye-designed golf course even more fun.
The First Thing P.B. Mentioned
The first thing P.B. sprang to when we started to cover Olde Cypress was the 120-yard par-3 12th hole, Oasis. It quickly became the course's signature hole and gained an epic reputation around Naples and beyond. P.B. spent a good half hour talking to me – as we rode around in a golf cart at his S.C. course – about the geological and water-based details of the inner Gulf Coast and how they impacted design and engineering at Olde Cypress.
Overall, the course sits above sea level like few others in the region. When many golfers cannot play after a big summer thunderstorm or are restricted to cart path only, Olde Cypress members can often "tee it high and let it fly." Now, P.B. REALLY enjoyed driving that point home.
Why Members Instantly Love the Course
P.B.'s objective at Olde Cypress was both simple and complex. He relayed this to me after a few hours of discussing par 3s, like the aforementioned signature 12th, par 4s of various lengths, like the 350-yard par-4 9th and 441-yard par-4 17th, and par-5s, like 505-yard 18th. To this, I can totally agree, and then some. I'm not a member, just a golfer, a longtime GWAA member, a writer for GOLF Magazine and other outlets, and a golf publicist running my own business.
I also grew up in Naples, class of '90, from Naples High. Secrets aside, even more (ha, ha), I've had the honor of playing Olde Cypress a handful of times. It's intriguing, exciting and playable. I tell P.B. this as we wrap up our day together. He couldn't agree more, buys me a soda, and makes plans for us to see each other again soon.
Off We Go, Olde Cypress!
Secrets aside, even more (ha, ha), I've had the honor of playing Olde Cypress a handful of times. It's intriguing, exciting and playable. I tell P.B. this as we wrap up our day together. He couldn't agree more, buys me a soda, and makes plans for us to see each other again soon. In my mind, I also start making plans to get down to Olde Cypress, sneak in a round at one of my favorite golf courses, and visit a few high school stomping grounds.
Thanks to Shane Sharp for the blog post about P.B. Interested in learning more about golf membership at Olde Cypress? Click here to contact Director of Membership and Marketing Melissa Hansen today.