Coyote Golf Course
New Hudson, Michigan
Grade: B
Teacher’s Comments: Enjoyable and friendly.
In spite of not playing particularly well, I enjoyed my trip to Coyote Golf Club in New Hudson, Michigan.
The principal characteristic of the Coyote’s design is the interrupted fairway. All of the holes require a tee shot over a sea of rough to an island fairway, then an approach shot over another patch of rough fronting the green. Sometimes there are two islands of fairway; the par 4 tenth has four such.
The first hole is a harbinger. Measuring some 388 yards from tee to green, the first shot requires a carry over rough of some 150 yards. The fairway runs from there to the 104 yard mark. At that point, it turns to rough. The rough continues for some thirty yards before turning back to fairway. There’s an island of fairway that runs from the 70 yard mark to about 40 yards. Then it is rough again before the green.
Another example is the 543 yard par five fifteenth. After a tee shot of perhaps 180 yards over rough, the fairway continues to the 205 mark. Then, it is interrupted by rough that extends to the 175 mark. At that point, fairway re-emerges and it rolls toward the green only to stop twenty yards away, leaving a short fronting band of rough.
It is target golf and while the rough was not US Open penal, it is enough to mess with your chances at par. Pay close attention to the distances off the tee and realize that driver is not always your best option.
The Coyote has nice mix of holes, with some straightaway shots, doglegs, power holes and respites. The course is very flat, so the I enjoyed most of the holes.
Most.
At 208 yards, the par 3 thirteenth is too long for my tastes. And the eighteenth is in my mind a terrible hole. That 498 yard par 5 gives you a choice of a short tee shot (perhaps 190 yards) to a fairway interrupted by marsh, or a 228 yard carry over the same. The problem for me was that I couldn’t see the fairway beyond the marsh. Playing it safe, I took the shorter route … and still couldn’t see the fairway. So I studied my GPS and threw down a hail mary with a five wood. It cleared the marsh, but it was only pure luck that I found the fairway on the other side; it wasn’t where I thought it might be, but I had a slight hook to my shot, so it was ok.
A blind tee shot, and a blind second just don’t work for me.
From the back tees, the Coyote tips out at 7,201 and plays to a 74.4/130. From the men’s middle tees, it measures 6,318 and rates a 70.2/117.
Conditions on the day I played were very good, although the fairways on some holes were very soft. I think that in the spring, or after a rainy period, those fairways would be quite soggy.
Greens fees were a little high for the area: $36 walking and $50 with cart on weekdays; $60 on weekends with no walking before 1 pm.
Pace of play was somewhat slow. My group waited on most holes, and there was no ranger in sight. My round was on a mid-week late morning. Given that, the potential is for serious jams on the weekend.
I’d recommend the Coyote for a solid golfing experience. I don’t think I’d make a special trip to return, but if it were my neighborhood course, I’d be more than satisfied.
The Coyote Golf Course review was first published in August 2013, from a round played August 8, 2013.
More photos after the break:
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I am definitely not a fan of the interrupted fairway design featured here. From the tee it is not usually discernable where the fairway ends and the band of rough begins. It is very frustrating to hit a drive straight down the middle only to discover that one should have hit the ball 30 yards less or 10 yards more to avoid the unseen band of rough.
The owner has begun the process of obtaining approval to develop the property into housing.