10 destination-disrupting golf courses and resorts

Bandon Dunes remains the 'OG' of golf disruption. Last year, the iconic resort celebrated its 25th anniversary of changing the golf world. Bandon's arrival spurred on the "build-it-and-they-will-come" mantra for golf travelers willing to track down remote destinations. It's also the only true links golf destination in America where walking and caddies are an integral part of the fabric of the resort. The incredible popularity of the 13-hole Bandon Preserve has become the inspiration for so many other resort short courses with an odd numbers of holes.

Another interesting fact about Bandon Dunes is the destination features its own unique disruptor: Bandon Crossings. This Dan Hixson design is inland, affordable and most often played in a cart in milder wind and weather away from the coast. All of those characteristics are generally the polar opposite of the Bandon experience. Bandon Crossings is a family-owned operation that's a favorite of the resort caddies and locals. Even with all the incredible golf at the resort, it's good to escape the Bandon bubble once in a while to savor something else .

Bandon Crossings Golf Course

Bandon, Oregon

Public

4.5192333333

15

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Which of these 'disruptors' is your favorite and why? Let us know in the comments below.

Unique landforms invite unique golf courses and, if the right person is hired, truly unique architecture. Streamsong body-slams the notion that all Florida golf has to be the same. The old mining site is scarred and untamed, creating uncanny elevation changes for a traditionally flat state. When David McLay Kidd's new course opens in a couple of years, Streamsong will be the only destination in the world with courses from the Mount Rushmore of modern architects: Tom Doak, Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw, Gil Hanse and Kidd. They've all left behind such compelling designs at Streamsong that there will never be a consensus No. 1 at the resort.

Streamsong Resort

Bowling Green, Florida

Florida's hottest golf resort since it debuted in 2012, Streamsong blends chic, modern lodgings with an attractively rustic approach to golf, with three "big" courses by Tom Doak (Blue), Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw (Red) and Gil Hanse (Black). Play all three in order to join the raging debate over which one is best. A grotto-like spa, plus fishing…

It's debatable if Tobacco Road is the best course designed by Mike Strantz, but there's no argument about it being his most memorable. It's a maddening journey into the psyche of a golfer: Can you execute the shot without your fear forcing failure? It's a minefield of blind shots, terrorizing bunkers and just plain quirky fun. The fact that it's roughly an hour from some of America's most classic Donald Ross courses in Pinehurst compounds the feeling that you might be playing golf on a different planet altogether.

Tobacco Road Golf Club

Sanford, North Carolina

Public

4.9418

100

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When the United States Golf Association took the 2015 U.S. Open to a faux-links cut from an old quarry on the Puget Sound, the collective heads of the golf world exploded. The players complained about the greens. The fans on site and watching on TV didn't know what to think. Chambers Bay, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., is home to a single tree - the Lone Fir on the par-3 15th hole. Compared to the thousands of evergreens and other trees that swaddle almost every other course in the Pacific Northwest, Chambers Bay is truly one of a kind. It's a personal favorite of mine, too.

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Chambers Bay

University Place, Washington

Resort

4.8783569372

97

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This David McLay Kidd design that took more than a decade to complete isn't just changing the face of golf in Portugal. This inland homage to Bandon Dunes, complete with its all-fescue turf, could eventually change the landscape of golf in continental Europe. Check out my photo gallery below.

Europe's hot new course: Portugal's Dunas course at Terras da Comporta

The sun rises on the Dunas course at Terras da Comporta. Courtesy of James Hogg

The finishing hole (right) at Dunas course at Terras da Comporta climbs uphill. Courtesy of James Hogg

The aerial views make Dunas course at Terras da Comporta look otherworldly. Courtesy of James Hogg

David McLay Kidd cut the Dunas course at Terras da Comporta from the sandy soil. Courtesy of James Hogg

The 17th hole is the most dramatic par 3 on the Dunas course at Terras da Comporta. Courtesy of James Hogg

Golfers might not know it from the ground, but the Dunas course at Terras da Comporta is close to the ocean. Courtesy of James Hogg

Large exposed, sandy waste bunkers intrude upon the playing corridors the Dunas course at Terras da Comporta. Courtesy of James Hogg

It took more than 10 years for the Dunas course at Terras da Comporta to come to fruition. Courtesy of James Hogg

There are plans for Dunas course at Terras da Comporta to be accompanied by a massive resort and residential development. Courtesy of James Hogg

The 16th is one of two short par 4s on the Dunas course at Terras da Comporta. Courtesy of James Hogg

The wise miss is to the right on the par-3 14th hole on the Dunas course at Terras da Comporta. Courtesy of James Hogg

Golf courses in continental Europe tend to be very traditional, especially those built from the 1970s to the 1990s. Golfers living in France, Germany and Italy aren't all that sophisticated about their tastes in golf architecture ... at least not yet.

The routing and presentation of the Dunas Course at Terras da Comporta brings out the bold and beautiful in the scale of the bunkers, greens and overall hole shapes, sizes and strategies. "It's fabulous," Golf Operations Manager Debora Andrade told me during a 2023 visit before the course had officially opened. "There is nothing like this in Portugal. For us, it's very exciting. We are excited to show what we have here, and most of the people who have come here and seen it think that it is a special place."

Terras da Comporta - Dunas Course

Carvalhal, Setubal

Resort

5.0

1

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Southwest Ireland makes a strong case as the world's best links golf destination. Ballybunion, Lahinch and Waterville all belong among the world's top 100 courses, with Doonbeg and Dooks also inspiring walks along the Atlantic Ocean.

But sandwiched between these titans of rugged links is a pristine parkland of the highest order. The Golf Course at Adare Manor is no stranger to the limelight by hosting Irish Opens and J.P. McManus Pro-Ams, where the world's best players gather for charity. The biggest show sits on its doorstep: the 2027 Ryder Cup. McManus, the billionaire owner of the resort, has spared no expense to renovate and modernize the historic "calendar" house and golf course up to six-star standards.

The Golf Course at Adare Manor

Adare, County Limerick

Resort

4.7143

7

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With the seven links of the St. Andrews Links Trust located in the center of golf's most historic town - not to mention other nearby world-class links like Kingsbarns and Elie - it's hard to muster up the motivation to put the Duke's Golf Course on any itinerary to visit the Home of Golf in Scotland.

I'm here to convince you otherwise. The Duke's, owned by Kohler but is in talks to join the Links Trust family, is a wonderful curve ball in a steady diet of links golf fastballs. When your legs are about to give out from all the walking rounds on a links, you can take a cart at Duke's. It's one of Scotland's best heathland experiences. Recent renovations have greatly enhanced drainage, giving the fairways the firm-and-fast bouncy conditions golfers crave. On sunny days, everyone enjoys the exquisite views out to the St. Andrews Bay.

The Duke's Golf Course

St. Andrews, Fife

Semi-Private

4.0714333333

22

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Like the courses of Phoenix-Scottsdale, the best resort courses of California's Coachella Valley tend to be of the desert variety.

The most polarizing of the region's quasi-parkland courses is The Classic Club, which hosted the Bob Hope Classic from 2006-08 in Palm Desert. It's different in so many ways, starting with its commitment to hosting thousands of charitable rounds a year as part of the philanthropic mission of its nonprofit owner, the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation.

The Classic Club, managed by Troon Golf, is also a local anomaly in that it's loaded with more water than sand. Water comes into play on 13 holes. When the wind kicks up, it's a fierce test to keep the golf ball dry.

These unique playing characteristics and its magnificent 63,000-square-foot, Tuscan-themed clubhouse (and nice Bellatrix Restaurant) make it an annual favorite in our Golfers' Choice rankings. The Arnold Palmer design has finished among the Golfers' Choice national top 50 four times in the past decade, including 18th in 2025. It has fallen outside of the state's top 20 public courses in Golfers' Choice only once since 2014.

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The Classic Club

Palm Desert, California

Public

4.7226418754

1112

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Many golf courses surrounding the expansive Lake Tahoe are mountainous adventures like those in Truckee and Incline Village on the north shore. Edgewood Tahoe, which straddles the California/Nevada border on the south shore, is mostly flat, although that isn't its differentiator.

That would be its three holes along the lakeshore. No other Tahoe course comes close to maximizing such a special piece of real estate. This finishing stretch - a cool 5-3-5 combination - couldn't be more perfect for TV where famous amateurs, who are more prone to mental meltdowns than golf pros, battle at celebrity golf's most fun tournament, the American Century Championship, every July. Edgewood Tahoe climbed to the top of Golfers' Choice 2025, finishing first in the national top 50.

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Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course

Stateline, Nevada

Public

4.9078127755

176

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The golf paradise that is Phoenix/Scottsdale in the winter comes with a steady diet of desert golf. Hitting it straight to stay out of the desert and carrying desert washes and the occasional pond are par for the course.

But there a few high-caliber parkland courses that might look like they fit right in at home in the Midwest or upper East Coast if golfers didn't know any better. Perhaps the best example of this wall-to-wall grass experience is the Wigwam Resort, home to 54 holes of more traditional golf in Litchfield Park. The Gold and Blue courses are the showpieces for resort guests, proceeding out from the main clubhouse and back when golfers reach the 18th green. Many members favor the Red for more gently rolling hills and oak trees - just like they remember from their days living in colder climates.

The Wigwam Arizona

Litchfield Park, Arizona

Located in the West Valley near Phoenix-Scottsdale is one of Arizona's most historic golf resorts, Wigwam. Set on 440 acres, this village-style resort features three 18-hole golf courses, including two designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., most notably the famous Gold Course. The resort features 331 casitas and suites with large private patios and…