The Bridgeport News
Bridgeport - (Thursday, September 9, 2004)
Genesis Partners has commissioned Steve Burns, a nationally certified landscape architect and member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, to design the 18-hole golf course and nine-hole executive course to be built at Charles Pointe, a 1,700-acre model community project master planned community under construction in Bridgeport. Jamie Corton, managing partner of Genesis Partners, said Burns has promised an attractive, unique and challenging course.
"Burns Golf Design, Steve’s company, is known for their commitment to designing exceptional courses," Corton said. "Steve is an award-winning architect who spends a lot of time at the site of the course, which helps him refine the plans to make the best course. Each design is unique."
Burns courses are built to fit the natural surroundings of the area in which they are built, something important to Corton.
"Charles Pointe embraces the natural beauty of West Virginia and so will its golf course. Steve works hard to create a natural looking course, even if the hills, valleys, dunes and marshes have been created," said Corton.
"The secret is the ability to recognize the true natural character of a site and develop it to its fullest," said Burns.
Burns studied pre-engineering at Ohio Wesleyan University for one year, and received a bachelor of science degree in Landscape Architecture from Ohio State University in 1981.
Burns served as a Design and Construction Associate for Fazio Golf Course Designers, Inc. from 1981-1988. He spent his first year and a half in the office, where his responsibilities included design and drawing preparation. His last five and a half years were spent in the field, where he was the designer’s representative for six highly-rated golf course projects. His responsibilities in the field included preparation of several drawings for each project, construction observation, and a major portion of the actual golf course design, as the firm did most of its design in the field.
Today, he is responsible for all areas of activity for Burns Golf Design. He is experienced with computer-aided design, using high tech programs to produce three-dimensional images of the projected course. His design work earned him both a 1999 and a 2000 "Board Room Magazine Excellence in Achievement Award." Burns is the only architect who has won this award both years.
He has designed highly rated public and private courses in the United States and beyond, including the Hawks Nest Golf Club in Wooster, Ohio, which earned a rating of 4.5 out of five stars in the 2000-01 and 2002-03 editions of Golf Digest’s Places to Play. Another Burns course, Cobblestone Golf Course in Kendallville, Ind., shares the distinction of the Hawks Nest and also became host to a National Golf Association Hooters Professional Golf Tour event. Cobblestone was also selected "8th Best New Affordable Public Course of 1999" by Golf Digest.
Construction is slated to begin in Spring 2005.
