Mark,
I'm not Ken but for me the best photo tours, and those that balance images with analysis best, are those that Sean Arble does.
The comedian Mike Myers was once asked if his SNL character Linda Richman of "Coffee Talk" fame was modeled after anyone, in particular his Jewish mother-in-law. "It
is my mother-in-law!" he said, adding he had to tone it down to make the character appear more realistic.
When I started doing photo threads for this site several years ago, I told myself I should model them after Sean's threads. But basically I rip him off. It's not just how he does them, it's his choices of courses that make his threads so interesting to read. He rarely profiles the big-name courses, and instead focuses on the little-known places that -- it turns out -- contain a ton of interesting architecture.
When I do a thread, I tend to follow several principles, derived from folks like Sean and others. Among them:
-- First, answer the question likely asked by the reader when he comes upon the thread: Why should I read about this course? What role does this course play? What makes it worthy of a thread? Provide some history and context, before diving into the details. (And I hasten to add that I've found photo tours of lesser-known courses far more interesting to look at -- in the context of the purpose of this site -- than some of the "name" courses profiled.)
-- I tend to lean toward more pictures, rather than less. Yes, it may seem like a long haul to look at the photos, but I'd rather provide more context for a hole rather than less.
-- I like to show all 18 holes on a course, but tend to focus more photos on holes that I find more interesting, or with architectural merit, than evenly distributing photos for all holes. I think all photos, or nearly all of them, ought to contain some observation on the part of the writer about the hole, and how it plays, and features that may or may not be obvious to the reader.
-- If possible (or if I remember) I also try to include a photo or two of something of interest on the course not strictly related to the course (ala Mr. Mayhugh and others). Mark Saltzman's photo of the loooong drive leading to the Creek Club was one of the coolest photos in his really good thread on that course. Sean usually includes photos of course clubhouses, which I always find interesting.
Some of the ones I've most enjoyed doing:
Blue Mound G&CC:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,45401.0.htmlErin Hills:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,45966.0.htmlThe 9th hole at Milwaukee Country Club:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,37107.0.htmlBlackhawk CC in Madison WI:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,41775.0.html