Lure Coursing is a rough approximation of what sighthounds were originally bred to do -- chase game. By chasing the lure (typically three white garbage bags attached to a line) around a field, sighthounds are judged on a variety of criteria, such as speed, follow, enthusiasm, and agility. Like the racing organizations, ASFA is open to almost all sighthound breeds (with some of the rarer breeds considered provisional).

In the United States, the most popular lure coursing organization is the American Sighthound Field Association (ASFA). ASFA events can be found pretty much any weekend of the year around the country. Once a year, each geographical region (there are 10, including Canada) holds a special event called a Regional. The premeire ASFA event is the International Invitational. ASFA coursing typically requires a dog to complete a certification run with another dog prior to competing in its first event.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) also offers lure coursing. The scoring and rules are slightly different between the two organizations and the AKC does not recognize ASFA (or any racing) titles as part of a dog's registered AKC name. The dogs can't tell the difference, however, and have fun regardless of the "people rules". AKC lure coursing requires that dogs complete a Junior Courser test (two runs, alone) before competing for points and titles.