Tom Fazio’s Wynn Golf Club

There’s an interesting story in a magazine called Fairways and Greens about Tom Fazio’s new Las Vegas design called “Wynn Golf Club,” after the ego-maniac who developed the course and funded the earlier creation of Shadow Creek.
The result is a course on a tight piece of property (130 acres), that is big on flash, including a huge waterfall on the 18th, and comes with a big green fee (US$500).
The writer of the piece makes a slightly ridiculous comment part way through the story. Referring to the features Fazio created, the writer says this: “While some call such design statements �contrived� (as they also do with the grand gestures of another Fazio collaborator, Donald Trump), the special touches, both big and small, fit perfectly into a manmade golfing landscape that both tickles your senses and challenges your game.”
I’m not sure what a ridiculous looking waterfall has to do with good golf, but apparently this writer thinks it fits.
The most bothersome part of the story is Fazio’s reaction to questions about the $500 green fee. With golf participation numbers declining, justifying a $500 fee, especially for a course that is light years from being comparable to Pebble Beach, is hard to imagine.
But Fazio, who has never missed the opportunity to use hyperbole, says the course may be under-valued.
�I can see it being worth more,� he says.
Ok, Tom, whatever.
If you’ve got $500 that’s burning a hole in your pocket, you might want to read the full story here.