The old adage that great partnerships can be forged over a round of golf is actually part of the history behind Jupiter Medical Center, and a cherished legacy for renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio and his family.
In the late 1960s, Tom had just begun his career under the tutelage of his uncle George Fazio, a course designer and former pro golfer. At the time, the company was headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, where Tom grew up, but the future of course development was shifting from the Northeast to the Sunbelt.
“My uncle was playing at Lost Tree in North Palm Beach in 1968 with a friend and heard about a property for sale in Jupiter,” Tom says. “In a matter of three to four days they came together to start the operation to buy and build Jupiter Hills Club. Construction started in the spring of ’69, and that’s how our family first got involved with Jupiter Medical Center. All of it was pieced together because of being in the right place at the right time.”
George Fazio and his friends—among them golf greats Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret, plus comic legend Bob Hope—joined forces for an annual fundraising golf tournament at Jupiter Hills benefitting the hospital, well before a single shovel of dirt had been turned. In the nearly 50 years since the first tournament, the Charity Golf Classic has raised almost $6 million in support of Jupiter Medical Center, which opened to the public in 1979.
Tom Fazio, who moved the Fazio Design headquarters to Jupiter in 1972, has honored that legacy of giving along with his wife, Sue, their six children, and 18 grandchildren. Tom is a Grand Founder of Jupiter Medical Center Foundation and has served as chairman of the Golf Classic for many years.
“Jupiter Medical Center is a very important place,” he says. “There are so many good charities out there, and certainly the hospital is a major consideration because it’s an important part of your life. It’s easy to forget that if you’re in good health, but we’re all going to need it at some point.”
Sue adds, “Jupiter Medical Center has taken care of all the people I love, and not one time have we had a negative experience. They are quality people who really care. And I think they’re very responsive to the community’s needs.”
The Fazios know how responsiveness and quality work can pay off for a family and the greater community. Over his 40-year career, Tom grew Fazio Design into a global powerhouse of course design and construction. He and his team—which includes son Logan, who’s now at the helm of the operation— have curated more than 200 worldclass courses around the globe, 46 of which have been ranked by Golf Digest as among the best in the United States.
Tom’s accolades include Best Modern Day Golf Course Architect, a title Golf Digest has bestowed upon him three times. In 1995, Tom became only the second course architect to receive the Old Tom Morris Award, the highest recognition awarded by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
Sue has been by his side since the 1970s, having moved from rural Ohio to North Palm Beach in 1969. They met while Sue was waitressing at a local restaurant that Tom frequented, and although she moved on to work at several area eateries, Tom always seemed to pop in for a shy hello. But that was all. Sue finally asked him why he hadn’t asked her out on a date.
“He said, ‘Because you said you always have to work,’” she recalls. “And I said, ‘Well, I can do something on a Monday night.’ We went out and that was it.” When the discussion of marriage came up, Sue says she pointedly told Tom, “You don’t want to marry me, I want six kids!” His response? “I love kids!” They went on to have six children in eight years.
The couple raised their family primarily in Hendersonville, North Carolina, while Tom worked on courses throughout the South. There, they saw a need for more programs for underserved youth and founded the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County in 1993.
Sue, who holds a bachelor’s degree in art and a doctorate in educational leadership, is a prolific painter and sells her artwork online with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the club, nearly $600,000 so far. She started an art program at the club, as well, and continues to teach young people.
The Fazios still spend summers in Hendersonville, where they stay busy entertaining family and friends, gardening, and playing golf. Tom, however, has no plans to step back from the work he loves.
“It isn’t happening,” Tom says of retirement. “I keep working to support my habits: kids, people, charities. My job is fun; almost every person I talk to wants my job.” He’s excited for several new projects Logan is managing in both Portugal and Brazil, along with an upcoming redesign of one of his original courses, John’s Island Club West in Vero Beach. He considers himself fortunate to have built a business that quite literally created some of his favorite local courses for almost daily golf outings: Jupiter Hills, McArthur, Emerald Dunes, Jonathan’s Landing, Mirasol, and PGA National among them. “I can wake up in the morning and say, ‘Where should I play today?’”
Tom credits exceptional health care from Jupiter Medical Center with keeping him in top form for work and recreation. “I’m lucky to be able to work and catch planes at 6:30 a.m.—as long as Jupiter Medical Center keeps me moving,” he says. “How can I expect to have great health care if I’m not giving? Let’s keep at the game of helping others by moving and working and giving.”