Bill Coore

Bandon, OR

Bandon Trails is the third course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2005. It is the only course at the resort that never reaches the ocean, built inland by design rather than compromise. The routing moves through three landscapes. It opens in open dunes, drops into a coastal forest of shore pine and fir through the middle, crosses a meadow, and climbs back into the dunes to finish. The shelter of the trees means wind is far less of a factor here than on the resort's other courses. Greens are firm with closely mown surrounds, so recovery shots can often be putted or chipped rather than lobbed. The short par-4 14th, playing over a rise to a green tucked into a hillside, and the downhill par-3 17th, are the most talked about holes. It is walking only, with caddies available.

Bowling Green, FL

The Red Course at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Florida, was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The land was a spent phosphate mine, left behind as enormous sand piles and water-filled pits, and the golf was built directly on that terrain. Red is the more compact and abrupt of the two original courses, with greens set into dune faces and on high shelves, and several short approach shots to targets that fall away on multiple sides. The par-3 16th plays across sand to a green pressed against a lake, and it shares a double-green complex with the Blue Course's corresponding hole. There is no housing, no cart paths in the usual sense and no other course in sight for most of the round. Streamsong is a walking resort with caddies, though carts are available in the afternoon. Red sits alongside Blue by Tom Doak and Black by Gil Hanse. Pub 59 is inside the shared Red and Blue clubhouse, overlooking the putting green and Bye Hole. Pub fare, 16 draft beers and a wall of sports screens make it Streamsong's most direct casual stop after a round on Red.

Bandon, OR

Sheep Ranch is the fifth 18-hole course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2020. It sits on a bluff top with roughly a mile of Pacific coastline, with several holes playing along the cliff edge and over water. The most unusual thing about it is what is missing: there are no bunkers anywhere on the course. Defense comes from the wind, the cliff edges, the contours around the greens and the openness of the site, which has almost no trees. Fairways run together with few defined boundaries, so golfers often choose their own line and angle rather than following a set corridor. The land was previously an informal course with about a dozen greens used by resort insiders, which is where the name comes from. Like the rest of Bandon, it is walking only, and it plays at roughly 6,636 yards from the back tees, shorter than most of the resort's other courses. Sheep Ranch has its own clubhouse and patio for a quick stop after the round. Golfers looking for a longer meal can continue elsewhere at the resort, including McKee's Pub for a Scottish-style room or Ghost Tree Grill for steak, seafood and an outdoor fire pit.

Fort McDowell, AZ

Saguaro at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club sits on Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation land northeast of Scottsdale, Arizona. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed it, and it opened in 2006 as the second course at the club. There is no housing and no development of any kind visible from the course, which is unusual in the Phoenix area, and the routing was laid out to stay on the natural desert grade. Fairways run into one another, the transitions to native desert are ragged rather than manicured, and the greens are open in front so the ball can be played along the ground. Saguaro is genuinely walkable, which almost no desert course is, and caddies are available. It is the shorter and lower-profile of the two courses at We-Ko-Pa, alongside the Cholla course, and both are daily fee.

Kapalua, HI

The Plantation Course at Kapalua on Maui was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 1991, on hillside land above the Pacific that had been a pineapple plantation. The site falls steeply toward the ocean, and the design uses that slope on nearly every hole. Fairways are extremely wide and the ground contours feed the ball, so tee shots run out well past where they land. Ravines cross several holes, the trade wind blows almost constantly from behind on the closing stretch, and the greens are large with generous entry points. The par-5 18th drops sharply downhill and can be reached with two ordinary swings when the wind cooperates. Kapalua hosts The Sentry, the PGA Tour's opening tournament of the calendar year, each January. The course is open to resort guests and the public.

Nekoosa, WI

The original course at Sand Valley Golf Resort in Nekoosa, Wisconsin. Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2017, Sand Valley routes across ancient glacial sand barrens, with wide fairways, exposed sand, and firm, fast turf that rewards ground-game creativity and thoughtful angles over raw distance. It is walking golf on rolling dune terrain, and the course that established the resort.

Ridgedale, MO

Ozarks National at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, is a Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design that opened for play in November 2018. It sits on high Ozark ground above Table Rock Lake, with long views across the ridgelines. The course uses the natural fall of the land instead of fighting it, so tee shots often play from a high point to a fairway well below. Fairways are wide, the short grass runs into the bunker edges and greens, and recovery from a missed line is usually possible on the ground. It plays to a par of 71. It is a walkable design open to resort guests and public play, and the routing takes the same rolling terrain the resort's other courses share.

Bandon, OR

Bandon Preserve is a 13-hole par-3 course at Bandon Dunes in Oregon, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2012. It sits on a dune ridge south of the resort's other courses, with ocean views from every hole. The holes range from short pitches to full mid-irons, and the greens carry the same movement and firmness as the resort's full-length courses. Wind changes club selection dramatically, and the loop is designed to be played in a small group with the scorecard mattering less than the shots. Proceeds from the course go to the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance, the resort's conservation and community fund. Play is walking only and open to resort guests.

Fort McDowell, AZ

The Cholla Course at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club is an 18-hole resort course in Fort McDowell, Arizona, on land of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. It was designed by Scott Miller and opened in December 2001 as the club's first course. Cholla is a par 72 of about 7,225 yards, routed through desert arroyos and over ridges with no houses or roads in view. The club's second course, Saguaro, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, opened in 2006.

Bowling Green, FL

The Chain at Streamsong is a 19-hole short course at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Florida, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2024. The course has no fixed tees or par; players choose their starting point at each hole. Holes range from about 50 to nearly 300 yards, arranged in six- and 19-hole loops through oaks, sand and lakes, with a 2.5-acre putting green called The Bucket. The 11th hole plays over water to a punchbowl green. The course is built for match play and casual rounds rather than traditional stroke play.

Notre Dame, IN

Coore & Crenshaw's finest university course, and one of the Midwest's best public layouts.

Scottsdale, AZ

The O'odham Course (formerly the North Course) at Talking Stick Golf Club is located on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land in Scottsdale, Arizona, on largely flat desert terrain with views of Pinnacle Peak, Red Mountain and the McDowell Mountains. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed the course, which opened in 1997 in a minimalist, desert-links style, featuring broad angular holes, crowned greens and close-cropped run-up areas that allow ground-game approaches rather than relying on dramatic elevation. Notable holes include the split-fairway par-4 12th. The course operates as a public daily-fee facility with no artificial lakes, and wildlife including wild horses is occasionally visible from the fairways.

Scottsdale, AZ

The Piipaash Course at Talking Stick Golf Club is an 18-hole course in Scottsdale, Arizona, owned and operated by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, it opened in 1998 as the parkland-style companion to the more open O'odham Course. Tree-lined fairways of eucalyptus and cottonwood lead to elevated, well-bunkered greens that call for precise approach shots. From the back tees it plays 6,833 yards with a course rating of 72.0 and a slope of 126.

Nekoosa, WI

The Sandbox is a 17-hole short course at Sand Valley Resort in Nekoosa, Wisconsin, located a short walk from the resort's clubhouse and lodges. It was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw with Jim Craig and opened to the public in 2018, occupying a restored sand prairie within the same sand ridge that frames the resort's Mammoth Dunes course. Holes range from about 40 to 140 yards and borrow from classic template concepts, including green complexes styled after the Biarritz, Redan, and Lion's Mouth. The compact routing allows a round to be finished in under two hours and can be played entirely with a putter or a few short clubs, making it accessible to golfers of any skill level playing alongside stronger players. As part of the Sand Valley resort, access is tied to resort guests and members rather than unrestricted daily-fee public play, and green fees are notably lower than the resort's full-length courses.

Kokomo, IN

Chippendale Golf Course is a public course in Kokomo, Indiana, started by Bill Humphrey after his father, golf architect Al Humphrey, laid out the original design. The first nine holes opened in 1970, with a second nine following in 1971. Additional land purchases in 1987 expanded the property to 27 holes, but the original nine, known as the Vintage Nine, was sold and converted to gardens in 2014, leaving the 18-hole Championship course that operates today. The course remains family-run and open to public play, set within a residential area known as the Moors of Chippendale, with a clubhouse, driving range, and pro shop on site.