From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
New Wynn golf course has classic, old-style feel
Well-known designer Fazio describes challenges of exclusive facility set to open April 29
By TODD DEWEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
He designed Shadow Creek, which has been regarded as one of the top golf courses in the world since opening in 1989 in North Las Vegas.
He oversaw renovations at historic Augusta National Golf Club before the 2002 Masters and has more credits on Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses than any other living designer.
In fact, the Golf Digest poll for Best Modern Day Golf Course Architect was discontinued after Tom Fazio won the award three straight times.
Fazio, who spoke at a luncheon at Bellagio on Thursday (the Stephens Inc. fifth annual Fixed Income Investment Symposium), recently completed his second collaboration with casino developer Steve Wynn -- Wynn golf course, which is located behind Wynn Las Vegas and is set to open April 29.
Fazio and Wynn also joined forces on Shadow Creek.
"It's very different than Shadow Creek. Shadow Creek is 100 acres larger in size than Wynn," Fazio said. "Wynn will be a classic, old-style golf course. There will be distinctive golf holes and the feeling of separation of holes.
"Shadow Creek tried to disguise the outside environment, because there's not much around it. But Wynn will have a distinctive, unique feeling of an urban environment, like the Bel-Air (Country Club) in Los Angeles. On a lot of holes, people will say it reminds them of Bel-Air."
Fazio, who has been designing golf courses for 40 years, kept more than 1,000 trees from the old Desert Inn course the Wynn is replacing, but everything else will be new on the par-70, 7,042-yard layout.
"The only thing that stayed was the trees, and one bridge we saved and put back," Fazio said. "The big, gigantic trees we couldn't move, we left those. The rest that we could remove we put in a nursery.
"Then we went in and graded the property and created 30 to 40 feet of elevation changes, and then we put the trees back. It's a new golf course, with new elevation, and old trees."
Fazio, who knew the old Desert Inn track well, has surprised himself with how dramatically different the course looks.
"We took out the grass and created new streams and new lakes. I'm still in awe and amazed we actually did it," Fazio said. "It's so special. If anyone has ever been there before, they'd say it's certainly not where the old golf course was. They'd never believe it.
"It is a totally different elevation. One thing we also did was create a waterscape, with streams and lakes, that takes the golfer's vision and moves it down to the golf course and not up in the sky, because in the sky is obviously downtown buildings."
Fazio said the final four holes will be the most dramatic on the exclusive course, which will only be open to hotel guests.
"The major thing is a big waterfall behind the 18th green, where we recirculate tens of thousands of gallons of water. As you leave the green, you walk under the waterfall to get to the clubhouse," he said. "There's beauty and drama. There's flowers, trees, shrubs and perfect grass. It's like a dream come true."