[Lou:
Thank you for that story! On the drive from El Saler back to Madrid today, my host Alfonso Erhardt was asking me why mentions of Tom Fazio draw such irate responses on GCA. I tried my best to explain, but now I can just point him to your post!
I have not built nearly as many courses as Mr. Fazio, and am admittedly not as good at "getting things done for" my clients, if by that you mean spending their money in outrageous chunks. I have designed 29 courses and have yet to feel the need to rip a new canyon anywhere at the cost of $1 million.
I guess the most expensive hole I've ever buillt would have to be at Stone Eagle or at Rock Creek, since they were all rock and the budgets were naturally higher. My best guess would be that it was the sixth at Stone Eagle, or possibly the 13th or 14th.
Tom,
I was invited to the grassing ceremony at Dallas National by one of the founding members who was a neighbor of the developer. Through him I got to meet Fazio, several members of his staff, and "the client". My friend and I had Mr. Fazio to ourselves for only 10 minutes or so before other people started moving in to form an audience. I sensed that Fazio is probably similar to you in personality, a bit introverted (in a good sense; private, if you will), but could shift into marketing mode with some ease. He seemed to remain within a script, and in this context the story about #17 conveyed a primary theme of Dallas National- unlike any other in north Texas; a club where no expense was spared to achieve excellence.
It should be noted that DN was organized and built during a difficult time in the local economy. It boasted a $30 Million budget, by far the most expensive course ever built in this part of the country, and six figure initiation fees known only at that time at the highly exclusive men's-only Preston Trail GC. The concensus opinion in the area was that it would never get off the ground; and when it did, that it would never be completed; and when it was, that it would not be financially viable. The developer proved everyone wrong, the club has completed its conversion to member-owned, and I heard that he is now in the process of replicating the experience in CO with Fazio at his side.
If you are to use my example with Alfonso or anyone else, you may also wish to also point out that the composition of this website includes a lot of people who are impaired myopically with a serious case of class envy. This group fails to understand that without profit, wealth, and investment, most of us are left to our own devices to scratch out a living. Ironically, though they detest large budgets and expensive golf courses, they have no similar problems with government running trillion dollar deficits.
I really don't know that much about Fazio's portfolio, but are there some of his designs in default or in the process of closing down? Not that he has any responsiblity for the financial structure of the courses he designed, but if so, what percentage of his portfolio do these comprise? Is it the role of an architect to talk his client down from the type of course he wants to build? Is the golf architect now a feasibilty and financial expert?
BTW, what are your thoughts on El Saler?
Mike Nuzzo,
Despite your fantastic achievement at Wolf Point, you are, my friend, relatively high on the learning curve. I think very highly of DN's #17, particularly in the context of the three demanding finishing holes. I find them all very good individually, as a group, and in their position in the routing. The canyon is also very cool, though if it was my $1 Million, I don't know that I could have pulled the trigger.