While golf is a recreation for millions of players, for architect Tom Fazio the agenda has always been and remains achieving bottom-line results. From the array of deep-pocketed clients who have hired him to the countless number of rounds captivating players on all skill levels.
And his bottom line has been met – countless times. In an amazing career with over 200 courses created worldwide from a career that started in the embryonic stage as a teen-ager and continues unabated as he nears his 80th birthday.
In years past, architects certainly played a critical role but resided more in the shadows. Robert Trent Jones, Sr., changed that profile starting in the 1940s and extending his involvement for several decades. The phrase, “Like the British Empire, the sun never sets on a Jones course” was most apt.
Fazio’s road to stardom started in the greater Philadelphia area. He was most fortunate with his uncle George being a prominent player in the section.
As the playing professional out of the renowned Pine Valley Golf Club, uncle George nearly captured golf’s most prestigious title at the 1950 US Open at nearby Merion Golf Club. Ben Hogan would take the title in a three-man playoff after having nearly lost his life in a horrific car accident just 16 months prior.
Uncle George mentored his young nephew and through personal networking of various contacts the move into designing golf courses began.
In the years that followed, the George and Tom combination created several courses drawing national acclaim – among them Jupiter Hills in Florida, Butler National in Illinois and Moselem Springs in Pennsylvania.
Not everything went flawlessly. The twosome opted to completely change several holes at classically designed Donald Ross layouts at Oak Hill / East in Rochester, NY and Inverness in Toledo, OH. The end result was a clear rebuke by many in the broader golf community. Interestingly, both clubs opted in recent years to remove the Fazio fingerprints and have the original character restored.
In 1982 Tom Fazio created his own company and in short order began the climb up the visibility ladder.
Sculpting sites and turning them into beautiful landscapes became his calling card. His critics derided such outcomes as overly produced and just making the game more expensive.
For developers the golf side of the equation was and remains today a practical business reality. Selling real estate is a heavy lift but a number of individuals and companies at the highest of levels realized that including desirable golf course of ultra-high quality could be the springboard for home sales. How much? In premium locations — individual lots sell for millions.
While there are no quantifiable statistics to state with certainty it’s likely no golf architect has been responsible for more dollar sales of real estate than Tom Fazio.
A major lift-off for Fazio’ career took place when he was hired by Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn in the late 1980s. Wynn wanted a golf course to showcase his domain for the richest of gamblers and a non-descript barren desert site was chosen for development.
Fazio spectacularly transformed the 350-acre site into a golf Xanadu, via, in his own words, “total site manipulation.” A reported $60 million was spent, 2.8 million cubic yards of earth moved and 21,000 mature pine trees planted. The opening of Shadow Creek in 1989 shocked the global golf word for the utter audacity in accomplishing setting the newest of high benchmarks for sheer opulence
Shadow Creek’s lift-off propelled the layout to a top ten listing by Golf Digest, not long after it opened. The course remains the highest rated original Fazio design to date although now owned by MGM Resorts.
Fazio’s rise only accelerated during the 1990s when golf course openings exceeded over 300 new courses per year. Deep-pocketed developers, having seen the impact caused by Shadow Creek, lined up like Taylor Swift concert goers desiring their own golf palaces. The Fazio golf train was not only on the tracks but speeding up to prominence and dominance.
In recent times the Fazio golf momentum ramped up to an even higher-level with his intersection with Michael Meldman, founder and chairman of Discovery Land Company. Meldman’s magic began in 2007 and soon blossomed in providing private membership-oriented properties with a detailed-oriented approach elevating the customer service approach to the highest of levels.
Fazio delivered on his side by creating riveting settings in which the golf provided a spell-binding allure. Places such as Martis Camp in the Tahoe area of California, Gozzer Ranch in Idaho, Chileno Bay in Cabo, Mexico, Summit Club in Las Vegas, Baker’s Bay in the Bahamas, Madison Club in the Palm Springs, and Corales in the Dominican Republic, along with a slew of others quickly became instant “must play” locations.
The Fazio juggernaut extended into the international area too. Updating Kasumigaseki (East) for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan. His first foray in South America came with the stunning creation of Santapazienza for the Malzoni family in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Fazio team, in concert with owner J.P. McManus, also updated the previous Trent Jones design at Adare Manor, Ireland scheduled to host the 2027 Ryder Cup matches.
Purists have long panned Fazio’s efforts. Defining them as more style than substance. However, the marketplace is the ultimate decider and the steady drumbeat of clients willing to pay large sums to secure his services and the sheer number of golfers flocking to play what he’s created provides a powerful rebuttal.
The twists and turns of life have also played a role in Fazio’s personal life. His son Logan died unexpectedly at age 44 in 2022. Logan was Tom’s right-hand person and the pathway was set for him to eventually run the operation. The shock waves from that tragic moment still remain.
Key relationships are central to Fazio’s success and he has been the consulting architect for two of the most revered clubs in the sport – Pine Valley and Augusta National.
At the former his work was praised by many in removing tree clutter and doing bunker reconstruction that only added to the natural character of the site.
At the latter Fazio’s work in updating the annual site of the Masters was not universally praised. A number of critics viewed the “new” Augusta as counter to the original premise envisioned by co-founder Bob Jones and renowned architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie. Trees were added to previously wide fairways and holes were lengthened to extremes.
Fazio’s latest effort comes at Reynolds Lake Oconee – the multi-course facility owned by Met Life and located 85 miles east of Atlanta. Fazio originally created 27-holes called The National with each nine named Cove, Ridge and Bluff respectively. The Bluff nine was expanded to a complete 18-holes and now named the Richland Course.
The late October opening had an array of people attending and Fazio himself was on hand to celebrate the moment. The new nine is located on a 75-acre parcel and routed with holes 6-14 within the 18-hole Richland course. The added holes present a distinctly different visual from the original nine bracketed by homes.
During a media briefing Fazio expounded on his design philosophy, the specific role an architect plays in the process and how course design has evolved over the years. When asked about the USGA and R&A joint decision to roll back the golf ball — starting with elite level players in 2028 and then all players in 2030 his candor was straightforward and matter-of-fact.
“I’m really interested in how they’re going to do it. And is it going to work in that regard? All I know is that we continue to build forward tees for the majority of our players that need to move up. And here we are talking about something that’s super important, talking about moving back. I think it’s blown out of proportion and it’s only, we have roughly in America, 35 golf tournaments that mean anything. It’s only 35 properties. You know, and the ones that need to do it can fix it.”
Related: Q&A with Sean Cain
Fazio turns 80 on February 10, 2025. His life clearly goes beyond intersecting with golf. Tom and Sue Fazio raised six children and have sixteen grandchildren. He and his wife founded the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County (NC) in 1993. Fazio also supports various children’s causes throughout the nation with the Tom Fazio Children’s Charity Fund, which benefits from fundraising endeavors such as Tom’s book Golf Course Designs.
When all is said and done the fingerprints he has placed on the sport will remain in place.
Fabulous Fazio – indeed.
