I had to take advantage of a beautiful Saturday in the suburbs, so I met up with Clay (girlfriend’s uncle) and Adam (girlfriend’s sister’s boyfriend) at Coyote Run Golf Course in Homewood, IL. Coyote Run is the only golf course under the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District. For how nice this course is, it wasn’t really that expensive (compared to the other courses we had to choose from in the area). The weekend rate was about $45 with the cart.

This course is really nice. It consists of five par-3 and four par-5 holes, with water hazards touching 12 of the 18 holes and bunkers on 16 of the holes. The course wasn’t all flat either; many of the holes included or was surrounded by small, rolling hills. And the great thing was the tall grass didn’t completely swallow your golf ball, which was a good thing for Clay and I.

I wouldn’t call Clay a golf noob. He does the golfing/business thing (lucky guy). He also has a couple more years of age on Adam and I. Adam isn’t a golf noob either, as we’ll see in the scores he posted. Even though they are both not noobs, I didn’t feel like I played worse than them the whole time. There were a couple holes that I played better on compared to Clay and Adam.

I had some really good solid shots on some of the par-3′s, hitting the ball off the tee with the 8-iron and landing on the green or very close to it. I also think going to the driving range last weekend made me more confident on my drives. I saw a definite improvement since the last round I played. On the 18th hole, I hit a straight 230-yard (approx.) drive that landed next to the 150-yard marker, which, I must say, is not bad for a golf noob.

Clay had to cut out early to do the father thing, so he only completed the first 13 holes. Adam and I completed all 18 holes in about 4-1/2 hours. We had a foursome in front of us (I think they were worse at golf than we were) and a foursome behind us (I think they were pretty good). I was actually surprised that we managed to keep pace.

Coyote Run Golf Course – Scores & Stats
Course length: 6,478 yards
Course par: 71
Course rating/slope: 67.0/117 (white tee boxes)
My score (through 13): 82 (32 over par)
Adam’s score (through 13): 63 (13 over par)
Clay’s score (through 13): 84 (34 over par)
My score: 114 (43 over par)
Adam’s score: 89 (18 over par)
Balls lost: 6

Adam posted 6 pars and 7 bogeys. After he counted the final score, he told me that was the best round of golf he ever played (his previous best was a 90). Clay posted no pars and no bogeys. I posted no pars and 3 bogeys (although I did set up to get a birdie on both of those holes). I really need to work on my putting.

Before the round, I went to the sporting goods store and bought a couple of things. After last weekend at the driving range, I had to buy a golf glove. I also found a pair of Adidas golf shoes on clearance (one of the pairs that don’t really look like golf shoes, more like running shoes). And I bought a box of the 3-1/4″ Zero Friction golf tees, and gave 10 or so to Clay and Adam so they can try them out. I broke one of the tees and lost one, which isn’t that bad compared to the shorter wooden tees.

Coyote Run Golf Course
800 Kedzie Ave
Homewood, IL 60422