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/

Links or parkland?

On a golf discussion forum, the question was asked whether golfers visiting Ireland should only play links courses.

Brought up in St Andrews, I love links golf, but it's also great to mix it up on a tour - to say, Ireland - with in-land courses because it provides a contrast, especially if the weather isn't great. I recently went to Northern Ireland and played Royal County Down and Royal Portrush, which were just brilliant. Two of my favourite courses in fact. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover Malone Golf Club which is a cracking parkland layout that is fun and challenging.

The shelter provided by the trees was a welcome change to the unforgiving exposure that often accompanies links golf. Don't get me wrong; I much prefer the style of play demanded by the sandy soils and salt-laiden winds that define links golf, but a parkland course can offer up something different which can be a welcomed change.

By unimaginable co-incidence, you can see images of all three courses on my website.

Views of a hole

Here's my thoughts on how to compose an image of a golf course. I voiced these ideas on a great website - www.golfclubatlas.com

Great to know what you think.

As a golf course photographer, I like to take both tee-to-green and green-to-tee shots because they offer an entirely different view and, as such, serve a different purpose.
The green-to-tee shot is appealing because you have the flag and the undulations of the green in the foreground. You can also feature the bunkering and the run-off areas. The fairway is secondary but very much part of the image.
Tee-to-green shots (or landing-area-to-green shots) provide a different perspective. I like to take my photographs from the player's perspective so they can imagine the club selection they would have to make or which bank or ridge to use to get the ball close. As a result, tee-to-green shots provide that realism.
To add another fly to the ointment, I don't restrict myself to these two variants. I often shoot a hole from a number of different angles, possibly high on a hill using a long lens or to the side of the green showing off the slopes. One angle doesn't do it all. For me, it's about providing my clients with choice.

New pics of The Dutch

Just to keep everyone up to date, I've posted new images of The Dutch on my website (see link below). This was my second visit to the course which allowed me to experiment with the available light a little more. Another advantage was the tremendous improvement in the maturity of the course with long grasses softening hard edges and creating an even more convincing links feel.

Enjoy - http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/TheDutch-2/

As with all my website images, it's best to view them in full-screen mode (which is the button on the far right of the viewing box). Bear in mind, these are only thumbnail images.

New pics of St Andrews Castle Course

I have just posted new pics of the Castle Course in St Andrews. The weather remained dry, but the light was difficult. As a result these shots were taken during a brief, one-and-half-hour session. The saving grace was the course which looked fantastic, as hopefully my pictures show.

I followed this up yesterday with an early morning shoot. Unfortunately, I have yet to develop these, but when I do, I'II let you know.

Let me know what you think - http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/StAndrewsCastle/

Photography rant

This is an opinion piece I was asked to write for a golf magazine about photography. I wonder if anyone read it?

Picture perfect

Golf course photography is what I do. It’s my passion, it’s my career and it pays for my kids’ shoes. It is also a fundamental part of golf’s marketing arsenal. It sells the sport better than any other form of promotion, and yet golf clubs boke at the idea of paying for professionally taken golf course photography. Why?

I know times are tough and penny pinching is at an all-time high, but this attitude has existed for years. It revolves around the notion that it’s better to get one of the members to take shots than pay for them. This commonly held belief is short-sighted at best and potentially ruinous at worst. You wouldn’t let your members take their Flymos to the greens would you?

In fact, rather than saving a bob or two, it can actually cost the club revenue. Relying on a member with a point-and-shoot to do what a pro has taken years to perfect can result in bland, featureless images that do little to stir the golfer’s imagination. Without pictorially induced longing, few will want to play. Fewer still will want to join.

I have shot golf courses all around the world and one of the trends I’ve noticed is that premier league clubs and resorts rarely boke at paying for good-quality imagery. There are exceptions, but generally they see it as an investment that will inspire visitors and maintain their lofty position. Another is that new golf developments eager to draw attention to their attributes readily add photography to their must-do lists.

If the big boys and new kids rely on it, why should photography be such an after-thought for everyone else? At a time when attracting visitors and maintaining members are high on everyone’s agenda, shouldn’t photography also be?

With the KLM Open in full swing, I thought I'd post an excerpt from a piece I wrote about Holland and the country's bid for the Ryder Cup. Enjoy.

For images, check out http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/TheDutch/

CULTURAL EXCHANGE

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.