Top 10 Golf Courses in Oregon
Oregon changed the trajectory of American golf design when Mike Keiser opened Bandon Dunes on the southern coast in 1999. The idea that a world-class walking-only golf destination could be built on a remote, wind-swept stretch of the Pacific Coast — away from major airports, without cart paths, in the persistent rain and fog of the Oregon coast — seemed eccentric. Two decades on, Bandon Dunes is one of the most celebrated golf resorts on the planet, having spawned four distinct 18-hole courses and a 13-hole short course, each by a different designer. Oregon has more to offer beyond Bandon — Portland's Pumpkin Ridge has its own championship history, and the Cascade foothills hold quietly excellent parkland courses — but the coast put the state on the global golf map.
1. Bandon Dunes Golf Course, Bandon
Designed by David McLay Kidd and opened in 1999, Bandon Dunes was the course that started everything. Kidd was 29 years old when he designed it and the result was a genuine links, built on Pacific bluffs over the ocean with native fescue, gorse, and exposed fairways that funnel and deflect the coastal wind. The par-4 fourth plays directly toward the cliff edge with the Pacific Ocean 100 feet below; the closing stretch turns back toward the clubhouse through open duneland. Bandon Dunes plays to a par of 72 at approximately 6,800 yards. It is a public walking resort; access is open, with green fees at the destination-resort level.
2. Pacific Dunes, Bandon
Tom Doak designed Pacific Dunes in 2001 and many observers consider it the superior course at the resort. Doak's routing sits higher on the bluffs with more direct ocean exposure and a routing that sweeps with the duneland topography in a way that feels inevitable. The Pacific Dunes greens are among Doak's finest work — complex, readable, and responsive to the ground game. Holes 11 through 13 along the bluff edge are among the most dramatic sequences in American golf. Playing Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes back-to-back over two days is the minimum reasonable visit.
3. Old Macdonald, Bandon
Tom Doak and Jim Mordecai designed Old Macdonald as a tribute to Charles Blair Macdonald, the father of American golf design, using Macdonald's template holes — Redan, Eden, Alps, Road Hole — as conceptual material for the routing. Opened in 2010, the course sits inland from the ocean on a flatter site than the bluff courses and plays with wide fairways, massive greens, and vast bunker complexes in the style of Macdonald's National Golf Links. It offers a fundamentally different golfing experience from the oceanside courses and rewards players who understand strategic architecture.
4. Bandon Trails, Bandon
Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2005, Bandon Trails is the only course at the resort that plays entirely inland, through the dune forest and meadows behind the bluff. The routing alternates between open duneland and dense shore pine forest, creating a sequence of contrasting environments. Coore and Crenshaw's approach — minimal earthmoving, maximum use of existing terrain — is evident throughout. Several of the par 3s threading through the trees are among the most atmospheric holes at any course in Oregon.
5. Sheep Ranch, Bandon
The fifth course at Bandon Dunes, Sheep Ranch was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2020. It occupies the original sheep ranch property at the northern end of the resort with uninterrupted ocean views from every hole. The layout is deliberately unconventional — there is no fixed routing, no traditional par assigned to holes, and no markers beyond the tees and flags. It plays as a deliberate throwback to golf in its most elemental form. Sheep Ranch is open to Bandon Dunes resort guests only.
6. Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (Ghost Creek), Cornelius
Designed by Bob Cupp and opened in 1992, Ghost Creek at Pumpkin Ridge is one of the finest public-access courses in the Pacific Northwest. The layout plays through a mix of open meadow and dense Douglas fir forest in the Tualatin Valley west of Portland, with Ghost Creek running through several holes to create risk-reward decisions. Pumpkin Ridge hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1996 (Tiger Woods won his third consecutive title here) and the U.S. Women's Open in 1997 and 2003. Ghost Creek remains publicly accessible; the adjacent Witch Hollow course is private.
7. Brasada Ranch Golf Course, Powell Butte
Designed by Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy and set on a high desert ranch in the foothills east of the Cascades, Brasada Ranch offers a fundamentally different Oregon golf experience from the coast or the valley. The course plays across open range land with views of Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington, and the Three Sisters. The wide fairways and panoramic setting make it a relaxed, enjoyable resort experience. The ranch offers lodging and is open to the public.
8. Sunriver Resort (Crosswater Club), Sunriver
Robert Cupp designed Crosswater at Sunriver Resort near Bend, opening in 1995. The course plays through dense ponderosa pine forest with the Deschutes River and Little Deschutes River crossing through the routing, creating significant water challenges. At nearly 7,700 yards from the tips, it is one of the longest public-access courses in the Pacific Northwest. Crosswater has hosted PGA Tour events and the U.S. Amateur. It is semi-private, accessible to Sunriver Resort guests.
9. Tokatee Golf Club, McKenzie Bridge
Set in the McKenzie River valley east of Eugene, Tokatee was designed by Ted Robinson and opened in 1966. Golf Digest ranked it among the top 25 public courses in America for several consecutive years — an extraordinary accolade for a modest resort facility. The course plays beneath the Three Sisters volcanic peaks with the McKenzie River nearby; the setting is as beautiful as any in inland Oregon. Green fees are very modest, making it exceptional value.
10. Columbia Edgewater Country Club, Portland
Designed in the 1920s and set along the Columbia River north of Portland, Columbia Edgewater is Oregon's most prestigious private club and the oldest surviving 18-hole course in the state. The parkland layout has been sensitively maintained through numerous renovations and has hosted the Portland Open multiple times over the decades. It is a private club accessible only through member invitation.
Oregon is a year-round golf destination in the Portland and Willamette Valley areas, though the coast and mountains see more restricted seasons. Bandon Dunes is at its best in summer and early autumn, when the wind is manageable and the light extraordinary. The coastal courses play in any weather — the resort is designed for it — but summer conditions are preferable for visitors who want to appreciate the scenery fully. Green fees at Bandon are at the premium end; the inland and valley courses offer very good value. Open the map to explore Oregon's remarkable range of golf from the Pacific bluffs to the Cascade high desert.