GOLF recently released its latest ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S. (2024-25), a list that includes 11 newcomers. Some of them you might know. Others you might not. Here, in our newcomer spotlights, we’ll introduce you to these rookie Top 100 gems.
Newcomer spotlight: Trinity Forest / Rank: 96th
Location: Dallas, Texas
Type: Private
Year opened: 2016
Architect: Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw
What you need to know about Trinity Forest
Just south of the city center, this course shares many of the same playing characteristics of the Old Course at St. Andrews. The ground is rumpled, and much of the fun is derived from watching balls disappear over humps or down into swales — and wondering if they will reappear. Superintendent Kasey Kauff keeps Trinity’s Zoysia fairways at lightning speed, meaning trying to maintain control of your ball over these frictionless surfaces is quite the challenge. The PGA Tour conducted an event here for several years during the rainy season, cheating viewers from appreciating how fascinating — and strategic — this Coore & Crenshaw design really is. Today, the nines are again played in the sequence that Coore & Crenshaw intended, which means that the short par-3 17th, with its innovative double punchbowl green, is in the climactic position it deserves.
What our raters say
“Coore and Crenshaw originally pledged to only build golf courses in a minimalist style on great sites and they did so with great success, exploiting the natural values of the land to the nth degree. Here, on a dismal site (a landfill) they fabricated features to create classic strategy. It is a real tour de force with superb green complexes and clever bunkering. The course shines when maintained fast and firm.”
