With close to 200 designs scattered across the world, Tom Fazio is the preeminent golf course architect of our generation, with more courses ranked among the top 100 in the United States than anyone in the business.

Fazio’s design at Hasentree, opened in October 2007 near picturesque Falls Lake, was his 17th in his home state of North Carolina and first in Wake County. “I can take the 17 courses I’ve done in North Carolina and put them on a list and people would have a tough time trying to pick 10 courses anywhere that are any better.”

In addition to Hasentree, Fazio’s work in the Tar Heel state includes such award-winning designs as Wade Hampton, Old North State Club, Pinehurst No. 8, Forest Creek, and Eagle Point. The Hendersonville, N.C.-based architect has also designed such famous U.S. layouts as Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Black Diamond Ranch in Florida, Trump National in New Jersey, and The Short Course at Pine Valley.

While Fazio is a student of the game and appreciates “classic designs” he approaches each project on an individual basis, noting that every piece of property, every setting is a little bit different. “We get no satisfaction in building replicas or copies of holes we’ve already designed,” Fazio said. “Would an artist want to paint the same picture over and over again? Maybe, but I don’t think many would.”

“Our goal is to always beat expectation levels, to give the client something to be proud of, and something that golfers are going to say, ‘Wow, this is as good as any Fazio golf course.’ We met all those expectations at Hasentree,” Fazio said.