Scotland's best golf experience

Dear all,

For your viewing pleasure, here are the top 20 best golf experiences as voted for by Bunkered readers (a link to the website is posted below, which contains a nice pic (!)). Do you agree? St Andrews down at 5 beaten to fourth spot by Aberdour. No North Berwick, but the Glen GC gets 10th spot.

Not sure of the criteria, but the ranking was "designed to identify and celebrate the golfing venues in Scotland that offer visitors a truly memorable day out, as opposed to just an excellent golf course".

Let it begin!

1. Turnberry Resort, Ayrshire
2. Kingsbarns Golf Links, Fife
3. The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire
4. Aberdour Golf Club, Fife
5. St Andrews Links, Fife
6. Archerfield Links, East Lothian
7. Castle Stuart Golf Links, Highlands
8. Royal Dornoch Golf Club, Highlands
9. Gullane Golf Club, East Lothian
10. The Glen Golf Club, North Berwick
11. The Duke's St Andrews, Fife
12. Dundonald Links, Ayrshire
13. Tain Golf Club, Highlands
14. Cruden Bay Golf Club, Aberdeenshire
15. Crail Golfing Society, Fife
16. Carnoustie Golf Links, Angus
17. Fairmont St Andrews, Fife
18. Ladybank Golf Club, Fife
19. Murcar Links Golf Club, Aberdeenshire
20. Blairgowrie Golf Club, Perthshire

http://www.bunkered.co.uk/index.php?cID=1924

New e-brochure

Just updated my e-brochure. It contains examples of my course photography, editorial and commercial shoots. All together, a rip-roaring read! Let me know what you think.

http://issuu.com/markphotography/docs/mapbrochure_pub_3

Pass it on

Following a well-timed request from one of my readers, I have added Facebook and Twitter buttons to the right-hand side of my blog. I have also included icons at the bottom of each post, including this one!

This functionality should enable those of you so inclined to share my thoughts and ramblings with the wider world. So, if you feel the urge, please share or tweet without mercy!

A year in review

2012 will be remembered for many sporting triumphs, not least the heroic efforts at the Olympics and the amazing European team victory at the Ryder Cup in the US. From my perspective, I was grateful to be at The Curtis Cup in Nairn and the Irish Open in Royal Portrush to witness the passion of the crowds and some incredible outcomes.

More significantly, I was proud so see my images being used by Nairn and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board in the run-up to these events. Similarly, one of this year’s highlights was being taken into the impressive dining hall at Royal Lytham & St Annes during the Open Championship to inspect my images which are now hanging in this magnificent room. Those images were also used by the club and the R&A during the build-up to the event.

It was also gratifying to fulfil special commissions for Glenmorangie and Ralph Lauren during what was to be a busy week in July.

Later in the year, I headed out to Spain to shoot La Manga’s three courses which proved to be a special treat, as was the news that my 2013 St Andrews Links Trust calendar sold out two months before the end of 2012. Adding to my portfolio with entries from Portugal, France, Germany, Ireland, England and Scotland and visits to Turkey, Holland and Sweden, it was a busy but fulfilling year.

Most of all, I will remember 2012 as a year in which I was able to travel the world doing something I love and contributing (either pictorially, editorially or both) to some very fine magazines.

Here’s hoping 2013 will be as much fun.

Course of the week

There is no question, the course of the week has to be the Old Course. To view images of The Old Lady before work started, follow the link;

www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/StAndrewsOC

Better still, let your voice be heard by casting your vote in our poll which is asks whether the changes are justified - see the options on the right-hand side of this blog.

Calendar release

HOME-GROWN SUCCESS FOR
GOLF PHOTOGRAPHER

International golf course photographer Mark Alexander has made a timely return to his hometown of St Andrews by providing all the images for the official 2013 St Andrews Links Trust calendar. The dramatic A3 publication features a selection of stunning shots of the Old, New, Jubilee and Castle Courses alongside iconic views over the Swilcan Bridge and several distinctive vistas across the famous links.

The Fife-based photographer, who was also commissioned this year to shoot the celebrated Spanish resort of La Manga for its 40th anniversary and Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club ahead of this year’s Open Championship, said he was thrilled to be involved in the calendar project. “It was a great honour to shoot the courses for the official Links Trust calendar, but for me it was particularly special because St Andrews is my home town. I grew up there; I went to university there, so it was wonderful to do something that would hopefully capture the essence of golf at its spiritual home.”

The striking calendar has also been a commercial success with stocks already running low. “We commissioned Mark to provide us with iconic views but also some different shots of St Andrews Links,” explained Kevin Liddle, retail manager at St Andrews Links Golf Shops. “We have been delighted with the response of our customers. Mark has captured the spirit of the Home of Golf wonderfully.”

It has been a busy year for the award-winning photographer, whose work regularly appears in golf magazines such as Golf Illustrated, Golf World and Golf Digest. Indeed his images have played a key role in the build-up to both the Curtis Cup at The Nairn Golf Club and the Irish Open at Royal Portrush.

More recently he has collaborated with Golf Course Architecture magazine to produce a series of prints celebrating the art of golf course design. “We were delighted to team up with Mark,” said Toby Ingleton the magazine’s publisher. “His photography captures the very best of golf course architecture. I could stand and stare at his prints all day. They really highlight the character and charm of these wonderful courses.”

Reflecting on what has been a packed schedule of appointments around Europe, Alexander said he was looking forward to an equally busy diary next year. “There is a lot of travelling in my job, but it pays off when you see the client’s reaction to the images,” he said. “This year I have been lucky to work with some great clubs, tourist organisations and magazines, and if I can do the same next year, I will be more than happy.”

To view Alexander’s work, visit www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk

- 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) The St Andrews Links Trust calendar features a selection of stunning shots of the Old, New, Jubilee and Castle Courses. Each page also contains an interesting fact about the course featured that month. For more information visit www.standrews.org.uk/shop/Golf-Gifts-Gift-Packs/2013-CALENDAR-63103/BLACK-GOLD.aspx
5) For more information about the Golf Course Architecture prints, visit www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/prints
6) For more information about Mark Alexander, visit www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS - part two

Thankfully there are clubs that commission professional photographers and, as a result, readers can enjoy images that transport them to the tee, all in remarkable high-definition. One club that went down this route was The Renaissance Golf Club - a sublime Tom Doak-designed track that straddles an undulating parkland/links site that is full of character and history.

Despite having a portfolio of shots provided by members, the club needed imagery that properly reflected the high standards set by the owners. “We had taken quite a lot of photos ourselves and our members had given us quite a few, but they really didn’t cut the mustard as far as telling the story of the club itself,” explains Simon Holt, membership director at The Renaissance Golf Club. “We didn’t want to put too many words on our website and we don’t do advertising, so the pictures were the only window onto the course and we wanted them to be as good as possible.”

He explains that by studying different websites he was able to get an idea of the kind of images he wanted. “To expose the course in its best light, you need to get a professional in,” he says, “so I researched photographers in the golf industry and found one I liked. Looking at the website, I liked the way the images were set and how they showed the undulations of the golf course. It was different to other professional photographers who didn’t know about golf.”

By a remarkable twist of fate, a drop of luck and a heavy dose of coincidence, Holt selected me to photograph the course last summer. It turned out to be a three-day shoot that despite some iffy weather and on-site construction work produced a decent set of shots.

“We have received lots of positive comments about them,” says Holt. “Before, people would look at the images and think they were nice, whereas now people are drawn into them. They say that they feel like they are there - the pictures tell a story rather than just showing a golf hole - they say so much more about the golf course.”

Holt’s generous comments perfectly sum up what I set out to achieve when I photographed the course. For me, it is not enough to simply create a record of the shape of the hole. The image has to be powerful enough to prompt a reaction and encourage the viewer to play.

Part three follows soon...

To read the whole story visit www.golfmanagementnews.com

New e-brochure

Here is a slightly revised version of my e-brochure.

Really pleased with the response so far. Already designing one for one of my clients. As soon as it is ready, I'II get a post up.

If you have any thoughts or comments, please let me know.

Open publication - Free publishing - More european tour

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.

Celtic shots

I'm currently processing shots I took at Celtic Manor last November when the weather was at best hit but more often a complete miss. As it turns out, the shots are looking good with the course looking spectacular in the late autumn light.

Sitting in front of my screen, I can't help but wish the grass would start to grow again so I could get out to take some more shots like these. The start of the season is just around the corner and with the Open in St Andrews, the 150th celebrations and the Ryder Cup to round things off, it's going to be quite a year.

Bring it on.

Magical things

Sometimes truly magical things happen when you least expect them. And to prove my point, I refer to a conversation I had recently at community play staged by the local amateur dramatics society - you know the thing; lots of questionable costumes, local humour and a collective anticipation that something inevitably will go terribly wrong. To be fair, it didn't. In fact, it was a roaring success and I very much hope the venture is repeated next year.
Anyway, back to the moment of magic. During the interval, I got chatting to a fellow audience member who explained that every year he drove professional golfers at major Tour events. His magical moment was at the 2000 Open in St Andrews when he picked up three players who just happened to be Tom Watson, Tom Kite and Payne Stewart.
"Imagine turning round and seeing those three in the back of your car," he said with his eyes wide with excitement. I imagined the situation, and agreed with him that it must have been pretty special.