Opened in 1991, The Plantation Course at Kapalua on the island of Maui is one of the earliest designs by the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.
In the 25 years since, the team has become one of the most coveted firms in the industry at a time when new design jobs are much tougher to come by. Their triumph at Sand Hills, a private course in Nebraska that opened in 1995, catapulted the duo to stardom, and is considered to be the birthplace of the remote, bucket-list golf experience that spawned Bandon Dunes among many other remote destinations like Prairie Club and Streamsong. Developer Mike Keiser called on the duo to design the first course at Sand Valley, while Johnny Morris appointed them to deliver the latest 18 holes to Top of the Rock and Big Cedar Lodge at his golf resort in the Ozarks.
One of their later crowning achievements wasn't a new design but a restoration of Pinehurst No. 2, which later hosted the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open. They built the third course at Bandon Dunes Resort, Bandon Trails, and also built the much-heralded second course at Cabot Links, Cabot Cliffs.
The firm has a mix of remote, tourist-first destination courses but their designs have also become favorite venues for pro golf events. Trinity Forest, a private club that will open in Dallas in 2017, will become the new home of the AT&T Byron Nelson on the PGA Tour. Colorado Golf Club, also private, hosted the 2010 Senior PGA Championship and 2013 Solheim Cup.
Their total footprint may never be as big as Robert Trent Jones Sr. or Tom Fazio simply because the number of opportunities just aren't there anymore, and the firm enjoys only working on a couple projects at a time. They've designed more private courses than public, but there are still a nice chunk of courses around the world you can play. Here is a selection of their top designs open to the public through the years, beginning with the Plantation Course, host of the SBS Tournament of Champions on the PGA Tour.
Video: Matt Ginella's Top 5 Coore-Crenshaw designs you can play
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If you're willing to travel to the far corners of the world for Coore-Crenshaw, then Lost Farm, on Australia's island of Tasmania, is calling. Lost Farm (2011) followed up the original Barnbougle Dunes course, built by Tom Doak in 2004. Courtesy of Lost Farm/Facebook
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In 2011, Coore-Crenshaw's Dormie Club opened just minutes from the Village of Pinehurst. The course is part of a new residential community. Courtesy of Dormie Club
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The opening par 4 on the Saguaro Course heads gently downhill over a rippling fairway with 360-degree mountain views. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
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Bandon Trails was added to Bandon Dunes in 2005. Despite playing further inland, it has a stayed practically as popular as the three courses closer to the ocean. The par-4 14th hole, pictured, is one of the more controversial holes thanks to a difficult a Oleg Volovik/Golf Advisor
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The Warren Course at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana is one of the more affordable Coore-Crenshaw designs open to the public. Courtesy of Notre Dame
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In 1997, Coore-Crenshaw built two courses on flat, Native American reservation land at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale. For a period, the North (pictured) was a Top 100 design, but the two remain very different from most other courses in the Phoenix-Sc Courtesy of Talking Stick G.C.
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Also in 1991, Coore-Crenshaw designed the Cliffside Course at Barton Creek, located in Ben's hometown of Austin, Texas. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
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The Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort on Maui is one of Coore-Crenshaw's earliest and most spectacular courses. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
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Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw currently building a new 18-hole course at Big Cedar Lodge, the Ridge Course at Buffalo Ridge (set on land formerly home to John Daly's Murder Rock course). Courtesy of Golf Channel Morning Drive
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Sand Valley opened in the second half of 2016 to preview play and will be fully open when the U.S. Open comes to Wisconsin in 2017. Matt Ginella/Golf Advisor
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Cabot Cliffs debuted in 2015 on Cape Breton Island. Canadian architect Rod Whitman, who designed the original Cabot Links, helped shape Cabot Cliffs for Coore-Crenshaw. Andrew Penner/Golf Advisor
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Prior to the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open, Coore-Crenshaw turned back the clock at Donald Ross's Pinehurst No. 2, returning waste areas and wire grass instead of rough and implementing single-row irrigation. Getty Images
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Florida golf will never be the same now that Streamsong has arrived. Coore-Crenshaw opened the Red course in 2013, located on an old phospate mine in a remote part of southwest Florida. Matt Ginella/Golf Advisor
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In 2012, Bandon Dunes added the Coore &Crenshaw-designed 13-hole executive course, Bandon Preserve. It was a necessary addition to the resort for golfers unwilling to play a full 36 holes in one day. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
