Golf Inc. 2023 Visionaries: Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw

Editor’s Note: Golf Inc. has named five individuals as 2023 golf business Visionaries of the Year. Each has helped the industry move forward through their visions and examples. In addition to Don Rea, as featured in the Jan/Feb Golf Inc. issue, we feature here architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have been some of the most prolific golf course architects in the world since they first joined forces in 1986. With more than 30 original designs under their belt and more than 10 renovations, it’s hard to find a spot on the globe where they haven’t left their indelible mark.

Crenshaw honed his craft as a professional golfer with two PGA Tour Masters Tournament wins in 1984 and 1995. Coore learned course design from one of the greats, Pete Dye, when he joined the firm in 1972.

Their most recent triumph is the Sheep Ranch course at world-famous Bandon Dunes in Oregon, which opened in June 2020. Eight more courses are in various stages of completion, from the soon-to-open Te Arai Links in New Zealand to a short course at Streamsong Resort in Florida, which will begin construction early this year and will accompany their renowned Streamsong Red Course.

The secret to their success is simple. As Coore puts it, “We look for sites that are ‘naturally gifted for golf.’ Then we will move as little dirt as possible in crafting the finished product.”

But when Coore and Crenshaw first met in the 80s, they had no intention of working together.

“I would say we actually became friends first,” Coore said. “To this day, I have no recollection of any specific date or dinner or lunch that we said, ‘Let’s try or work together.’ It was an evolutionary thing that came about in our meeting and getting to know each other.”

More than anything, Coore said, they wanted to perceive their design partnership as a hobby and wanted to try and be very small in terms of the company and projects they’d undertake.

“It was truly an unknown at the time if anyone would hire us,” he said. “In our wildest dreams, we could have never imagined the opportunities we’ve been given to work on some truly special sites and naturally gifted sites for golf, and work for some amazing people and clients.”

Coore said in choosing projects, he and Crenshaw look for situations where they think they can do something that could yield a very interesting and distinctive golf course.

Their comfort level is up to three projects at one time.

“The single most…