Bandon Dunes Golf Resort links along the Pacific coast of Oregon
Ranked · 7 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses in Bandon

No resort on earth has done more to revive the pure, walking, fescue and wind game than Bandon Dunes. Five world ranked links rise from the dunes of the southern Oregon coast, joined by a knockout par 3 course and a vast putting green. Here is how we rank all seven, best first.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, via Google

How we chose them

Bandon is unusual in that the ranking debate happens inside a single resort. Mike Keiser's vision, golf as it began in Scotland, played on foot, into the wind, with no carts and no homes, has drawn the finest architects in the game to a remote stretch of the southern Oregon coast since 1999. Every full course here would headline almost any other destination, so the order below is splitting hairs between greats, weighed on design, drama, the quality of the ground and how often we would want to play each one.

We rank the five championship courses first, then the par 3 Preserve and the Punchbowl putting course, both of which are far more than a sideshow. Designers and opening years were checked at the time of writing. Bandon is a public resort, so anyone can play, but it walks only with caddies, books out months ahead in summer and rewards a multi night stay. The verdicts and the order are ours. If you want the trip built, costed and timed to the calendar, that is what our concierge does.

The ranking

01

Pacific Dunes

Tom Doak, 2001 · links · Bandon, Oregon

The course that made Bandon a legend and remains its crown, Tom Doak's Pacific Dunes opened in 2001 and is rated by Golfweek and Golf Digest among the very best public courses in America. It is wild, minimalist links golf at its finest: holes routed right along the cliff edge, two par 3s in a row, blowout bunkers, greens that use every contour of the dunes, and a back nine of constantly shifting direction in the ocean wind. Endlessly varied and endlessly playable, it is the heart of the resort.

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02

Bandon Dunes

David McLay Kidd, 1999 · links · Bandon, Oregon

The original, and still many golfers' favorite, David McLay Kidd's Bandon Dunes opened in 1999 and announced that true links golf could be built and thrive on American soil. It runs out along the bluffs above the Pacific with huge, rumpled fairways, gorse lined corridors and several holes played hard against the cliff top. Bolder and more exposed than Pacific Dunes, it set the template for everything that followed and remains one of the great walks in golf.

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03

Bandon Trails

Coore and Crenshaw, 2005 · links and forest · Bandon, Oregon

The one that leaves the coast, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw's Bandon Trails opens and closes in the dunes and threads its middle through forest and meadow inland. Many regulars call it the best routing on the property, a masterclass in using natural land that climbs and falls through varied terrain without a weak hole. The contrast it offers, sheltered and treelined where the others are open and windswept, makes it an essential part of any Bandon trip and a frequent top 40 course nationally.

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04

Old Macdonald

Tom Doak and Jim Urbina, 2010 · links · Bandon, Oregon

A tribute to the template golf of C. B. Macdonald, Old Macdonald was built by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina on the biggest, most open ground at the resort and opened in 2010. The greens are enormous and wildly contoured, the fairways are vast, and the holes echo the classic templates, the Redan, the Biarritz, the Road and more, so the strategy reveals itself slowly over repeat plays. It is the widest and most strategic course at Bandon, made for the bouncing, ground game golf the resort celebrates.

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05

Sheep Ranch

Coore and Crenshaw, 2020 · links · Bandon, Oregon

The newest of the five, Coore and Crenshaw's Sheep Ranch opened in 2020 on a bluff with more direct ocean frontage than any other course at the resort, including nine greens perched along the cliff. It has no bunkers, relying instead on the wind, the contours and the cliff edge for its defense, and the result is exhilarating and exposed, with the par 3 sixteenth jutting out over the Pacific. The most photogenic round at Bandon, and a thrilling, breezy test.

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06

Bandon Preserve

Coore and Crenshaw, 2012 · 13-hole par 3 · Bandon, Oregon

Far more than a warm up, the Preserve is a 13-hole par 3 course by Coore and Crenshaw, set on dunes above the ocean with holes from around 60 to 150 yards and views to the sea from almost every tee. It is fiercely fun, fiercely contested and a genuine highlight of a trip, with proceeds supporting coastal conservation. Play it in the evening light after a championship round and you will understand why no Bandon visit feels complete without it.

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07

The Punchbowl

Tom Doak and Jim Urbina, 2014 · putting course · Bandon, Oregon

A two acre putting course beside the Pacific Dunes clubhouse, the Punchbowl is a vast, riotously contoured green where groups gather at dusk with a drink to settle the day's bets. It is not a golf course in the scoring sense, but it is one of the most joyful things to do at the resort, free flowing, social and wickedly difficult to read. Bandon is a place to play golf from first light to last, and the Punchbowl is how the day ends.

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Designers and opening years verified June 2026 from resort and ranking sources. Bandon is a public resort that walks only with caddies; green fees vary by season and guest status and peak in summer, so always confirm directly before booking. Read our Pacific Dunes profile, or check tee time availability.

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Tell us how many days you have and roughly when, and one concierge secures the tee times, sorts the rooms and caddies, builds the order of play and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

Bandon golf questions

What is the best course at Bandon Dunes?

Pacific Dunes, the Tom Doak design that opened in 2001, is the consensus number one at Bandon and one of the highest rated public courses in the United States. The original Bandon Dunes by David McLay Kidd and the inland Bandon Trails by Coore and Crenshaw lead the chase, and the order between them is one of golf's happiest arguments.

Can anyone play Bandon Dunes?

Yes. Bandon Dunes is a public resort, so any golfer can play all five championship courses by booking, though priority and the best rates go to resort guests staying on site. Demand is high in summer, tee times are released months ahead, and the resort is walking only with caddies available. Confirm rates, the season and stay and play packages directly before booking.

How many golf courses are at Bandon?

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort has five full 18-hole championship courses: Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, Old Macdonald and Sheep Ranch. It also has the 13-hole par 3 Bandon Preserve and the Punchbowl putting course, which together make a true buddies trip destination where you can play golf morning to night.

When is the best time to play Bandon Dunes?

June to October brings the driest, warmest weather and the firmest links turf, and the long days let you play 36 holes and more. It is also the busiest and priciest stretch. Spring and late autumn are cheaper and quieter but wetter and windier. Bandon plays year round, and many regulars love the raw drama of a winter storm off the Pacific.

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers and opening years verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.

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