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[Grant Saunders]

One of the things I enjoy most about GCA is the pictures people post here. Many are of courses I may never play so it is a good opportunity to view a course from the perspective of the golfer. I find this more interesting than looking at the "beauty shots" you find for courses that have been taken by professional photographers under the absolute optimum conditions. With the right lighting and editing, it is easy to make any course look the proverbial million dollars so it is nice to view the courses more as the player sees it.

Like may posters on here I enjoy photographing courses. I find it a good reference in my line of work and also every once in a while you take one that stands out as  a photo to be proud of. My computer screen background constantly changes with the photos I have taken.

The following are a few pictures I have taken of courses that I have worked on, played or visited in the last year or so. Many are well known to posters on this site and some no one will have seen before.

Enjoy.


Skibo Castle 15th hole


Lossiemouth 18th


Royal Dornoch 17th


Brora 6th


Kingsbarns 7th


Castle Stuart 2nd


Castle Stuart 11th


Joondalup 4th Hole Quarry nine(Australia)


Jacks Point 10th (NZ)


Jacks Point 6th (NZ)


Jacks Point 15(NZ)


Jacks Point 7th (NZ)

[Brian_Ewen]

Grant
Thanks for posting , some cracking photos there .

And I agree with your thoughts , I always laugh when I hook one wildly left , only to discover its a great angle to shoot the hole from 

No.2 is one my favourite finishing holes , but I have yet to see a photo that really shows what the hole is about .

[Grant Saunders]

Thanks Brian

Here is another pick of the same hole for you.

Im with you on it being a great finishing hole. The last 3 holes in my opinion are fantastic. I was lucky enough to play with out the jets.

[jonathan Davison]

wow, thanks these are some really wonderful pictures. Is that Castle Stuart?? And if so please share some more.

[Brian_Ewen]

Oh aye , the Jets !

The novelty of that wore off pretty quick  

[Grant Saunders]

Jonny D

Yes that is indeed Castle Stuart. The 1st Photo is of the par 5 2nd and the 2nd is of the par 3 11th.

I have many more photos but Im not sure it is really my place to be putting them out to the public. I wouldnt want to intrude on the plans of those involved and risk souring good relationships established during my time there. I just felt that these ones fitted well in summing up what has been a wonderful year of learning for me.

Check out the link to the website http://www.castlestuartgolf.com/currentphotos/index.htm

Im sure there will be much discussion and photos posted on here before too long.

[Bill_McBride]

Help!  Those are some wonderful golf holes, what courses besides Castle Stuart?  Some labels would be very much appreciated.  And where is Castle Stuart again please?

I hope those buggies aren't in Scotland.    That looks way too American.

[Don Hyslop]

Castle Stuart is near Inverness.
   Wow! The sand trap in photo #8 is the most intimidating I have ever seen.

[Andrew Mitchell]

Great photographs Grant.  My collection of screensaver photos constantly changes as people post superb photos of places I've played or would like to play (any copyright issues please let me know )

As Brian says the jets at Moray Old are entertaining for a little while but soon become a pain in the backside. 

[Dan Herrmann]

Grant,
Thanks for the great pictures!  Wonderful!

[Ian Andrew]

Grant,

Are you going to supply a list of courses?

[David_Tepper]

Grant -

Isn't the very 1st photo from the Carnegie Club/Skibo Castle?

My guess is they are

- Carnegie Club/Skibo Castle
- 18th hole at Moray Old (Lossiemouth)
- 17th hole at Royal Dornoch
- 5th hole (I think) at Brora (a great par-3)
- Kingsbarns?
- Castle Stuart
- Castle Stuart

The rest of the pics look like they are in the US and/or Canada.

DT

[Brent Hutto]

The golf carts look Canadian to me.

[Jeff Doerr]

Thanks Grant!

I have not been across the pond since I was a young lad, so I really enjoy the visual images.

[Brent Hutto]

No.2 is one my favourite finishing holes , but I have yet to see a photo that really shows what the hole is about .

From that photo at least, the home hole at Lossiemouth reminds me a little of the hole was played as the eighteenth at Seaton Carew that day I was there.

[Philip Gawith]

Grant - thanks for Castlestuart photos in particular. Wow! Where is the course in relation to the town, the airport etc? I thought it was between the town and the airport but that seems very unlikely as I don't recall any mountains of that scale close to the airport or the town. Is it on the north side of the firth or the south?

[Jason Connor]

Beautiful shots.  Looks like you've got to play some fine courses in the last year.

[David_Tepper]

Philip -

Castle Stuart is just a mile or two west of Inverness Airport.

www.castlestuartgolf.com

DT

[Randy Thompson]

Wow, life is good! I wanna come back as you in my next life! Fantastic photos, what a pleasure, can I use some for my web site and say there my designs?

[Michael Dugger]

Are some of those a new Canadian course we saw some construction pictures of earlier this year?

[Andrew Blakshin]

Those last pictures look like that new course in Queenstown, maybe Ash will let us know!

[CJ Carder]

- Kingsbarns?

Yup, picture #5 is the 6th at Kingsbarns - a wonderfully accessible drivable par 4. 

[Ian Andrew]

The setting for the opener reminds me of Loch Lomond.

Tobiano is the name of the course - the setting matches - but I'm still not 100% sure

The hole with the bunker and cliff completely leaves me blank.

[Chris_Blakely]

I thought Tobiano too, but if you do a saveas on the picture it has the initials JP.  Here is the website for Tobiano:

http://www.tobianogolf.com/home/

[Andrew Blakshin]

It's Jacks Point in Queenstown. The "JP" made me remember, haha.

[Chris_Blakely]

Here is the website for Jacks Point:

http://www.flq.co.nz/golf-club/

[Ryan Crago]

- Kingsbarns?

Yup, picture #5 is the 6th at Kingsbarns - a wonderfully accessible drivable par 4. 

Not to be a stickler, but pretty sure thats #7 @ Kingsbarns.

[Grant Saunders]

Thanks for the comments.

I have now figured out how to label the holes and have done so.

You guys certainly know your Scottish courses!

The picture of the big rock faced bunker is the 4th hole on the quarry nine at Joondalup in Perth Australia. The photo is taken from the lay-up area about 100 metres (110 yards) short on a 475 metre (520 yd) par 5. That rock face is about 3- 4 metres vertical.

The last 4 pictures are of Jacks Point which is a new course in Queenstown, NZ. It is not yet open but I was lucky enough to have a round there about 2 weeks ago. The photos dont do it justice as it is a setting unlike anything else I have seen. On one side you have the Remarkables mountain range and the other you have lake Wakatipu. They have done some things there which havent really been explored in NZ before. The use of fescue wall to wall is a new concept for here and the course sits into its environment better than most recent efforts. The downside is that it really isnt a walking course.

[Chris Avore]

Great looking shots, Grant.

I always keep my superthin sony cybershot in the left pants pocket when i'm out there...

A lot of times my playing partners assume it's a range finder since I'm always grabbing pics right before my shot.  Have it down to a pretty decent science to snag a pic silently and without disturbing anyone else...

Take a look if you guys are interested:

http://flickr.com/photos/erova/collections/72157600394512195/

[Wayne_Freedman]

Very nice photos, grant. I know from first-hand experience how difficult it is to play and photograph well at the same time.

I generally find that a white flag against a patch of dark background, plus  a few feet of elevation (like standing on a golf cart) can help quite a lot.

Have been experimenting at Richmond Golf Club, my home course in Northern California. It's not a spectacular looking course...fairly dictatorial in terms of architecture, but fun to play, and much more difficult than it looks. These are various treatments of a few holes...not complete, but perhaps the link can work. They have been a challenge to shoot, and I'm still working them.

http://picasaweb.google.com/wayne.freedman/RCCInProcess

Can someone tell me how to link these in directly?

[Richard Choi]

Great photos. They are absolutely beautiful.

I have a question. I would love to have those photos in full resolution so that I can print them out and hang them on my wall.

Would you be interested in sharing them? I have a bunch of pictures from local courses, including Chambers Bay, that I will be happy to share in the same manner.

[Chris Avore]

Wayne,

use [*IMG*] LIVE URL TO THE IMAGE (in this case an image on flickr.com) AND THEN CLOSE WITH [*/IMG*] (but remove the asterisks).

for example, the image below is typed in like this, but without the asterisks in the IMG brackets:

[*IMG*]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2009/1728795623_e04df5142e.jpg?v=0[*/IMG*]



hope that helps...

[CJ Carder]

- Kingsbarns?

Yup, picture #5 is the 6th at Kingsbarns - a wonderfully accessible drivable par 4. 

Not to be a stickler, but pretty sure thats #7 @ Kingsbarns.

Ah, you're right - I was one hole too early... but it's a little funny that they look very similar when pictures are taken from that angle.  Still, they are entirely different holes.

[Grant Saunders]

Richard

Happy to share.

IM me your email address and I will send you full res versions of the photos you want.

How about posting some of your pics on here as well.


For CJ

The 6th at Kingsbarns

[Wayne_Freedman]

Chris,

Sounds complicated, but that's a nice photo. Very simple. Speaks for itself.

Wayne,

use [*IMG*] LIVE URL TO THE IMAGE (in this case an image on flickr.com) AND THEN CLOSE WITH [*/IMG*] (but remove the asterisks).

for example, the image below is typed in like this, but without the asterisks in the IMG brackets:

[*IMG*]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2009/1728795623_e04df5142e.jpg?v=0[*/IMG*]



hope that helps...