The 15 best golf courses in Oregon (2022/2023)

By: GOLF's Course Raters and Ran Morrissett, Architecture Editor December 28, 2022

Pacific Dunes at Bandon Dunes Resort earns top honors for the state of Oregon.

David Cannon/Getty Images

As part of GOLF’s course rating process for 2022-23, our fleet of 100-plus expert panelists identified the best golf courses in Oregon. Browse the links below to check out all of our course rankings, or scroll down to see the best courses in Oregon.

SYMBOL GUIDE
1 = Top 100 Course in the U.S.
P = Public/Resort Course
V = Top 100 Value Course in the U.S.
M = Top 30 Municipal Course in the U.S.

Ed. note: Some courses were omitted from our rankings because they did not receive enough votes.

The best golf courses in Oregon (2022/2023)

1. Pacific Dunes (Bandon) [1, P]

This unconventional Tom Doak treasure catapulted him into the spotlight at the turn of the century. A slew of par-4s on the first nine gives way to a 3-3-5-4-3-5 start to the second nine. Only Mike Keiser would have approved of such an unusual par sequence and this course helped modern architecture break free from certain design shackles that had constrained designers over the past five decades. Scattered blow-out bunkers, gigantic natural dunes, smartly contoured greens and Pacific panoramas complete Doak’s first masterpiece.

2. Bandon Trails (Bandon) [1, P]

Several of Coore & Crenshaw’s finest designs are located at hard-to-access private clubs but many of their works thankfully are available to the public, often courtesy of developer Mike Keiser. Trails is one of their best — public or private. The routing works its way over and across heaving dunes and through an enchanting coastal forest, and the fact that you don’t miss the sight of the nearby water for most of the round speaks volumes to its design quality. The 3rd through the 5th is a particularly inspired stretch of inland golf, featuring an exemplary par-5, par-4 and par-3.

3. Bandon Dunes (Bandon) [1, P]

Bandon’s original course is a David McLay Kidd design draped atop craggy headlands above the Pacific. Ocean views stun the senses, along with bluff-top sand dunes sprinkled with Scotch broom and gorse bushes, coastal pines, crashing surf, wind-whipped tall native grasses and stacked sod bunkers. The most memorable seaside tests are the par-4 4th and 5th, the par-3 12th and the drivable par-4 16th, each with eye-popping scenery and enjoyable risk/rewards. The 2020 U.S. Amateur telecast from here was captivating.

4. Old Macdonald (Bandon) [1, P]

True to its name, this Tom Doak-Jim Urbina collaboration pays tribute to the Golden Age giant, Charles Blair Macdonald, who himself was famed for paying tribute through his portfolio to template holes. The Redan. The Short. The Long. The Eden. Nods to all of these are on display here, along with cap-tips to the Road Hole at St. Andrews and the Double Plateau green that Macdonald first employed at National Golf Links. Yet for all its emulation, Old MacDonald leaves a unique impression, with deep, riveted bunkers and firm fescue turf that make for as faithful an Old World links experience as any public-access course in the United States.

5. Sheep Ranch (Bandon) [1, P]

A masterpiece of routing, the most recent addition at Bandon Dunes occupies the smallest plot of the property’s five 18-hole courses but boasts the longest stretch of coastline, with nine greens set on the seaside bluffs. Another striking feature is the absence of bunkers. Holes are framed instead by gorse, native grasses and a smattering of dead trees known as “snags.” Several of these ghostly sentinels stand astride the par-5 1st hole, which bends over a ridge and toward the water for one of the game’s most stirring ocean reveals.

6. Silvies Valley Ranch – Craddock/Hankins Reversible (Seneca) [P]

7. Eugene (Eugene)

8. Waverley (Portland)

9. Pronghorn – Fazio (Bend) [P]

10. Astoria (Warrenton)

11. Bar Run (Roseburg) [P]

12. Pumpkin Ridge – Witch Hollow (North Plains)

13. Pronghorn – Nicklaus (Bend) [P]

14. Crosswater (Three Rivers) [P]

15. Tetherow (Bend) [P]

How we rank our courses

For GOLF’s course rankings lists, each panelist is provided a list of hundreds of courses and “buckets,” or groupings. If they believe the course to be among the best in its category (World, U.S. Value, etc.), they check the corresponding box to place it in a specific bucket. Panelists are also free to write in courses they felt should have been included on the ballot. Points were assigned to each bucket; to arrive at an average score for each course, we divide its aggregate score by the number of votes. From those point tallies, the courses are then ranked accordingly.

The key to the process is the experience and expertise of our panel. Hailing from 15 nations and all the worldwide golf meccas, each of our 115 handpicked panelists has a keen eye for architecture, both regionally and globally. Many of our panelists have played more than 1,000 courses in 20-plus countries.

Because we don’t prescribe a set method to assess courses as other ranks do, no one opinion carries the day — our rank is a democracy. Some panelists believe that enjoyment is the ultimate goal, and thus prioritize design attributes such as width and playing angles, while frowning on upon having to constantly hunt for balls in thick rough. Other panelists value challenge and the demands of hitting every club in the bag. Still others consider a course’s surroundings and overall environment of paramount importance, thereby emphasizing the setting and naturalness of the course. In the end, allowing raters to freely express their tastes is what produces the desired eclecticism in our Top 100 lists.

Panelist integrity is vital. Voters with any ties or associations to eligible courses must flag such conflicts. Panelists also know not to let the quality of their play influence their ballot — same for a luxe experience or clubhouse. While opulence may make for a more a memorable outing, it’s not what GOLF’s course lists are about. Our focus is on design and architecture. We study the course, not the trappings around it.

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