Sea Island Life Magazine Spring/Summer 2014 | Page 44

Davis Love III (middle) and Mark Love (right) with their mother, Penta Love

design,” Mark Love says. “Through time and
our experiences, like anybody, you become
aware of the architecture [and] look at things
you like and [the] changes you’d like to make.”
Along with family history, Davis Love III’s
success as a professional golfer also moved
opportunities to put his name on courses, he
didn’t want to do so without a better knowledge of the work behind it, Mark explains.
from scribbling hole ideas on napkins to
enlisting the services of industry veterans Bob
amid Davis’ prime on the PGA TOUR.

Carving a Niche
Through years of design, Fazio and the Loves
developed styles and philosophies that complemented each other on Sea Island, creating

The Seaside Course at Sea Island is framed by tidal creeks and dunes.

courses for a wide range of skill sets.
and countless other renovations under his belt,
Fazio’s all-encompassing portfolio has one constant throughout: Nothing is constant.
“My basic philosophy is always trying to
create distinctive, unique, custom-crafted golf
courses,” Fazio explains. “Every place is different. For me to work at a place like Sea Island, for
example, and create a golf course like Seaside ...
that’s what I like to do.”
As Fazio’s solo career began to boom in
the mid-1970s and a family followed shortly
thereafter, his individualistic style allowed
him to commute to job sites around the East
Coast by personal plane, dropping his kids
off at school in the morning, jetting off to a
design project and returning home in time
for whatever activities or performances his
six children had in the evening.

In order for Fazio to remain in demand
amongst developers, he had to create courses
that were unique. Even still, certain Fazio
trademarks have come to be expected when his
name graces a project.
“[Fazio] says he is 80 percent artist as
opposed to architect,” Ginella says. “He goes
after design projects trying to make a goodlooking, easy-on-the-eyes golf course from
tee to green. Every tee ... on a Tom Fazio golf
course—it’s drawing you in; you’re either
being pulled in or you’re pulling out your camera because it’s so good to look at.”
himself with any one school of design, the
Love brothers have embraced a style that

Davis played on the [PGA] TOUR and courses
worldwide, it was typically the golf courses
that were more traditional in nature and minimalist that we liked,” says Mark, who saw
those same courses as his brother’s caddie.
were not over-the-top or terribly noticeable.
[they] had been there a long time because the
golf courses that we went out and played and
enjoyed had those characteristics.”
Such minimalist notions came back in vogue
in the mid-1990s, around the time that the
Loves got into designing. The decade prior
saw mountains being moved—literally and

Retreat Course, the Loves’ first renovation project

Renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio

The Loves try to marry their minimalist
foundation with aesthetically pleasing holes

44 SEA ISL AND LIFE | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

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