Just back from Sardinia. Here's an excerpt from an article I wrote about the island earlier this year. You can find images at:
http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/TankaGolfClub/
http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/IsArenas/
http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/Puntaldia/
“It’s the best island in the world,” says Donato Ala excitedly as he drives towards the Chia Laguna resort. I assume his confidence stems from his familiarity with the roads; after all, this is where he grew up. As it’s quarter to midnight and pitch black, it’s hard to tell whether Sardinia is indeed the best island in the world, but it certainly has a nice feel to it; even in the dark.
Before making my way to autonomous region of Italy, I had done my usual research into what lay ahead but found gathering up first-hand accounts of the second-largest island in the Mediterranean difficult, never mind unearthing any good golf stories. Those who had been there gave glowing reports about the stunning geography and ink-blue seas, but were muted about everything else. So, when I arrived, all I had to go on were the excited ramblings of my Italian host.
To be fair, Ala heads up an Italian media company that specialises in reporting on some of the world’s best golfing destinations, so although his pride was clearly on show, he also knew what he was talking about. As I discovered, Sardinia is in fact a remarkable island full of exotic scenery and rustic charms right in the middle of the Mediterranean, which for some reason has passed most of us by.
After arriving at the resort and enjoying a good night’s sleep, Ala continues his charm offensive by describing what’s in store for the island. On a map, he scribbles numbers at various locations – number three in the south east corner, number four in the north west, and so on. Large circles are quickly drawn around each indicating the locations of various new golf developments. By his calculations, 17 are currently in the offing.
His figures surprise me. Although Sardinia is remarkably beautiful, centrally located and blessed with 300 days of sunshine annually, it rarely makes it into golfers’ top 10 places to visit. This might have something to do with the limited number of golf courses on the island – at last count, only four 18-hole courses and two nine holers were in play.
Friday 29 July 2011
Tuesday 19 July 2011
CLICK-STARTING 2012 OPEN
After Darren Clarke’s triumph at Royal St George’s on Sunday, preparations for the 141th Open Championship are already underway with the release of the first of a new set of images of next year’s venue. Captured by international golf course photographer Mark Alexander, the images show the stern test that awaits the world’s best at Royal Lytham & St Annes next year.
Commissioned by the club to shoot the course following a preliminary visit in March, Alexander spent three days at the renowned venue in June capturing the early morning and late evening light. Brought up in St Andrews, the award-winning photographer is no stranger to championship links, but even he couldn’t help noticing the challenge presented by the Lancashire course.
“It was a great experience and challenge to shoot Royal Lytham & St Annes,” said the Scot. “The course offers a very stern test of golf which I wanted to capture in the images. The key was to get the right light to show off the strategy and beauty of each hole, which hopefully I’ve done.”
Despite some weather delays and a close encounter with one of the course’s local residents, Alexander said the session went as planned. “The weather had been changeable in the run up to the shoot,” he said. “I watched the forecasts very closely and saw a window of opportunity and went for it. When I arrived at the club I had an evening session followed by a 4.30am start. It was worth it for the incredible light and the welcome I got from one of the big male foxes that lives on the course. At first we stared at each other, and then we got on with our jobs!”
As well as hosting two Ryder Cups, Royal Lytham & St Annes has also welcomed 10 Open Championships with the last one being held in 2001 when David Duval held on to a three-stroke lead to claim the Claret jug. Many things have changed since then including a new look to the clubhouse and numerous on-course developments masterminded by golf course architect Martin Ebert of Mackenzie & Ebert Ltd, who recommended Alexander to the club.
“Mark’s shots of Royal Lytham really show off his skills and our work for the 2012 Open Championship,” noted Ebert, who has advised on five out of nine Opens since 2005. “We have been very impressed with Mark’s photography since seeing his shots of Turnberry which we worked on in preparation for the 2009 Open Championship. Good photographs are of critical importance to showcase our golf course design work.”
To view the initial shots of Alexander’s shoot, visit www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/RoyalLythamandStAnnes/
- ends -
Note to editors:
1) Mark Alexander is an award-winning golf course photographer and established journalist. His work has appeared in consumer magazines, newspapers and b2b titles.
2) Alexander is based in Fife but travels across the world shooting golf courses for resorts, architects and golf clubs.
3) In 2009, Alexander picked up Creativefife’s Best Commercial Photograph award for a portfolio of images depicting Turnberry’s Ailsa course.
4) Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club was founded in 1886 with the present course being constructed in 1897.
5) For more information about Mark Alexander, visit www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk.
6) For more information about Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, visit www.royallytham.org
7) For more information about Mackenzie & Ebert Ltd, visit www.mackenzieandebert.co.uk
Monday 18 July 2011
My take on Royal Portrush
Northern Ireland has been almost invisible to travelling golfers. In 2009, only 34,000 golfers made the trip across the Irish Sea, and while these figures seem healthy enough, they are trifling when you consider the quality on offer. Just ask Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.
In between visits to the most exotic golf courses on the planet, the Irish trio like nothing better than returning home and in particular to the two championship courses that weave their way through the dunes at Portrush. In terms of homecomings, this must rank up there with the best of them.
The Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush hosted the Open Championship in 1951. It was the first and only time the event has been held outside mainland UK, and it’s easy to see why. In theatrical terms alone, the course is beguiling as it twists and turns through a warren of high dunes. Add to that the salted blasts gusting off the Atlantic Ocean and you have a track with menace around every corner. Indeed, such is its severity that during the 1951 Open only two golfers broke 70.
Around fifty years later, Rory McIlroy carded an 11-under par 61 at the North of Ireland Amateur Open – quite a feat for the then 16-year-old amateur. “To shoot 61 anywhere is great,” he commented, “but to shoot it around Royal Portrush is even better.”
You can put McIlroy’s achievement into context when you consider the course he was playing. Dunluce Links is a trophy course that is as ferocious as they come. A gentle opener belies the stern test that lies ahead, and by the time you reach the 479-yard fourth, described in the yardage book as a par 41/2, the golfing examination is well and truly under way.
But such is the unrelenting nature of Portrush that this colossus of a hole is followed by a dogleg right that tests the nerve like only the very best holes do. White Rocks begins with a formidable tee shot to a bunkerless fairway shaped only by the dunes that sweep around towards the ocean and on to the cliff-edge green. Hitting the green in two is something that will live with you forever.
And so it continues; a train of exquisite golf holes each providing difficulty and beauty in equal measures. “You have to put yourself in good positions off the tee,” says Patrick McCrudden, a part-time shop assistant at the Portrush pro shop and current holder of the course record since the introduction of new championship tees.
“If you’re going for the greens from the fairway, it’s so much easier because the rough is very thick,” he explains. “Some of the pin positions can be quite treacherous, so you have to think where’s the best place to miss your shot. It’s all about good course management.”
Visit www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/Portrush-Dunluce/
In between visits to the most exotic golf courses on the planet, the Irish trio like nothing better than returning home and in particular to the two championship courses that weave their way through the dunes at Portrush. In terms of homecomings, this must rank up there with the best of them.
The Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush hosted the Open Championship in 1951. It was the first and only time the event has been held outside mainland UK, and it’s easy to see why. In theatrical terms alone, the course is beguiling as it twists and turns through a warren of high dunes. Add to that the salted blasts gusting off the Atlantic Ocean and you have a track with menace around every corner. Indeed, such is its severity that during the 1951 Open only two golfers broke 70.
Around fifty years later, Rory McIlroy carded an 11-under par 61 at the North of Ireland Amateur Open – quite a feat for the then 16-year-old amateur. “To shoot 61 anywhere is great,” he commented, “but to shoot it around Royal Portrush is even better.”
You can put McIlroy’s achievement into context when you consider the course he was playing. Dunluce Links is a trophy course that is as ferocious as they come. A gentle opener belies the stern test that lies ahead, and by the time you reach the 479-yard fourth, described in the yardage book as a par 41/2, the golfing examination is well and truly under way.
But such is the unrelenting nature of Portrush that this colossus of a hole is followed by a dogleg right that tests the nerve like only the very best holes do. White Rocks begins with a formidable tee shot to a bunkerless fairway shaped only by the dunes that sweep around towards the ocean and on to the cliff-edge green. Hitting the green in two is something that will live with you forever.
And so it continues; a train of exquisite golf holes each providing difficulty and beauty in equal measures. “You have to put yourself in good positions off the tee,” says Patrick McCrudden, a part-time shop assistant at the Portrush pro shop and current holder of the course record since the introduction of new championship tees.
“If you’re going for the greens from the fairway, it’s so much easier because the rough is very thick,” he explains. “Some of the pin positions can be quite treacherous, so you have to think where’s the best place to miss your shot. It’s all about good course management.”
Visit www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/Portrush-Dunluce/
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Excerpt from an article I wrote about last year's Open Championship
Ian Bunch is taking a week off from running Prestwick Golf Club. He’s earned his reprieve. After 14 years at the helm of the world-famous club, you need a little down time. After all, the 65 year old has had a little more on his plate recently than the conventional run-of-the-mill budget-balancing chores.
Sitting in a secluded patio catching up on the Sunday papers, Bunch is recovering from a weekend of celebrations during which all living Open champions and captains of all the clubs that have hosted an Open Championship were invited to attend a celebratory dinner to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Open Championship in July 1860. It was a momentous weekend.
“We had 550 at a cocktail party, 260 playing golf on Saturday and then a dinner for 325 in the evening,” he says. “The reason I’m here, is because I’ve worked non-stop and I decided I wanted a break away from it.”
The other reason Bunch is at his home in St Andrews is to hand over a specially commissioned replica belt which will be presented to this year’s Open Champion along with the Claret Jug. “It’s all pretty special,” he says.
The happy coincidence of the 150th anniversary falling on a year when the championship is played at the Home of Golf marries nicely with the twist of fate that means Bunch is in his final year at Prestwick and is looking forward to spending some of his retirement in the Auld Grey Toon 14 years after he left it to go to the West coast.
Sitting in a secluded patio catching up on the Sunday papers, Bunch is recovering from a weekend of celebrations during which all living Open champions and captains of all the clubs that have hosted an Open Championship were invited to attend a celebratory dinner to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Open Championship in July 1860. It was a momentous weekend.
“We had 550 at a cocktail party, 260 playing golf on Saturday and then a dinner for 325 in the evening,” he says. “The reason I’m here, is because I’ve worked non-stop and I decided I wanted a break away from it.”
The other reason Bunch is at his home in St Andrews is to hand over a specially commissioned replica belt which will be presented to this year’s Open Champion along with the Claret Jug. “It’s all pretty special,” he says.
The happy coincidence of the 150th anniversary falling on a year when the championship is played at the Home of Golf marries nicely with the twist of fate that means Bunch is in his final year at Prestwick and is looking forward to spending some of his retirement in the Auld Grey Toon 14 years after he left it to go to the West coast.
Monday 11 July 2011
Excerpt from my 2009 article on Castle Stuart
Castle Stuart is Mark Parsinen’s follow-up to Kingsbarns, and as such, nothing is being left to chance. Work started on the pay-and-play course in 2006 and every care is being taken to ensure this northerly track plays and looks as good as its predecessor.
Located six miles east of Inverness and banking onto the Moray Firth, the site is blessed with fantastic outlooks across to the Kessock Bridge and the Black Isle, and now there’s a golf course to match the vistas. “We’ve worked hard to bring heather and marim into the mix and not rely on gorse,” says Parsinen. “When we did Kingsbarns, it was monochromatic – tight-mowed fairways, sheep’s fescue and roughs, and the gorse took three or four years to grow in. Here we already had mature gorse, so from day one the landscape mosaic was more interesting.”
This time, Parsinen shared the design responsibilities with Gil Hanse so while there will be undoubted similarities to the Fife course, there’ll also be some changes. “People will notice a difference in the greens and the recovery issues they’ll face,” he said. “The greens will be smaller but once you’re on them, you’ll have a more manageable putting situation.”
Located six miles east of Inverness and banking onto the Moray Firth, the site is blessed with fantastic outlooks across to the Kessock Bridge and the Black Isle, and now there’s a golf course to match the vistas. “We’ve worked hard to bring heather and marim into the mix and not rely on gorse,” says Parsinen. “When we did Kingsbarns, it was monochromatic – tight-mowed fairways, sheep’s fescue and roughs, and the gorse took three or four years to grow in. Here we already had mature gorse, so from day one the landscape mosaic was more interesting.”
This time, Parsinen shared the design responsibilities with Gil Hanse so while there will be undoubted similarities to the Fife course, there’ll also be some changes. “People will notice a difference in the greens and the recovery issues they’ll face,” he said. “The greens will be smaller but once you’re on them, you’ll have a more manageable putting situation.”
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