Canal Shores is a unique golf experience.
Celebrating it’s 100th year in 2019; the words on the scorecard read “Golf. Community. Ecology.” Succinct, and accurate. The neighborhood course is a 501(c) in Evanston, IL that runs along a canal from Lake Michigan into the Chicago area. It’s sectioned off by multiple neighborhood streets, and obviously, a canal. Each hole sits between the water and the neighboring houses, mostly historic and made of classic Chicago red brick. As soon as you arrive, the entire experience exudes the qualities shared on the scorecard.
I first learned of it in The Golfers Journal, accompanied by photos from Christian Hafer – a photographer that I’ve come to admire. I knew I had to visit if I had the chance. (Un)Fortunately, on a recent business trip Chicago my flight was so delayed I missed my first meeting, and traffic was nearly 2 hours into downtown. So I decided to go straight to Canal Shores. I’m glad I did.
When I arrived the first 2 holes were closed off for a kids golf camp, and I was invited to start on hole 3 and finish on 1/2 after the camp finished. There were TONS of families, and it felt like everyone knew each other. I had ALL of my luggage and probably looked wildly out of place, but no one seemed to care.
There is a train station directly next to the 3rd tee; making this course accessible and unique. Sounds and views of the old chrome passenger trains persist throughout the track; reminding you of your whereabouts and the uniqueness of the whole experience.
Film
I shot a few film photos on the Minolta X700:
Digital Captures
Below are the digital photos that I took on the Sony A7iii. The shots of me playing are using the self timer and guessing on the focus.
Near Ace
One of a few highlights: I nearly made my first ace as a local player was walking up to join me on the 4th hole. Here’s a quick video (the only shot I happened to film), you can hear the guy call the flag rattling near miss and then ask to join up with me. He stayed around for 12 holes or so before heading back to his house in the neighborhood as it began getting dark. It felt like a nightly thing for him.