If Wade Hampton Golf Club were a painting, it would either be on
display somewhere or locked away as apart of some collector’s private gallery.
An obvious work of art, Wade Hampton bears the signature of Tom Fazio, whose
bold strokes have not only enhanced the beauty of one of Mother Nature’s most
enchanting creations.
Fazio, as recognized for genius among golf course architects as
Picasso is among artists, has taken a mountain setting in Cashiers, N.C. that
was already sensational and turned it into a golfing paradise. This is beauty on
beauty.
Accolades are nothing new for Fazio, of course. Entering the golf
course design business as an associate of his uncle, the late George Fazio, Tom
has put his trademark on such courses as Wild Dunes, rated 37th in the world by
Golf Digest last year, Jupiter Hills (ranked 23rd) in Florida, Butler
National in Oak Brook, Ill., Pinehurst No. 6, Devil’s Elbow at Moss Creek in
Hilton Head, the Fazio Course at Palmetto Dues, Cotton Dike on Dataw Island,
S.C., Callawassie Country Club near Hilton Head, Wachesaw Plantation at
Murrell’s Inlet, S.C. and Bay Tree in North Myrtle Beach, to name just a few.
Wade Hampton, which takes its name from a Civil War general who
enjoyed spending his summers away from the heat of Charleston by retreating to
the hills near Cashiers, has attracted national attention fro the day it opened
in May 1987. Golf Digest was so impressed that it named Wade Hampton the
“best new private course of the year.”
Fazio was not surprised. He recognized the quality of the acreage
he had to work with and simply took advantage of the backdrop of spectacular
scenery, which includes majestic granite-faced mountains, streams that wind into
infinity, and a variety of giant pines and hardwood trees that provide an
ever-changing tapestry of color.
“A course must harmonize with the environment and climate
conditions,” says Fazio. “It should leave a pleasing impression of the total
picture and not just be remembered for a few holes.”
That goal was definitely accomplished at Wade Hampton. Golfers
just completing a first round find it almost impossible to name their favorite
hole. One survey of golfers take by Director of Golf Waddy Stokes produced 13
different holes as the most memorable.
