Royal Troon's Postage Stamp

Here's my take on Royal Troon's awesome number eight - the daunting Postage Stamp.

According to the scorecard, the easiest hole at Royal Troon is the eighth. Slightly downhill and at only 123 yards, you wouldn’t argue with the stroke 18 rating. What the guide doesn’t tell you is this innocuous par three also happens to be one of the most devilish you will encounter and certainly one of the most feared in golf.

At least on paper, the Postage Stamp appears to be a cheery knock amid the fiery links of Royal Troon. But it ain’t. This seemingly harmless hole, the shortest on the Open Championship rota, is a card wrecker on a diminutive scale.

In 1997, Tiger Woods arrived at the 8^th during the final round of the Open Championship biting at the heels of the leaders. At 21, he had recently become the youngest winner of the Masters and had been crowned the world’s No 1. Scotland’s west coast air was thick with anticipation.

When he eventually limped off the 8^th green, Tiger’s fallibility had been exposed. He came unstuck when he pitched his tee shot into one of five green-side bunkers. Failing to escape from the deep trap on his first attempt, he scrambled an escape and then three-putted from 15 feet. His triple-bogey six was confirmation that despite its length, Royal Troon’s Postage Stamp could tame the fiercest competitors.

On the face of it, a round at Royal Troon builds towards this golfing L’Enfant terrible. Tackling the Postage Stamp is a feather in your cap and no matter how you play it; there will always be a tale to tell. The reality is, however, that despite the narrow, slither of green banked on one side by a steep dune and a fearful drop on the other, the 8th is by no means the teeth in Royal Troon’s bite. 

Visit http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/Troon/ for more images and info.

Dundonald Interview - part three

Here is the final instalment of an interview with professional golf photographer Mark Alexander regarding a recent shoot at Dundonald Links.

On an 18-hole course, such as Dundonald Links, is there a strategy you bring to the shoot?

Every hole is shot and most holes will be shot from a number of different directions using different lenses and types of lights. I tend to shoot early in the morning and late in the evening. Different light provides different story-telling platforms as each hole will look different in the morning compared to what it looks like in the evening. The way the shadows fall across the fairways or the way the saturated light falls onto the green creates a different emphasis on the design, which, for a beautiful course like Dundonald, you really want to highlight.

What is a day on the course like for you?

Dundonald was shot at the start of October. Although the weather can be more changeable in Scotland, it can also be quite beautiful at this time of year. Number one, the light becomes lower in the sky which gives you beautiful saturation and great colours, and also, it stays lower in the sky for longer throughout the day. Fortunately the sun comes up a little later, so I’ll be out on the course by about 7 am and then the sun comes up by about 7.30am. I normally won’t leave the course until about 6:30-7pm at night.

In the middle of the day, the light is too high in the sky so that’s when I nip off for a bit of lunch and a breather. By contrast, in the summer when the sun is up very early, I have a good period of light at the start of the day (from 4:30am onward) and at the end of the day (until about 9:30pm). During the late morning and early afternoon, the sun becomes too high in the sky. Thus during the summer, the good light is bookended to those two periods. In the winter, these periods of good light almost merge together making it a longer day.

What kind of camera do you use?

I use canon, and have done all my life. On this shoot I was using a 5D Mark II and 5D mark III and my main lenses were a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens and a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens.

Is there much to be done to the photos after you’ve taken them? What kind of processing do they undergo?

I shoot in RAW, which provides me with the greatest quality of image possible and I process them in what is called the digital darkroom, in much the same way as old films were processed. The main purpose of that is to reproduce what I saw in the field and to produce a file to the highest possible standards. It takes a bit longer to do it this way, but I think it is worth it. My objective is to convey what I saw when I was on the course – it is certainly not to put in any detail that wasn’t there originally. 

Dundonald Interview - part two

Mark Alexander discusses the marketing potential and business applications of golf course photography.

Dundonald Links is recognised as a must-play links course. Professional golf photographer Mark Alexander reveals his approach to capturing the natural beauty of this stunning Kyle Philips design.

Once you’ve captured a series of photographs and processed them, how do you convert your artwork into a marketing tool?

Once I’ve delivered the high-resolution and thumbnail images to my client, it’s up to them to utilise the images the way they see fit. This is something I can advise them on, but this could mean looking at a new website, using the images for media inquiries, creating social media content or producing art to decorate the clubhouse.

It’s important to note that golf magazines always find it very difficult to find good photography. So, if you have decent photography, you’re one step ahead of the pack. Editors want something that sparkles and prompts a response from the viewer, and if you are able to give them that, they’re far more likely to use it, especially on a big spread. With this kind of photography, you’ll often find that suddenly your course has been put on a more prominent page. 

Likewise, tour operators and people who promote golf courses and destinations also struggle to find imagery that stands out from the crowd. So if you have a selection of professional images, they will be more inclined to proactively promote your club.

In addition, the images provide the potential to open communication channels to spread your messages. I often help my clients work through these opportunities, but from my side of the fence as a photographer, when I am creating the images, one of the key things is to capture a good variety of shots. To ensure that each photograph has a different atmosphere, I shoot with different lenses, at different angles and at different times of the day. For example, you can have highly architectural images which look at the movement of the land and the way the fairway changes, and you can also have images that look at the broader environment in which the course is set. So, by capturing a variety of shots, I ensure my clients have a selection of images that can be used to tell different stories.

When you are asked to provide a consultancy service, what is your first approach?

First, I like to sit down with the client and discuss their objectives; what they want to achieve, and by understanding their rational, we can work forward towards a clear goal. I like to explore different options like creating adverts, e-brochures, new websites or pamphlets. Whether the goal is to attract new visitors, get more coverage in magazines or go up in the top 100 lists, when I start to understand my client’s objectives, I can tailor the marketing strategy to suit their needs.

Stay tuned for an insider’s look at a day in the life of professional golf photographer.

Mark Alexander photographs Dundonald Links

This is the first instalment of an interview with professional golf photographer Mark Alexander regarding his most recent shoot at Dundonald Links.

The Kyle Philips-designed course at Dundonald in Ayrshire, Scotland opened in 2003 and is now recognised as a must-play links course. It has hosted a number of professional and amateur tournaments, notably pre-qualifying for the European Tour and the Senior British Open Championship, and most recently the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open. In line with Kyle Philips’ design directive, professional golf photographer Mark Alexander reveals his approach to capturing the natural beauty of Dundonald links.

Kyle Philips’ ambition when designing Dundonald was to create a championship links that felt as though it was an old, established course. Having covered every square inch of the layout, do you believe he achieved his goal?

"Yes, absolutely. The first thing you appreciate is that the links have been worked so well into the landscape. Before it was very flat and nothing to write home about; but, what they’ve created is a very special landscape that genuinely has the look and feel of an established links. 

"It’s a beautiful, playable course. Everything is laid out in front of you so when you stand on the tee you can envisage how the course will play, which really heightens the excitement."

Kyle Philips also designed Dundonald with the philosophy that a golf course’s character and personality should be derived from the site. How do you capture that in a photo?

"I like to shoot from the golfer’s perspective so when they look at the image they can feel the club in their hands. To do this, I look at the playability of the course and the hole in terms of where I’d like my ball to land on the green or where I’d like it to land it on the fairway. But equally, I like to capture the broader view, which encompasses the dangers involved in terms of the bunkering, the dunes or the rough which adds colour and defines the hole.

"I try to incorporate both the fairway and the greenscapes as well as the rough and dunescapes. The two blend so well at Dundonald, it’s really quite spectacular."

Next week we’ll hear about the business side of Mark’s artistic trade.