Fazio, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a respected player in the mid-twentieth century and competed in seven Masters Tournaments from 1947 to 1954. His best finish was 14th in 1952.
- Fazio won two PGA Tour events: the 1946 Canadian Open and the 1947 Bing Crosby Pro-Am (in a tie with Ed Furgol). He had career earnings of more than $50,000. He nearly won the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club outside Philadelphia, finishing third to Ben Hogan and Lloyd Mangrum in an 18-hole playoff. This event was recently memorialized as one of the 15 most memorable Philadelphia sports moments. Like most golfers of his generation, Fazio earned his living primarily as a club pro during his regular career years. During the 1940s, he was head pro at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles, where many of Hollywood's celebrities played.
- After his playing days were over, Fazio went on to become a well-known golf course architect along with his nephews Tom Fazio, Jim Fazio, and course designer Lou Cappelli. The foursome built many notable courses, and they are particularly noted for the shapes built into their traps - such as clover-leaves and butterflies.
- Like many touring pros of his era, George Fazio dabbled in a variety of enterprises -- in and out of the golf industry.
- He was a good enough player to win the 1946 Canadian Open and lose in a playoff in the 1950 U.S. Open to Ben Hogan. In those days, however, the meager prize money required most players to cash in on their fame in other golf-related pursuits.
- He was the head professional at six different Philadelphia-area clubs. He owned driving ranges, a car dealership, and even a scrap-metal business.
- But those pursuits became back-burner activities when Fazio discovered his calling as a course designer.
- His life changed in 1955 when he was hired to renovate Cobbs Creek for the PGA Tour stop in his hometown. A few years later, his breakthrough came with his creation of Waynesborough, a private course that he designed, owned and operated.
- For a course architect who didn't realize his calling until he was in his mid 40s, Fazio has an impressive resume of 64 designs that includes Palmetto Dunes in Hilton Head Island, S.C., Jupiter Hills in south Florida, Edgewood on Lake Tahoe, Butler National, Hershey East and Pinehurst No. 6. He also redesigned the major-championship duo of Inverness in Ohio and Oak Hill in New York.
- Most of this work was done with the help of his nephew, Tom Fazio, who later built a brilliant career in the business.
- "If not for him, I'd be caddying somewhere for a living," Tom Fazio once said.
- George Fazio was the son of working-class Italian immigrants, one of eight children. He took up caddying and playing golf at age 9. A decade later, he landed an assistant professional job and soon became a Philadelphia-area golf fixture, winning local tournaments and becoming the head professional at famed Pine Valley.
- Years later, when his design business dried up in Philadelphia, Fazio took his operations to Jupiter, Fla., where he lived his last 16 years before his death in 1986.
- While Fazio never maximized his golf talent, he never apologized for it either.
- "What are you going to do, hit golf balls for the rest of your life?" Fazio said. "I'm not saying it's wrong, but for me, it's boring. I don't think anybody should take more than five years to do anything. You should do six or eight or 20 things in a lifetime."