Here's an excerpt from my article that appeared in GME last year about The Dutch
With more than 750 members signed up before its official opening, Holland’s newest championship course and Ryder Cup entry is causing a bit of stir. Mark Alexander finds out why
The Netherlands is remarkably flat. It’s a place of smooth-running roads where vantage points are rare and views stretch on for miles. It is a cyclist’s paradise defined by unbroken mirror-flat surfaces and uniform planes.
The country’s millpond appearance means that any rise or peak is cherished. It also means that The Dutch – Holland’s newest championship course and epicentre of its Ryder Cup bid – comes as a bit of a shock. For a start, there are hillocks, mounds and ripples, not to mention the occasion bump and ridge. The Colin Montgomerie-signature course is awash with contours and gradients unlike anything you see in the surrounding countryside.
Opened by the former Ryder Cup captain in May, the Dutch is for all intents and purposes a rough-and-ready links-style course. “Radical shaping has been used to create a rugged golf-course character where undulating fairways, featuring many bumps and hollows, are framed by dramatic mounding,” explains a note on Montgomerie’s website.
In between the bumps and hollows, the course stays true to its origins by incorporating a host of water features which stem from building a course on land below sea level. Once again, the transformation co-ordinated by European Golf Design has been absolute with straight and angular canals magically remoulded into meandering streams and sweeping lakes...
Check out my images of the course at http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/TheDutch-2/ and http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/TheDutch/
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Licences explained
This is a great way of describing licensing or usage rights for photography. I found it on Lincoln Barbour's website - a fantastic advertising shooter based in the US.
Anyway, back to the point - think of photography in terms of...
Music - you hear a pop song in a commercial, but that company doesn’t own the song.
Software - you buy the software, but that doesn’t mean you own the code.
Blueprints - you may own the building when it’s built, but the architect owns the design.
Sculpture - you can buy art, but you can’t copy and sell it as your own.
Anyway, back to the point - think of photography in terms of...
Music - you hear a pop song in a commercial, but that company doesn’t own the song.
Software - you buy the software, but that doesn’t mean you own the code.
Blueprints - you may own the building when it’s built, but the architect owns the design.
Sculpture - you can buy art, but you can’t copy and sell it as your own.
Friday, 17 February 2012
ROYAL SUCCESSION
Taking the reigns at one of the world’s most successful modern courses is a daunting prospect. But as Mark Alexander finds out, Alan Hogg seems more than up to the challenge
There can’t be many courses that have had the same impact as Kingsbarns. In the 12 years since it opened, the beautiful links course found on the east coast of Scotland has drawn praise from just about everyone who has played it.
It must be something to do with the roll of the fairways or the undulations in the greens, but you would swear the 18 carefully crafted holes have been there for centuries rather than just a decade. In fact, golf has been played at Kingsbarns since the late 18th century although it wasn’t until the beginning of the 21st century that the course took on the form we know and love today.
Since then Kingsbarns Golf Links has picked up awards like sticky toffee paper (the latest being named the best modern course - built after 1960 - in Great Britain and Ireland by GolfWeek). The layout simply works.
With so much expectation surrounding it, taking charge of Kingsbarns would be an undertaking some would shy away from, but not the club’s new chief executive. In fact, the opportunity to take charge of one of the world’s most admired courses was a dream come true for Alan Hogg. “It was a surreal experience,” he recalls. “It was like all my birthdays and Christmases had come at once, and it still feels that way today.”
Read the full article at http://www.golfmanagementnews.com/gme/
There can’t be many courses that have had the same impact as Kingsbarns. In the 12 years since it opened, the beautiful links course found on the east coast of Scotland has drawn praise from just about everyone who has played it.
It must be something to do with the roll of the fairways or the undulations in the greens, but you would swear the 18 carefully crafted holes have been there for centuries rather than just a decade. In fact, golf has been played at Kingsbarns since the late 18th century although it wasn’t until the beginning of the 21st century that the course took on the form we know and love today.
Since then Kingsbarns Golf Links has picked up awards like sticky toffee paper (the latest being named the best modern course - built after 1960 - in Great Britain and Ireland by GolfWeek). The layout simply works.
With so much expectation surrounding it, taking charge of Kingsbarns would be an undertaking some would shy away from, but not the club’s new chief executive. In fact, the opportunity to take charge of one of the world’s most admired courses was a dream come true for Alan Hogg. “It was a surreal experience,” he recalls. “It was like all my birthdays and Christmases had come at once, and it still feels that way today.”
Read the full article at http://www.golfmanagementnews.com/gme/
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Ode to photography
Inside a photographer’s mind
Photography is my business, and I am very grateful for it. It keeps me out of mischief and puts shoes on my kid’s feet. For me, taking photographs has evolved from a childhood obsession into an all-consuming fixation with light, landscapes and weather. More importantly, it satisfies my creative side which always seems to whirr with possibilities.
It sounds improbable, but I never stop thinking about it. Walking the dog or out on the golf course, I am always considering when would be the best time for a shoot or what impact the weather would have.
I’ve come to accept it now, but for a while I found it unsettling, especially if I stumbled across a scene and found myself cameraless. It wasn’t healthy, in a kind of obsessive way. Now, I take photographs for a living, I have my cameras about me when I need them most.
Photography fascinates me. I love researching a shoot, finding a good location and waiting for the right light. Portraits require different skills, but you get the same buzz when you know you’ve got a good one – and that’s what keeps you coming back for more.
I also love it when good photography transforms a relatively mundane subject into something beautiful, desirable or challenging. It freezes a moment and makes you look.
I could go on, but I fear my fixation for pixilation can only hold a reader for so long and I am well over my limit. I’II let my images do the talking…
Photography is my business, and I am very grateful for it. It keeps me out of mischief and puts shoes on my kid’s feet. For me, taking photographs has evolved from a childhood obsession into an all-consuming fixation with light, landscapes and weather. More importantly, it satisfies my creative side which always seems to whirr with possibilities.
It sounds improbable, but I never stop thinking about it. Walking the dog or out on the golf course, I am always considering when would be the best time for a shoot or what impact the weather would have.
I’ve come to accept it now, but for a while I found it unsettling, especially if I stumbled across a scene and found myself cameraless. It wasn’t healthy, in a kind of obsessive way. Now, I take photographs for a living, I have my cameras about me when I need them most.
Photography fascinates me. I love researching a shoot, finding a good location and waiting for the right light. Portraits require different skills, but you get the same buzz when you know you’ve got a good one – and that’s what keeps you coming back for more.
I also love it when good photography transforms a relatively mundane subject into something beautiful, desirable or challenging. It freezes a moment and makes you look.
I could go on, but I fear my fixation for pixilation can only hold a reader for so long and I am well over my limit. I’II let my images do the talking…
Friday, 20 January 2012
On Your Marks
It’s been a busy start to the year. The fun and frivolities of Christmas are nothing more than a faint memory replaced by aspirations and excitement for 2012. The run-up to the golf industry’s annual conference season is in full swing which means we’ve been hard at it at MAP HQ working on various projects for our clients.
Golf clubs are readying themselves for the new season, which means we’ve also been helping to pull together marketing materials and getting PR plans in place. All very exciting.
There has been plenty written about the ongoing woes of the global economy, and while the bureaucrats and bankers continue to squander opportunities to get things back on track, it could be easy to let the doom-and-gloom take hold. Happily that’s not happening here.
With work about to start on a number of exciting projects, clients adopting an encouragingly positive approach and newly formed partnerships offering up a host of opportunities, we’re looking forward to 2012 and all it will throw at us.
Best of all, we’re planning a big announcement that should really set the heather alight. Can’t say too much now, but we’re all very excited.
Good luck to everyone this year, and we look forward to seeing you out on the course soon.
Golf clubs are readying themselves for the new season, which means we’ve also been helping to pull together marketing materials and getting PR plans in place. All very exciting.
There has been plenty written about the ongoing woes of the global economy, and while the bureaucrats and bankers continue to squander opportunities to get things back on track, it could be easy to let the doom-and-gloom take hold. Happily that’s not happening here.
With work about to start on a number of exciting projects, clients adopting an encouragingly positive approach and newly formed partnerships offering up a host of opportunities, we’re looking forward to 2012 and all it will throw at us.
Best of all, we’re planning a big announcement that should really set the heather alight. Can’t say too much now, but we’re all very excited.
Good luck to everyone this year, and we look forward to seeing you out on the course soon.
Friday, 6 January 2012
Portrush bags Irish Open
Northern Trust
The news that Royal Portush is to host this year’s Irish Open should come as no surprise to anyone. It’s a phenomenal course set on a beautiful coastline with plenty of space to accommodate fans and the circus of the European Tour. It’s relatively easy to get to and, despite some concerns about facilities; the town should provide enough beds for everyone. If not, I am sure Dazza will put up a few stragglers on his sofa.
It should be a great week and I am looking forward to it already.
For the power trio of Clarke, McDowell and McIlroy, the announcement will have special significance knowing, as they do, that their achievements ultimately led to this important day for Northern Irish golf. What better reward could there be than to shape your country’s golfing path?
It also clearly illustrates the importance of investing in youth development and nurturing golf talent from a young age. As Northern Ireland is about to find out, the major prize could be the return of the Open Championship and all the riches that entails.
Check out my images of Royal Portrush Golf Club at www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/Portrush-Dunluce/
The news that Royal Portush is to host this year’s Irish Open should come as no surprise to anyone. It’s a phenomenal course set on a beautiful coastline with plenty of space to accommodate fans and the circus of the European Tour. It’s relatively easy to get to and, despite some concerns about facilities; the town should provide enough beds for everyone. If not, I am sure Dazza will put up a few stragglers on his sofa.
It should be a great week and I am looking forward to it already.
For the power trio of Clarke, McDowell and McIlroy, the announcement will have special significance knowing, as they do, that their achievements ultimately led to this important day for Northern Irish golf. What better reward could there be than to shape your country’s golfing path?
It also clearly illustrates the importance of investing in youth development and nurturing golf talent from a young age. As Northern Ireland is about to find out, the major prize could be the return of the Open Championship and all the riches that entails.
Check out my images of Royal Portrush Golf Club at www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/Portrush-Dunluce/
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
The way it was meant to be
For me, one of the high points of the 2011 season was, ironically, the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart near Inverness. Although the tournament was blighted by freak weather that threatened to wash the course and years of painstaking work into the Moray Forth, the first two days were idyllic. Bathed in sunshine, the course looked magnificent and the healthy crowds enjoyed some cracking golf. Yes, it could have done with some wind, but the weather and the course were offering up a visual feast that sold Scotland beautifully.
My wife and I brought the kids up to watch some of the action while I photographed the pros. The boys loved it. For a brief moment, it was as good as it gets – then it started to rain…
Anyway, here are my shots from Thursday and Friday – the way it was meant to be.
http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/ScottishOpen2011/
My wife and I brought the kids up to watch some of the action while I photographed the pros. The boys loved it. For a brief moment, it was as good as it gets – then it started to rain…
Anyway, here are my shots from Thursday and Friday – the way it was meant to be.
http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/ScottishOpen2011/
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