Joseph C. Dey Jr. was the Executive Director of the USGA from 1934 to 1969, and was pivotal in leading the effort that created the first uniform code of the Rules of Golf in 1952. This effort brought representatives from the USGA and The R&A (along with the Australian Golf Union and the Royal Canadian Golf Association) together in St. Andrews, Scotland, and London in 1951 and lead to the standardization of the Rules of Golf around the world. Dey described the atmosphere of the collaboration as follows: “There were no axes to grind, no ultra-nationalistic views. They were just golf lovers, and they worked together in complete harmony.”
Dey was the second of only three Americans to date to be elected to the position of Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.