The Pete Dye Golf Trail Interview

A Q&A with Chris Gahl

By Brian Weis

Touting more Pete Dye-designed golf courses than any other state in the U.S., in 2011 Indiana launched the Pete Dye Golf Trail, a collection of seven unique courses designed by legendary golf course architect and Indiana resident, Pete Dye.

Below is a Q&A with Chris Gahl, Director of Communications at the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association.

Brian Weis Question: How did the idea of the Pete Dye Trail come to fruition?
Chris Gahl Answer: Governor Mitch Daniels came up with the idea, and asked the Indiana Office of Tourism Development and the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association to implement.

Pete Dye has developed other great courses throughout Indiana and neighboring states. Are there long range plans to expand the trail.
As each of the seven courses were hand selected by Pete Dye, the plan is to touch base with him annually on the potential of adding additional Dye courses.

How is the trail similar to other trails? How is it different?
The Pete Dye Golf Trail is similar to other trails in that it focuses on one designer with authentic ties to an area (Dye/Indiana). It is different in that no infrastructure had to be developed to support the trail (i.e. hotels and courses).

The trail zig zags down the center of Indiana with the further courses being 183 miles apart. Is this a destination type trip where traveling golfers can play the six courses in a long weekend? Or how should golfers golf the trail?
The trail is conducive for visitors to make two-three long weekends and play the entire trail--stopping at various sites, hotels, attractions, restaurants along the away to soak in the sites.

The trail's site, PeteDyeGolfTrail.com, has some information on the courses. While there be packages for traveling golfers?
In the coming months, the trail will offer specific packages for visitors/players to utilize.

If someone wants to play the courses on the trail where can they get more information?
The best way is via the web site, PeteDyeGolfTrail.com

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Article Tags: Pete Dye Interview

Revised: 08/04/2011 - Article Viewed 34,563 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.