Grand Designs
Golf Monthly|December 2020
We meet Bill Coore, the man responsible for creating some of the most spectacular courses on the planet with partner Ben Crenshaw
Sam Tremlett
Grand Designs

There are many excellent course designers around today, but relatively few people in modern golf who can say they’ve made it to the very top of the industry. It is a difficult avenue to go down, primarily because you have to build up a reputation for outstanding work over a long period of time. Tom Doak and Gil Hanse are two obvious examples and, unquestionably, the design team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw fits into this category too.

The high standard of their work in terms of creativity, aesthetics, design and overall quality means they have built a reputation which demands huge respect from the golfing community. You will obviously have heard of Crenshaw because of his stellar playing career, but a lesser-known yet equally important part of their success is Coore, a man who became fascinated with golf course architecture from an early age.

“I grew up in North Carolina about an hour and a half away from Pinehurst,” Coore explains. “My next door neighbour played golf, so as a small kid I would caddie for him. He would hand me a golf club and say ‘have fun with this’.”

Coore would later go to Wake Forest college, an institution synonymous with great golf, not just in terms of former players like Arnold Palmer, Curtis Strange and Webb Simpson but also because it lies right next to Old Town Golf Club. It was this course, along with Pinehurst, that stoked Coore’s interest in architecture.

This story is from the December 2020 edition of Golf Monthly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the December 2020 edition of Golf Monthly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM GOLF MONTHLYView All
"I'm just trying to inspire people to play golf”
Golf Monthly

"I'm just trying to inspire people to play golf”

Golf Monthly meets social media sensation Mia Baker, who is on a mission to get more people into golf... and smiling all the way

time-read
10 mins  |
September 2023
A PLACE ΤΟ YOURSELF
Golf Monthly

A PLACE ΤΟ YOURSELF

Jeremy Ellwood discovers the Old Millhouse in Dalkeith to be the perfect away-from-it-all base for exploring the East Lothian coast's many fine links

time-read
7 mins  |
September 2023
Border patrol
Golf Monthly

Border patrol

Andy Wright ventures due east from his Troon base for a stay at Macdonald Hotels' Cardrona resort in the Borders near Peebles

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2023
Moortown
Golf Monthly

Moortown

Golf fans know that Dr Alister Mackenzie was the man responsible for Augusta National; many will also be aware that the surgeon-turned-course architect first honed his design skills on his home patch close to Leeds.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
Rickie Fowler
Golf Monthly

Rickie Fowler

The 34-year-old American is back in form and eager to share his favourite tee-to-green tips

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2023
How to cure the chipping yips
Golf Monthly

How to cure the chipping yips

INSTRUCTION - SAVE PAR

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
Beef up your ball flight
Golf Monthly

Beef up your ball flight

INSTRUCTION - FAULT FIXER

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
HYBRID MASTERCLASS
Golf Monthly

HYBRID MASTERCLASS

Top 50 Coach Lysa Jones explains how to make the most of this versatile club

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2023
The great debate
Golf Monthly

The great debate

Nick Bonfield explores the concept of greatness in professional golf and ponders how it should be defined

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2023
BREAKING the mould
Golf Monthly

BREAKING the mould

To mark shoe giant FootJoy's 100th anniversary, Neil Tappin flies out to its HQ near Boston to find out more about the brand's past and future, before setting up tent in the buzzing campsite it sponsors at The Open

time-read
7 mins  |
September 2023