Best for: The course that makes Bandon Dunes legendary. Tom Doak's masterpiece — ranked in the top 10 public courses in the world. Every golfer should play this course at least once.

Insider tip: Pacific Dunes is the hardest tee time to get at the resort. Book it the day reservations open, exactly 365 days out. If your preferred date is booked, call the pro shop directly and ask to be put on the cancellation list — tee times open up regularly, especially for singles and twosomes. Walk with a caddie on Pacific Dunes — the green complexes are subtle and a caddie's read can be the difference between a great round and a frustrating one.

Best for: The original course that started it all. The most accessible of the big five for higher handicappers while still delivering dramatic ocean golf.

Insider tip: Bandon Dunes was the first course built (1999) and it remains many visitors' favorite despite Pacific Dunes getting more rankings attention. The front nine plays inland through meadows and dunes; the back nine turns to the ocean for one of the most dramatic stretches of coastline holes in the world. Request a morning tee time — the fog lifting off the Pacific as you reach the back nine is transcendent.

Best for: Architecture nerds and golfers who want to understand the origins of course design. Old Mac is a love letter to the great template holes of golf's golden age, transplanted to the Oregon coast.

Insider tip: Old Macdonald is inspired by the design principles of Charles Blair Macdonald, the father of American golf architecture. Each hole is a modern interpretation of a famous template — the Redan, the Biarritz, the Cape, the Short, etc. If your group has someone who appreciates course architecture, pair them with a caddie who can explain the templates — it transforms the experience from 'great golf course' to 'graduate seminar on golf design.'

Best for: The most sheltered course on the property — play it on the windiest day. The routing through forest and dunes provides wind protection that the ocean-front courses do not.

Insider tip: Bandon Trails is the most underrated course on the property because it has fewer ocean holes than the others. But the Coore & Crenshaw routing through three distinct landscapes — coastal forest, meadowland, and dunes — is brilliant. Strategically, it's the most nuanced course at Bandon. Locals and caddies often rank it as their personal favorite. Save it for the windiest day in your trip — the forest holes provide welcome shelter.

Best for: The newest course and the most relaxed playing experience at Bandon. No bunkers, no formal rough boundaries — just grass, cliffs, and ocean. The antidote to uptight golf.

Insider tip: Sheep Ranch has no bunkers and minimal formal features — the entire course is essentially one continuous fairway with greens scattered across the coastal meadow. This makes it the most 'fun' course on the property for higher handicappers and the most creatively interesting for low handicappers (you can invent your own lines to every green). Every single hole has an ocean view — the only course at Bandon where this is true. It feels like playing golf on the edge of the world.

Best for: The afternoon wind-down round. Play it after a morning 18. It's a 13-hole par-3 course that takes 2 hours and provides a perfect low-pressure conclusion to the day. Also excellent for settling group bets.

Insider tip: All green fees from The Preserve go to the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance charity — so you're doing good while playing good golf. The course is 13 holes (not 18) and can be played in under 2 hours. Many groups play it twice in an afternoon. It's the best par-3 course in America and it's not close. Also: The Punchbowl putting course (free, 100,000+ sq ft, designed by Tom Doak) adjacent to the resort lodge is addictive and the perfect way to settle arguments.