Coyote Golf Club Course Review

I had the pleasure of playing at Coyote Golf Club in New Hudson off I-96 near Wixom and it is a tremendous amount of fun playing this links style course. 


Jason Raney and the staff are very friendly and professional and they have a cart girl that is available to wet your whistle with a cold beverage. 

     Lately my golf course reviews have taken me to some diabolical tracks at The Orchard's in Washington Township and Copper Hills in Oxford and I was prepared for the same here. What I found is the course is a very playable track that invites good scoring. The course is very traditional in obstacles with both some sand and grass bunkers around the greens but you can bounce the ball on the greens from your irons. Playing a pitch and run is a favorite tactic in my golf game and being able to do this here makes this course very playable for me and I think for most golfers. 

My tee shot on one was dubbed but as the courses have dried out after our monsoon like spring, the balls are rolling and they certainly did here. I swear this course is seeded with bent grass as my drives got good kick most of the day after landing. This beats golf this spring where lift (shovel) clean and place made golf courses ultra long. My second shot was very long and I had over 200 yards to the green. Well I smoked my three wood to just about 2-3 yards short of the green. A two-putt later and I had a five. I struggled with my short game at times and it cost me a stroke or two during the round.
Did you notice the golf hole illustration listed above? This is a model of what all golf courses should do on their scorecards and on the course signs.

The third hole is a 546 yard par five. There are trees lining both sides of the fairway although the right side is really marks the woodss. A pond guards the green about 50 yards short of the green. You can hit driver here and a three wood will work here if you are trying to frame your shot. You can go for the green in two if you are a very long hitter but the fairway rolls fast and an errant shot will roll into the pond if you are short. There is room on the right side if you are looking for a bailout area or room to maneuver. Jason Raney says this about this hole. "

Here are some additional notes from Jeff Raney.
What hole should you par or birdie or lose a shot to the field?	#13 – The shortest par 4 on the course, playing 320 yards.  Just keep your tee shot from going into the water on the right and you will have just a short distance left to a severely sloped back to front green.  Stay below the hole here!
What makes your course unique?	The links style layout that sets up well for all level of golfers.  You can have a great challenge and play the course at 7200 yards from the tips or move up and play a comfortable 6300 yards from the blue tee.  Also, a very women friendly course from the silver tees and is always in country club conditions!
What types of junior programs do you have?	Home course of the South Lyon Lions and host to the top 50 Jr. tour every season.  Great Junior rates for 9 & 18 holes Mon.- Fri.

Most would say #18, but #3 is also a gamblers delight.  Go for it in 2 with a green surrounded by trees or choose the proper club to avoid the small pond 50 yards short of the green." Birdie Alert. I did not get on in three as my second shot was less than stellar. I Chipped over the pond to about 8 feet above the hole and rolled it in this sloping green. A super way to keep the day rolling.

The fourth hole is a club where tricky club selection and a well-marked course work hand in hand. The tee is well marked and tells you how far it takes to go into the marsh and a sloping fairway that will put your ball into the wetlands.

Helpful Information for Playing a Hole

There is a yield sign that helps you frame your shot and I advise you to hit it in a direction as close to the sign as possible. I didn't. I blocked my tee shot into a cluster of trees on the right side. Thankfully I had a shot to the green and hit just short of it. Two putts later and I just gave back my birdie to my scorecard. The greens at Coyote roll true but like any course, hit it true to take advantage of the course.

Number five is a severe dog leg par four. I would call this a true target golf hole. I occasionally get it right in golf and do what I think is best with my course management. Hitting a three or five wood to the stake is what you need to do here. I did that going about 220. I then took a 7 iron about 150 and put it on the green. I really took my time with my putt as the green does have some undulation. I missed my putt about two feet left but even with the hole as the worst of the break I feared did not materialize. A par putt and now I am in business. My advice is to not try to bend it around the corner. Playing your ball to the stake is the way to go here. 

Moving to number nine. I really enjoyed playing this hole. This par five is plenty for most golfers from the gold (568 yards) but I played it at 528. The fairways are plenty wide and I suggest that while you want to bomb it here, try to go right side or right center if you can as you will have a better angle to the green. I hit a solid but unspectacular tee shot but smoked a three wood to about 50 yards short of the green. A cluster of trees will disturb any left side tee shots and will force you to play your second shot to the right side unless you go over them and I would not bother if possible as a lost ball and a low angled metal wood will get you tangled in the trees. My loft wedge was played as a pitch and run went to the back side of the green just inside the dog hair and I just missed birdie here. Having that option in my opinion helped me achieve my par that was almost a tweeter. Boy I love this course.

Moving to the backside.

One feature I love about Coyote is they have a walk up carry out window for both beer and food orders. They are pretty quick about serving you and the waitress couldn't have been a nicer person.

Number 11 is a par three that while unspectacular, is a fair test of golf.

The visual card says you cannot miss. Well you will not miss when you put the tee shot even with the pin but 20 feet right. The green is a big as an olympic style swimming pool and it was hot enough on the course to take a dip. I took a dip just missing my birdie putt by about 18 inches past. I tapped it in from there. There are four sand bunkers and a grass bunker on this hole. A solid shot will put you on the green. I played through a really nice family and two of the three were on the green. The dad is still playing the hole though. :)

One of my personal favorites is the 494 yard par four. What made this hole comical for me is I looked at the yardage and thought it was a five. I smoked my driver and then took out my five metal wood and got out in front of my shot and it took off like a bottle rocket straight and left engaging in some trees before settling with a great lie and look of the green about 20 yards short. I think I'm chipping for eagle and pull my wedge in the long grass above the hole.

Don't do that. I two put from there and thought that I turned a birdie into a par. Instead I look at the scorecard and see I had a bogey. I rarely do that but I realized that perhaps I talked myself into a higher score because I didn't do what my third grade teacher told me and that is to read the information before diving into the question.

Jason Raney provides the review for the toughest par three on the course and that is the 14th hole. #14 – Long uphill par 3. Well guarded all to the right with long fescue grass and to the left with a bunker. The green is deep and slopes back to front. Easy par 4!? I admit that I played this hole pretty silly. I popped up my five wood and then had a side hill lie just missing a bunker with my second shot. A lucky two-putt saved four or I would have double-bogeyed this hole that looks all innocent and tame.

Fifeteen is another par five where you can pull out your whipping stick and let it ride. You can air it out on the fairway and right side if need be and have a good look at your second shot. There are trees on both sides of the wide fairway. My three metal wood was solid leaving me with a pitching wedge that I let chip and run and it ended up on the back of the green. I was putting for birdie and did miss the putt but it was a tappable for a par. This is one fun hole and the ability to chip and run made it possible for me.



Seventeen made my day. This 400 yard par four on this day has a pretty cocked dog leg left. There is trouble on this hole with water on the right side and woods to the left. It is not as diabolical as I just made it sound. I aimed for the right center of the fairway and hit a nice tee shot here. I did not bomb it but put it about 160 yards away just in the rough. My second shot landed on the green and rolled about six feet passed the pin. My down hill putt looked to be straight and I aimed dead center. Darn it if I made birdie here. All right!

Sand Hill Cranes patrol the 17th and 18th holes. 

Jason Raney, the PGA Professional reviews the 18th here. Jeff considers this to be the signature hole on the course. (This is a) "Risk / Reward Finale with a marsh sitting 200 yards out from the middle tees.  Takes a big tee shot of 240+ to carry and then leaves you with another 240+ left, as a pond in front of the green waits for anyone to come up short.  Big hitters can have eagle opportunities or finish with an “other”. 

Fescews will make you think twice here. They will come into play on any dubbed or short drives and anything other than a long tee shot will make you lay up to the green.

So, what did I think? I think everyone should trek out to Coyote and give the course a chance. It is a friendly course both in staff and for golfers that want a combination of a challenge and be able to score.

Customer Service- 10 - Staff Friendly and professional. Jeffe and his staff were very nice. The total score price for your first beer is a nice touch.  

My Daughter and I at the 19th Hole. I got a beer for under a $1.

Course Markings- 9- Excellent. Markings at 100, 150, 200 yards and sprinkler heads.  A suggestion is to put the yardage distances on the scorecards that are posted in this review. I have seen it at other places. The scorecard will help you navigate the course and there are carry signage postings at appropriate places. 

Conditions -10 - Course well taken care of and you can find your ball even in some out of bounds areas.

Playability 10-   Anyone can play when you hit them long and straight. Bump and Run feature is especially a nice touch. When golfers can play with various tactics, it tends to bring out more creativity. Greens are fair and will force you to hit your ball firm. The greens are very readable.  

Course Design- 9- Adjacent farmland and woods and gives you an idea how this designer put the course together and it looks super.  

Pace of Play 9-  I played in 3 1/2 hours. Three different groups waived me through during the round. I appreciate that. If not for playing through, I would have played at least an hour longer.  

My complete rankings will come out later but this course receives a 300 yard drive.