I just wrote up my take and noticed Max had already posted! I'll post anyway, with some background and pics:
Max and I were finally able to get our schedules in sync and get our match in. For the purists in the crowd, we walked and carried! After hanging tough the first 6 holes, his consistency got the better of me and I lost 3 and 2. He's a steady player, compresses the ball well and doesn't make many mistakes, the opposite of my game! The better player won.
In the spirit of the knockout, a few words and pics about the course: we had originally decided to play Kankakee Elks, a Langford/Moreau design about an hour south of Chicago. However, after our schedules finally revealed Saturday as a go, it turns out there was an outing so Kankakee Elks was out. We decided on Coyote Run in south suburban Flossmoor, a course neither of us had played. Coyote Run's "fame" may only be it's location: its in the same neighborhood as Ravisloe, Flossmoor CC, Idlewild CC and Olympia Fields CC. Good company.
Coyote Run was originally called Cherry Hills CC and designed by Jack Daray and Harry Collis back in 1932. Daray, perhaps best known for the Coronado GC in San Diego, was also thought to be a founding member of the ASGCA. He was the golf pro at Olympia Fields in the mid-20's and perhaps had a hand in the re-design of some holes there. Collis was the superintendent at Beverly CC in the mid-20's and worked on Flossmoor CC prior. Both seem to be fairly intertwined in the Chicago area golf "scene" back in the golden age.
With all that said, this is now a Greg Martin course! Cherry Hills had been abandoned or slated for housing by the late 1990's and the local park district acquired the property in 2003. Coyote Run opened in 2005 as a completely new course with not a single feature of the original Daray/Collis course being retained. Oh well. Nonetheless, Max and I both thought the course was enjoyable with some nice openness throughout. We noted at one point you could see the clubhouse from nearly every hole. Shot variety was decent with greens that canted a bit with a few undulations here and there to keep you on your toes.
10th fairway:
View of 10th green from the 18th tee:
13th green:
18th green with the ever-present clubhouse beyond:
All-in-all, an enjoyable afternoon in hot and humid conditions. It was a pleasure meeting Max and chatting with another GCA'er about local courses and such. Good luck the rest of the way!