Lunchball
If Bandon Dunes proved remote golf could work, Pacific Dunes proved that minimalism was the future of American course architecture. Tom Doak didn’t so much build this course as he did reveal it, allowing the heaving, chaotic dunes to dictate a routing that famously includes back-to-back par threes and four short holes on the inward nine. It is the spiritual antithesis of the containment-mounding era that preceded it, offering a rugged, wind-swept test where the ground game is not just an option, but a necessity.
The brilliance of Pacific Dunes lies in its refusal to conform to scorecard symmetry. Doak famously ignored traditional par structures to ensure the best 18 holes were utilized, resulting in a layout that feels discovered rather than engineered. From the massive natural blowout that defines the 13th to the delicate short iron shots required on the 11th, the course demands creativity and accepts that sometimes a bad bounce is just part of the story. It is the gold standard for naturalism.
Comparison: 17th (Redan)
17th (Redan)
Redan
North Berwick (West Links)
Architectural Analysis
While North Berwick offers the blind, quirky original, Doak's version at Pacific Dunes visualizes the strategy, allowing the player to see the ground game mechanics in real-time against a dramatic Pacific backdrop.