It's no secret that Oregon is home to amazing golf courses. Whether built into Pacific Coast dunes or lined by ponderosa pines in the high desert, our courses are gorgeous. But what makes them remarkable is that they're not all stuffy country clubs closed off to the public. Instead, they’re built with the idea that anyone can come and play. (Well, anyone who's got the cash and time.)

So we're unsurprised that eight of our courses were named to Golf Digest’s 2023–2024 ranking of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses.” This cements Oregon as an ideal place for the common golfer to find breathtaking views and challenging play. And visitors can tee up conveniently: five of the courses are at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, four and a half hours south of Portland on the coast: Bandon’s Pacific Dunes (no. 2 on the list), Bandon Dunes (no. 8), Bandon Trails (no. 11), Old MacDonald (no. 13), and Sheep Ranch (no. 16).

Yes, a quarter of the top 20 public courses in the United States are within two miles of each other. Bandon Dunes regularly ranks on lists of the most desirable places to play golf in the world, thanks to its links-style courses, embodying Scottish links golf architecture along rolling dunes and jagged coastline.

 Drive into Central Oregon and you’ll find a much different style of golf, with tighter fairways,  smaller greens, and water hazards. Three courses there made the list: Pronghorn Golf Club’s Jack Nicklaus Course (no. 42), Tetherow Resort (no. 57, jumping up 25 spots from last year), and Sunriver Resort’s Crosswater course (no. 54—you have to stay at Sunriver Resort or be a member to play). 

The rankings put Oregon in nearly a dead heat with California (9), Michigan (9) and Wisconsin (10)—and we'll remind you that Oregon is the only one of those four without sales tax.