Hitting the range with Tom Fazio

Sports Illustrated senior writer John Garrity was a 42-year-old 8-handicapper when he suddenly lost his swing. Since December 1989 he has been looking for it -- a modern-day Odysseus adrift on the troubled waters of swing theory. As Garrity travels the world reporting on golf, he visits as many driving ranges as he can, avoiding the dreaded "mats only" ranges that prevent him from teeing it up.

Monday, Feb. 18

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- A scary moment today. At the recommendation of golf architect Tom Fazio, I drove down PGA Boulevard and turned in at the lushly landscaped gates of the new Mirasol development. A bag boy met me in the parking lot of The Country Club at Mirasol, strapped my four-club carryall on the back of the cart, and pointed me in the direction of the practice range. And that's when I saw it -- a new, low-profile office building with these chilling words on the facade: Golf Digest Schools National Headquarters.

Gasping for air, I veered my cart to the left as I passed. The building's doors were closed and there was nobody on the concrete apron, but I had the eerie feeling that someone might bolt out of a door on the side and rush at me with a straitjacket. It was a ridiculous notion, I admit, but regular readers of this column know that all my troubles started at a Golf Digest School, more than a decade ago. (OK, not all my troubles. That business with the teenage girl at a Backstreet Boys concert in Pasadena had nothing to do with golf.)

Once I was safely past the building, I enjoyed my hour at Mirasol. It has one golf course already, an Arthur Hills layout, and Fazio is working on a second. I was there for the practice range, of course, and found it to be a first-rate facility. The grass tee was huge, the ball pyramids freshly stocked, the water cask filled with cool H₂O. The only drawback was a fresh gale out of the northeast, which made the closest target green unreachable with anything less than a 9-iron.

I hit balls for an hour and then left, giving the Golf Digest building plenty of room on my way back to the parking lot.

Tuesday, Feb. 19

JUPITER, Fla. -- You've heard of Tom Fazio. He's the highly regarded designer of Shadow Creek, Black Diamond, Wade Hampton and dozens of other high-end golf courses. He is also the king of range designers. His arboreal practice complex at World Woods, in Homossassa Springs, Fla., is still the finest I've ever seen. His remodeled range at Hallbrook Country Club, in Leawood, Kan., makes me want to sneak on at night for a few furtive swings.

I visited Fazio at his Jupiter office today to talk about his remodeling work at Augusta National Golf Club. Afterward, we crossed the street for lunch and a quick look at the Jupiter Hills Club, the magnificent layout that Fazio helped his uncle George build three decades ago.

"Got your clubs with you?" Fazio asked.

"Four of 'em," I replied.

"That's plenty. Let's hit some balls."

I fell in love with Jupiter Hills at first sight, and not just because it has two practice ranges. The hills are real -- big sandhills that afford sweeping views you normally don't find in South Florida. The par-3s are incredible, the bunkering picturesque, the landscaping to die for. I could see why many locals put Jupiter Hills above Seminole Golf Club, the Donald Ross masterpiece just down the road.

After a quick tour of the course in a golf cart, Fazio and I spent a delightful 45 minutes hitting balls downwind from the east end of one of the ranges. He swung a little tentatively at first -- a strained back had him lying on the floor for three days last week -- but he was soon swatting balls downrange with a rainbow draw. (I call it a draw instead of a hook because he curved most of his shots to the target.) His bag was full of Adams Tight Lies clubs, both metal woods and irons. When I showed him my Adams 6-iron, with its sharp, spatula-like clubface, he nodded. " Barney Adams is a great guy," he said, "and I really like the clubs."

When he was sure his back could handle it, Fazio pulled out the hammer -- a big PING driver that he had acquired recently and fallen in love with. "I just feel comfortable with it," he said, proving the point with an easy swing that sent a ball downrange with the same right-to-left flight. A few minutes later he stopped, looked around, and took a deep, grateful breath. "What a perfect day. Could anything be more enjoyable than this?"

My answer: "Nope."

Watch this space for another installment of Mats Only. To send John Garrity advice, share your experiences, or suggest a driving range, click here.

 

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