The Dye Course at the PGA Golf Club - Port St. Lucie, Florida

- Last year the PGA closed down its Ryder and Wanamaker Courses for a make-over. This summer it was Pete Dye’s turn to tweak his award-winning masterpiece, the Dye Course at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

With work now complete and golfers at the ready, the ribbon was cut.

The upgrades are numerous and immediately noticeable. The idea this summer was to make the course more playable for golfers of all abilities. Instead of converting the award-winning track into resort-style golf, the renovations stay true to the original links-style setup that many have come to love ... and for some, hate.

"The redesigned Dye Course is a testament to natural golf," stated Joe Steranka, PGA of America's Chief Executive Officer.

Golfers will continue to notice the stunning contrast throughout the golf course. The natural colors of the tees, fairways and greens stand out vividly against the brilliant white of the crushed coquina stone. Every golfer will be pleased to find that the coquina is less intrusive on shots that miss fairways and greens and, thanks to a new irrigation system, is much easier to play from. You will also notice much less dust from the new coquina on windy days.

In a time when course superintendents must carefully watch their water usage and the impact of chemicals on surrounding wetlands, lakes and streams, the Dye Course may set a new standard.

"I'm extremely proud of the results," Dye said. "(This) is the most environmentally friendly golf course in the world."

The first significant change to the course appears on the very first hole. From the back tees golfers will find the hole playing 20 yards longer than before. New landscaping and shaping of the hole has produced an open, bowl effect offering players an immediate view of the beautiful 100-acre "Big Mamu" wetland that the course winds its way around.

In all only 50 yards was added to the course, bringing the distance from the tips to 7,200 very intimidating yards.

To improve playing conditions, all 18 greens have been rebuilt with Champion UltraDwarf grass. Every teeing ground was also redone with Paspallum Supreme grass. The result is a course that will keep its near-perfect playing conditions year-round.

One of the most noticeable changes is the planting of 450 trees throughout the course. The area around Pete's Turn, where the ninth and 11th greens, along with the 10th and 12th tees intersect is the site for 150 of those trees.

The new trees in this busy area will help to deflect and absorb much of the noise as several groups pass through on their way to the next hole or as they stop for a quick beverage or snack at the hospitality house.

All of the greenside bunkers received new sand, and the greens on the second, fifth, sixth and ninth holes were redesigned to allow for additional pin locations. A lot of the overgrowth along the borders of the holes was trimmed and opened up to allow for better views of the natural beauty surrounding the Dye Course. Even those pesky palmettos have been thinned and cleaned out making for fewer lost balls and faster play.

With this new look and feel, it's quite easy to forget that you're playing golf in a residential development. Still present is the quirkiness of the course that many have come to love or hate. I, for one, am glad. After all, weird bounces are an integral part of what links golf is all about.

I've always been a fan of Pete Dye and the Dye Course. It's time for you to become one again or for the first time.