golf course designers

Our Philosophy

Burns Golf Design is committed to excellence in the design of golf courses. We strive to create the best golf course possible to meet our client's needs and desires, as well as their budget. Our goal is to create a golf course that is at once extremely memorable and challenging, yet very playable for golfers of all abilities. Through attention to detail and careful placement of hazards, we are able to obtain that goal. Our courses are well respected and award-winning, but unlike many firms, we do not bankrupt our clients to win awards.

We believe in a hands-on approach to design. Only by spending a great deal of time on site can an architect create a truly great course. On site, we can solve problems and make subtle refinements to the design, as necessary, to tailor the course to the site, and enable it to live up to its full potential. These on site refinements can make the difference between an average and a spectacular golf course. Many firms crank out large numbers of generic courses that all look alike, because they draw them up on paper and then forget about them. We spend a great deal of time on site, because we believe that each course should be an individual, appropriate to its site. We desire no trademark style--all our courses will be different.

The only thing that can be said of our courses, taken as a group, is that they all appear very natural on their respective sites. This is not to say that no earthwork or sculpting has taken place--possibly, quite a bit has, but it was done in such a way as to appear natural. Many of the spectacular hills, valleys, dunes, and marshes that appear to be native to our golf course sites may have, in fact, been created. We can take a dull site and make it beautiful, and take a good site and make it spectacular. The secret to this is the ability to recognize the true natural character of a site and develop it to its fullest.

Guest Article:

Golf course architecture

Architecture is arguably the most important element in making a golf course truly world class. One only has to think of the immense double greens of the Old course at St Andrews, the unforgiving bunkers at No 2 Pinehurst, or the stunning par-threes at Cypress Point to get some idea as to the importance of having a golf course that is designed to mix the challenging together with the unique.

Perhaps the most important aspect of golf course design relates to the manner in which it fits in with the landscape that surrounds it. Some of the best courses are those which are best set into their environment. This is may be why the Old Course at St Andrews, the worlds oldest golf course, is ranked as being one of the best anywhere on the planet.

Aside from its seemingly effortless ability to blend into the windswept background of the Scottish coast, the beauty of St Andrews is also in part thanks to its sheer difficulty. Being over 600 years old, the course has constantly evolved, having enjoyed improvements and contributions from names such as Old Tom Morris and Dr Alister MacKenzie, making it the course that it is today.

Across the Atlantic, golf courses are understandably a lot younger. However, there are some truly magnificent and exceptional course designs to be found. Cypress Point, designed by St Andrews contributor Dr Alister MacKenzie is often quoted as being the most beautiful course in America. The Santa Lucia Mountains and the Pacific Ocean provide this course with the perfect backdrop against which every golfer cannot fail but to enjoy playing. However, it is the intellect with which this course was designed and therefore with which it must be played, that really sets it apart from the rest, with the 217-yard 17th commonly considered to be the best in the world.

The No 2 Course at Pinehurst is another that has been designed to whet the appetite of many a golfer. Over 100 years ago, Donald Ross managed to suffuse the course with unforgettable small and crowned greens which remain to this day. This means that, despite the course itself being relatively open, golfers are presented with new and unprecedented challenges with each new round they play. If you are unable, not only to hit onto the green but within a 6-foot radius of the flag, your round could be a very long one indeed.

When considering American courses, Jack Neville`s Pebble Beach merits exploration. As with Cypress Point, Pebble beach can be found overlooking the Pacific. However, this is where any design similarities between the two end. Pebble beach stretches along the rocky coastline to make the Ocean into the course`s worst adversary, creating one of the few - and without doubt the most magnificent - links courses to be found in America.

If you are lucky enough to have the chance to play any of these truly incomparable courses, then Callaway golf clubs may go some way towards helping you to do your best to navigate around some of the most thought-provoking course designs to be found anywhere in the world.