George Fazio

Stateline, NV

George Fazio designed Edgewood Tahoe, which opened in 1968 on the south shore of Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada. His nephew Tom Fazio has made periodic renovations to the course since. The routing sits above 6,200 feet, where thinner air adds distance to shots. Tall pines frame the inland holes, and Lake Tahoe becomes the defining presence late in the round, most notably at the par-3 17th and the closing holes that play along the shoreline. Edgewood hosted the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 1980 and the U.S. Senior Open in 1985. It has also been the home course of the American Century Championship, the celebrity event, every year since 1990. Edgewood Tahoe is a public course. Tee times open sixty days in advance, and guests staying at the adjoining lodge get earlier access to booking.

Hilton Head Island, SC

The George Fazio Course is the championship test at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort on Hilton Head Island, opened in 1974 and one of the youngest courses ever to appear on Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Best. The par-70 layout plays to about 6,873 yards with only two par 5s, an open, tree-lined front nine and a tighter, more severe back nine. It is regarded as the island's truest championship challenge.

Crete, IL

Balmoral Woods Country Club is a public golf course in Crete, Illinois, designed by George Fazio and opened in 1975. The 18-hole layout stretches roughly 6,700 yards with bentgrass tees, fairways and greens across 110 acres. It has hosted CDGA and Illinois PGA events and is the annual home of the Will County Amateur Championship. The club changed ownership in 2016 after decades with the Mortell family. Its Crete setting offers a traditional parkland test for Chicago-area golfers.

Downingtown, PA

Downingtown Country Club is a semi-private course in Chester County, Pennsylvania, designed by George Fazio and opened in the mid-1960s. The par-72 layout runs through the rolling, tree-lined terrain typical of the Philadelphia region, with bunkering that gives the course a classic look consistent with other Fazio-era designs in the area. In its earlier decades the club operated as part of a resort that drew well-known visitors, and it later passed through a period of decline before new ownership invested in course renovations, including tree removal and bunker rework, to restore playing conditions. Today the club combines a membership program with public access to tee times, and it hosts events and outings alongside regular member and public play across its four sets of tees.

Vernon, NJ

Great Gorge Golf Club in Vernon is a 27-hole public facility with one of the more unusual backstories in American golf. The course opened in 1970 as the golf arm of Hugh Hefner's Great Gorge Playboy Club and Resort, a $20 million playground that drew entertainers like Sinatra and Bennet. George Fazio designed the three nines, Rail, Lake and Quarry, which wind through rolling Sussex County terrain with big elevation changes, exposed quarry walls and views toward Mountain Creek Resort. After the resort closed and the course sat dormant, the Koffman family bought it in 2016 and restored conditions, bunkers and clubhouse amenities. The grill room is called Hef's Hut.

Oak Brook, IL

Butler National was built for businessman Paul Butler and designed by George and Tom Fazio, opening in 1972. It hosted the PGA Tour's Western Open from 1974 through 1990, with Hale Irwin and Tom Kite among the winners and amateur Scott Verplank taking the 1985 title. At par 71 and 7,523 yards it is a long, water-heavy test. The club's own guest sheet describes it as members-only, with membership by invitation.