Fazio Realizes Dream
Caves Valley Ready To Face Senior Golf’s Best

Baltimore, Md. -- Thirteen years ago Tom Fazio got a phone call.  On the other end was an investor raving about a “great piece of land” on which he wanted Fazio to build a golf course.

It wasn’t by any means a rare call in the life of a golf course architect.  “I hear that all the time,” said Fazio on Wednesday.  “Most of the time it’s semi-exaggerated.” 

When Fazio made the trek out to the plot of land in a hilly, wooded area north of Baltimore, his attitude turned from skepticism to amazement.  The 962 acres of lush, rolling hills, traversed with natural streams and lakes, seemed a perfect setup for a golf course.  “They may have under-exaggerated how good [the land] really is,” said Fazio.  “I was excited from day one.”   

By 1991, the plot of land that was a course architect’s dream had been transformed into a golfer’s paradise.  Caves Valley Golf Club opened and immediately drew raves as a tough, challenging test of golf played on a breathtakingly beautiful setting.  And Caves Valley set itself apart from typical country clubs with its membership policies and facilities.  No tennis courts.  No swimming pool.  Walking was encouraged, and carts were restricted to narrow paths.  Serious golfers only, please. 

The golf community was quick to recognize the course’s potential as a top-rate tournament site, and the USGA selected Caves Valley to host the 1995 Mid-Amateur.  As the host of the U.S. Senior Open this year, Caves Valley became the youngest course (at just 11 years old) to ever host the prestigious event. 

“The idea was always that there would hopefully be some major championships,” said Fazio.

It’s rare for a young course to be so honored in the tradition-bound golf world.  But then, Caves Valley is no ordinary golf course. 

The man charged with keeping up the high standards of maintenance and ensuring that the potential of this Fazio-designed classic is realized is Caves Valley course manager Steve Glossinger.  Glossinger described his position by this: “Tom is the artist, he created the masterpiece, and basically I just preserve it.” 

This means the course must be kept in top condition year-round. Now throw in trying to oversee its transition from a private club to a championship venue and you understand Glossinger has been a busy guy.  

According to Glossinger, although the course is always maintained to high standards, preparing Caves Valley for the Open presents new challenges for the surface.  Readying the course for play each day will require a massive effort from staff members and volunteers (including volunteer superintendents and assistants from nearby courses eager to pitch in for the Senior Open).  At the caffeine-demanding hour of 4:30 every morning, the crews hit the links to make sure the course is watered, cut, trimmed, raked, prepped and ready for the golfers. 

The greens, built to USGA specifications, will be groomed to play at 12 to 12.5 on the stimpmeter for the Senior Open (Caves Valley’s greens usually register around a 10).

“The greens go under a tremendous amount of stress,” said Glossinger.  “You want to keep them firm, so you have to keep the moisture off.” 

The greens will require constant attention and maintenance throughout the championship. 

The fairways and rough will be trimmed regularly to keep the grass at desired length (half an inch for the fairways and topped at 4 inches for the rough).  Glossinger described the fairway width as “generous for an Open,” averaging between 30 and 34 paces. 

But the real challenges for the golfers contesting the Senior title will come from the course length and the terrain.  At 7005 yards, the par-71 Caves Valley will be one of the longest courses in Senior Open history (the record remains with the 7,055 yard Edgewood Tahoe G.C. in Nevada, which hosted the 1985 Senior Open).  More important, there is a 200-foot difference in elevation between the course’s highest and lowest points.  The unique and challenging contours of each hole will force golfers to think hard about every shot, and place a premium on shot accuracy and smart play.

Early Thursday, the maintenance efforts will shift into high gear to prepare the course for the first round of the championship.  “It’s a big task,” said Glossinger.  “But we’ve been preparing for a long time and I think we’re ready to go [Thursday].” 

When the first golfers tee off at 7:15 a.m., Caves Valley will write a new chapter to its 11-year history.  The course that started out on Tom Fazio’s drawing board will put to the test by the best senior golfers in the world. 

“When I was out there today taking a tour and walking the back nine and watching the players, it’s kind of nice to be a part of people’s dreams,” said Fazio.  “That’s what this was, a dream to start with, 13 years ago or something like that, and all of a sudden here it is.” 

E-mail Kevin McManemin at kmcmanemin@usga.org with questions or comments.