{"id":8262,"date":"2026-03-13T17:31:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/?p=8262"},"modified":"2026-03-13T17:31:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:31:09","slug":"best-tom-doak-golf-courses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/best-tom-doak-golf-courses\/","title":{"rendered":"10 of the Best Tom Doak Golf Courses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"best<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 26, most of us are still figuring it out. Maybe we\u2019ve committed to a zip code. Or landed a job with actual<\/em> benefits. Maybe we\u2019ve even opened a retirement account and checked it exactly once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 26, Tom Doak was building a golf course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, that\u2019s not meant to induce an existential spiral\u2014just to establish that Doak\u2019s path was never conventional. The summer after graduating from Cornell University, he moved to St. Andrews Links and caddied at the Home of Golf, immersing himself in the rhythms of the Old Course and the magic of linksland<\/a>. He then spent months crisscrossing the British Isles, studying the game\u2019s greatest venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What he discovered was less a blueprint and more a belief that the best courses don\u2019t impose themselves on the land. Thus, his philosophy boils down to a simple directive: disturb the land as little as possible and let it tell you what the golf course wants to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That ethos has traveled well. From the oceanside fairways of Tara Iti Golf Club to the sandy canvas of Streamsong Blue, and most recently Pinehurst No. 10, Doak\u2019s work carries an unmistakable throughline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any architect can move dirt. But fewer can make it feel like they barely touched it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Tom Doak Golf Courses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Pacific Dunes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bandon, Oregon<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Pacific
Photograph Courtesy of Evan Schiller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pacific Dunes<\/a> at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is perhaps the purest expression of Tom Doak\u2019s design philosophy. Since opening in 2001, it has delivered an authentic links experience, letting you wander the British Isles without ever leaving the U.S. Fairways cling to the towering cliffs that define Bandon\u2019s rugged coastline, while the wind sweeps across every hole. Some days, the elements become the ultimate equalizer. And that\u2019s exactly how it was meant to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Tara Iti<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mangawhai, New Zealand<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Though still young in comparison to other courses, Tara Iti<\/a> has already made an outsized impression on the golf world since opening in 2015. It quickly became one of the most talked-about layouts globally, earning one of the highest debut rankings in Golf Digest\u2019s World\u2019s 100 Greatest Courses. Tom Doak routed the course through a former pine plantation, restoring the land to its native dune character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Medinah Country Club, Course One<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Medinah, Ilinois<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Medinah
Photograph Courtesy of Evan Schiller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From the moment you arrive at Medinah Country Club<\/a>, scale is the story. The grand clubhouse looms with old-world presence, and three 18-hole courses ripple across the property with purpose. But it\u2019s on Course One where Tom Doak’s redesign really leans into nuance. It\u2019s not distraction you\u2019ll find here\u2014it\u2019s decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Streamsong Resort, Blue Course<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bowling Green, Florida<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Streamsong<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set on a former phosphate mine in Central Florida, Streamsong Resort<\/a> is all exposed sand and heaving dunes that stretch far beyond what most associate with Florida golf. It\u2019s a landscape so unexpected that Tom Doak himself called it \u201csuch a good piece of land for golf\u201d\u2014 praise that, coming from him, carries weight. What makes Streamsong Blue particularly compelling in the Doak portfolio is its sense of freedom. There\u2019s an openness here, in both visuals and shot options. In that way, Blue feels like a modern American interpretation of links golf, transported improbably to the heart of Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Old Macdonald<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bandon, Oregon<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Old
Photograph Courtesy of Evan Schiller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A collaboration between Tom Doak and Jim Urbina, Old Macdonald<\/a> pays homage to pioneering architect Charles Blair Macdonald, borrowing inspiration from his template holes and reinterpreting them along the rugged Oregon coastline. The result isn\u2019t imitation \u2014 it\u2019s amplification. Greens swell to eye-popping proportions. Bunkers sprawl and flash with jagged edges. Fairways appear almost boundless against the Pacific horizon. It\u2019s a course that truly has it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Sebonack Golf Club<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Southampton, New York<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Nestled along Long Island\u2019s Great Peconic Bay and the serene Cold Spring Pond, Sebonack Golf Club<\/a> is a masterclass in understated elegance. Created in collaboration with Jack Nicklaus, Tom Doak shaped roughly 300 acres into a course that feels as if it has always existed, with natural undulations, subtle mounding, and sweeping vistas that make every hole feel both strategic and inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Holyoke, Colorado<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Links golf in the high plains of Eastern Colorado might sound improbable\u2014until you step onto Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club<\/a>. Here, Tom Doak transformed rolling prairie into a classic links experience. There are no tee markers, no frills, no distractions\u2014just the land, your clubs, and the challenge of playing it well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Barnbougle Dunes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bridport, Tasmania, Australia<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Perched on Tasmania\u2019s windswept northeast coast, Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links<\/a> transforms a former potato farm into one of the Southern Hemisphere\u2019s most compelling links experiences. Designed by Tom Doak in collaboration with Mike Clayton, the course evokes the spirit of Scottish and Irish links while fully embracing the island\u2019s rugged personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Cape Kidnappers Resort<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Napier, New Zealand<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Cape<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cape Kidnappers<\/a> is one of those rare courses where the land feels alive, pushing back with every shot. It sits on a jagged peninsula at the southern tip of Hawke\u2019s\u202fBay, stretching 10 kilometers into the South Pacific, where waves crash against cliffs nearly 140 meters below. From the first tee, the ocean is never out of sight, and every ridge, gully, and dune feels like it\u2019s daring you to make the right choice \u2014 or pay the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Pinehurst No. 10<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Aberdeen, North Carolina<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Pinehurst<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Doak\u2019s Pinehurst No.\u202f10<\/a> feels both timeless and entirely new\u2014a masterful addition to the Sandhills that respects its storied history while offering a fresh perspective. The course flows naturally with the land, using every ridge and mound, all in that quietly clever, unassuming style Doak does so well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 26, most of us are still figuring it out. Maybe we\u2019ve committed to a zip code. Or landed a job with actual benefits. Maybe we\u2019ve even opened a retirement account and checked it exactly once. At 26, Tom Doak was building a golf course. Now, that\u2019s not meant to induce an existential spiral\u2014just to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":10218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[249,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations","category-travel"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8262"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10221,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8262\/revisions\/10221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}