Hi golfers, Nick here from www.GolfCoursePictures.co.
Mike Bailey of TravelGolf reviews the five courses at PGA’s Florida National. They also have some special-price packages to play right now:
http://www.thegolfchannel.com/golf-travel-insider/review-pga-national-resort-spa-40114/
Hi golfers, Nick here from www.GolfCoursePictures.co. http://www.bestgolfcoursephotographer.com/photos/Spring%20and%20Summer/6/80/
Michael Clemmer claims to be one of the best – I think he’s got a point (photo by Clemmer of 15th at Fallen Oak, MS):
Hi golfers, Nick here from www.GolfCoursePictures.co.
Flickriver is a web-based Flickr viewer that allows viewing hundreds of user photos quickly and easily, in one seamless 'river of photos' (aka “infinite scroll”) view – take a look here:
http://www.flickriver.com/groups/19701634@N00/pool/interesting/
Alexis Thompson wears a pair of pink golf shoes to observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month during the second round of the Navistar LPGA Classic at the Senator Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail on October 8, 2010 in Prattville, Alabama. (Darren Carroll/Getty Images). Talking of the RTJ Golf Trail, read this GolfDigest article on north Alabama hometown hero Stewart Cink:
http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2010-11/golf-my-town-1101
Hi golfers, Nick here from www.GolfCoursePictures.co.
Billed as a “Man’s Weekend” golfing down at St. Augustine FLA, Jeff Ritter doesn’t quite mirror “The Hangover” but says there’s lots of trouble to get into. Its on my “wish-list”, how about yours?:
http://blogs.golf.com/trips/2010/10/mans-weekend-the-world-golf-hall-of-fame.html
Hi golfers, Nick here from www.GolfCoursePictures.co.
Joe Passov of golf.com calls the Welsh site of this year’s Ryder Cup “straight out of West Palm Beach”. You too can now play the green course…just bring your rain gear, its south Wales where the rain doesn’t only stay on the plain:
Hi golfers, Nick here from www.GolfCoursePictures.co.
Joe Passov of golf.com calls MB the Costco of golf for its unparalleled variety and unbeatable value. Talking about MB courses will give any group sufficient fodder for a whole day’s discussion, what with beauty being subjective. See if you agree with Joe:
Hi golfers, Nick here from www.GolfCoursePictures.co.
If you build it, they will come. And I’m not talking about the Chicago Black Sox. Architect Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have built a Bandon Dunes-like classic links course in northeast Tasmania (island off the south of Australia) called The Lost Farm: It jumped right onto my wish list with a bullet!:
Hi golfers, Nick here from www.GolfCoursePictures.co.
Did you know that sunny Myrtle Beach hosts its own “Masters” on a course that, from the tips, stretches 180 yards (not a misprint!). This year drew ABC’s “the Bachelor” out of his pad to tee it up against the big boys:
http://www2.scnow.com/sports/2010/oct/15/masters-mini-golf-draws-many-people-a-40076-vi-54742/
Hi golfers, Nick here from www.GolfCoursePictures.co.
...it’s unclear if Kevin Murray actually attended this year’s tight Ryder Cup match in Wales, but it is crystal that he offers up the classic way to turn golf course pictures into a revenue stream:
Hi golfers, Nick here from www.GolfCoursePictures.co.
...here’s a man after my own heart…a golfer and photographer, who makes his living as a landscape photographer. Guy Havell recently decided to add golf course photography to his portfolio as he relates here (and there are some wonderful “canvasses” he has in new Zealand…I am mighty jealous):
http://www.guyhavell.com/blog/2010/10/a-new-direction-an-exciting-new-challenge/
Hi golfers, Nick here from Golf Course Pictures...I play on parkland-style courses mostly, its what I grew up on, and you know all those trees ten to overpower the course in a photo shot. So why not try featuring the oldest/biggest/gnarliest (you get the picture) on the course and allow the hole to play “supporting role”? Here’s how Michael Denker did it at Valderrama:
Hi golfers, Nick here...I once played Tidewater here in MB and shared the 17th fairway with an alligator (I didn’t have my camera with me!! But it would have been good for golf course pictures). Take a look at these WorldGolf blogs by Brandon Tucker – read about the Royal North Devon and some of Ireland’s great courses and start a whole new photo group of wildlife you meet on the course:
http://www.worldgolf.com/blogs/brandon.tucker/2007/03/19/the_ireland_trip_awards
Hi gang, Nick here from 81°Myrtle Beach...I’ve loaded golf course pictures from dour Scotland before, and when I was a wee lad I even lived in Nicosia, but I do not remember Cyprus looking nearly as green as this! Check out Kevin Murray’s fresh photos of Nick Faldo’s new Elea course:
http://www.kevinmurraygolfphotography.com/blog/?tag=/golf+course+design&page=2
Hi gang, Nick here...when I post golf course pictures to my blog, Facebook (or any social site), aggressiveness could be unfortunate – here some good tips from photoshelter for your “About” page:
http://blog.photoshelter.com/2010/10/whats-in-your-about-page.html
Hi gang, Nick here...when I take golf course pictures the last thing that occurs to me is the environmental friendliness of the course I'm playing, I just assume they all rank poorly in that department. But not so! Gleneagles, a course I last played 3 years ago, got a mention in this article:
http://www.golfenvironment.org/about/answers/landscape-ecosystems/landscape-function/
Here's a site I stumbled on which I wouldn't have expected to see some golf course pictures. Check them out for inspiration:
Cheerio,
Nick Johnson
Imagine shooting golf course pictures at night without a flash (though you may need to color-correct)?
I saw the following article about Heartland Golf Park in Edgewood LI on Oct 6 at http://www.golfonlongisland.com/teebox/2010/10/index.html
"After all, nobody plays nine holes at a "golf park." Floodlights on a golf course? Leave that to sports like football and baseball. Yet there they are, light stanchions for -- gasp! -- night golf. And sticklers for details might scoff at Heartland's relatively benign recreations of classic par-3s from around the world, some from as close by as Shinnecock Hills and the National Golf Links.
For the rest of us though, Heartland is simply a good time with a few irons, a wedge and a putter. It is a 1,220-yard par-3 course in the strangest of settings -- a rectangular plot in an industrial area near the Deer Park train station, surrounded by office buildings, the Long Island Railroad and the park's hulking driving range. Nowhere else can you take aim at Royal Troon's famous "Postage Stamp" green as the wailing 4:51 from Penn Station barrels through the background.
LAYOUT:
Despite all the concrete and machinery that surrounds it, Heartland actually does have the feel of a park. Mounding, mainly a visual element that stays out of play, rolls through the property. Some holes play uphill, others downhill; some greens are hidden from view, others, like Heartland's opener, feature dramatic slopes that can be seen from the tee. Modeled after A.W. Tillinghast's tenth at Winged Foot West, #1 has a pear-shaped green with a low front half and a raised back tier.
The second is a 136-yard shout-out to the 13th at Merion. Use enough club to fly over a large bunker while taking care to stay short of the three traps behind the flat green. Augusta National's signature 12th -- the par-3 at Amen Corner -- is recreated at Heartland #3, where a small pond stands in for Rae's Creek. The wide, shallow green with a bunker in front and two more long makes for a tiny target from 155 yards away. C.B. Macdonald's famous "Redan" at the National Golf Links of America serves as the model for Heartland's fourth, an uphill shot through a narrow chute of trees to a diagonal green tilted away from the player.
The 140-yard fifth plays downhill to a small, square green. A pot bunker hides between the putting surface and a larger trap to the right. It's back up the hill at #6, a tip of the cap to #11 at Shinnecock Hills. Missing left here leaves a testy bunker shot or an awkward recovery from the side of a mound.
Still fresh in the minds of 2010 U.S. Open spectators, Pebble Beach's famous drop-shot seventh is the inspiration for Heartland's seventh (pictured right). An office building substitutes for the mighty Pacific. Still, the 107-yarder will challenge your wedges. After the 126-yard eighth (the "Postage Stamp" at Royal Troon), it's on to a much less daunting version of the famed "Island Green" at TPC Sawgrass. Here, you can miss anywhere but left and still manage to stay dry.
CONDITIONS:
Tee boxes are a bit chewed up -- not surprising for a par-3 course that appeals to all types of players. But the greens are well-kept, soft and fair. Fairways are maintained and rough is left to grow a little long. If you miss the greens, expect to do some real work with your wedge. Some bunkers have high faces that call for nicely lofted recoveries. Trees and rolling mounds enhance the park setting and successfully block out much of the surrounding asphalt.
A mini-golf course and a driving range featuring automatic-tee stalls make up the rest of the park. Popular night golf under the lights makes Heartland unique for another reason -- it's the rare course where twilight golf is more expensive than daytime golf. A rock formation overlooking the front end of the course is straight out of Angels Stadium.
HOLE(S) TO REMEMBER:
Amen Corner and Sawgrass get all the TV time, but to golf aficionados, the real star is the classic "redan" hole -- often imitated around the world, but rarely duplicated. Sitting diagonally and tilted away from the golfer, the green on most redans is difficult to hold with anything but an excellent tee shot. Heartland's fourth lacks the penal characteristics of C.B. Macdonald's work at the National Golf Links, but it still requires a highly lofted iron that flies over a short-left trap and lands softly on the putting surface.
Still, many will remember the shot they pulled off at the "island" green (pictured left) long after they've buried an uphill putt on a redan.
AREA(S) TO AVOID:
Shots missed badly to the right of the redan green may find their way out of bounds and into any of the abandoned freight cars rotting next to the course. Train and railroad gurus probably won't mind, and may even relish the opportunity to dig around for their ball. Others will just find the area a little creepy."
Cheerio,
Nick Johnson
How do you take a group shot for your golf course pictures so it doesn’t look tired? Here’s an article by a soccer photographer, and I think his tips translate well to golf:
Cheerio,
Nick Johnson
There's no better time than Fall 2010 to be getting golf course pictures in Myrtle Beach. The 100+ course in the Myrtle Beach area this year are competing for fewer visiting golfers than ever. And you know that means lower greens fees. Here's the stats to back it up:
http://www.mbga.com/articles/myrtle-beach-golf-industry-continues-to-struggle/
Cheerio,
Nick Johnson
So you've catured a great golf course picture. Now you want to sell it. Some customers will want to pay you for your digital image (watch for a later post on this) and others want a print. Finding the truth online is a minefield...I've done some of the legwork for you and here's a trust-worthy site you should check out if you're in the market for a dedicated photo printer:
The other side of the brain says, about displaying your golf course pictures, (the "Don't Disable Right-Click" school of thought) that you'll alienate the very prospect you're trying to huddle-up with. Check out this article...
http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/dont-disable-right-click
There is no right answer. Everyone goes with what feels right to them...
Cheerio,
Nick Johnson
The perennial argument of how best to use the internet to promote your golf course pictures has two schools of thought. First up, the protectionists...
http://blog.photoshelter.com/2010/09/five-things-you-can-do-to-protect-your-online-imag.html#more
http://picmarkr.com/blog/2008/02/06/why-to-add-watermark/
Tomorrow, the the "futurists"...
Cheerio,
Nick Johnson
"It beats waiting tables" says Nikki, the photographer I talked with yesterday whose job is taking golf course pictures at the 1st tee of TPC at Myrtle Beach. Its an early start to each day, but I make good money."
A course owner recently said that if a golf course picture doesn’t make you long to play the course, it is a waste of time. Myself included, most pictures we take fall into that “ho-hum” category, especially as we go down the learning curve. The way to elevate yours is to see examples of great pictures and average ones, and to be able to tell the difference. Does this make you want to play the course?
http://cpd.typepad.com/creative_photo_designs/2010/09/image-of-the-day-100930.html
Cheerio...
Nick Johnson
Most casual golf course pictures photographers will be using their point-and-shoot cameras just to capture the memory. If you have a DSLR you can choose between the two formats…both have advantages and drawbacks. You just may find the answer to deciding which is best for you in this Scott Kelby blog:
http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2010/archives/13157
Cheerio then...
Nick Johnson
Here’s a free way to become a better golf course pictures taker – and if you decide you want more, simply sign up for the in-depth Masterclass (I have no connection with Karl Taylor, nor get paid if you spend $$ on his training):
http://www.karltaylorphotography.com/free-photography-course.htm
Cheerio then...
Nick Johnson
Try taking a golf course picture from behind, and if possible higher than, the player on the tee – you’ll capture the scene from the player’s perspective:
http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/news?slug=pgatour_com-Electric_atmosphere_on_the_first_tee
Cheerio then...
Nick
Forget your shrimp on the Barbie…take a look at these great pictures:
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p297029
