[David Harshbarger]

I think the photo tours are so valuable I spent my summer pinning them on a map. 

My only question: where are the video tours?

[Matthew Essig]

As a newbie, I love the photo tours you guys are posting. Please keep them going, with or without comments....

Would you all rather have photo tours with personal descriptions or without, allowing the pictures and hole facts to tell the story?

[Bart Bradley]

While I enjoy some photo tours, I can sympathize with Mark's post.  Balance in Life, posts and architecture is important.  Many photo tours are repeats.  More commentary less photos. 

Bart

[Leo Barber]

Thoroughly enjoy the Photo Tours.  One of my favourites ironically was Mark Bourgeois Royal Melbourne Composite with Photos

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,37942.0.html

[Philip Gawith]

I agree with Mark Pearce that Sean's tours are the gold standard as, obviously, are Ran's. Alas, we are not all such good analysts, blessed with the ability to play, analyse and remember, all at once! But that does not render all other photo- tours worthless. For myself, I bias a bit more to atmospherics and aesthetics when I take pictures than to the purer GCA route which Sean takes. I think this approach also has some value.

I think where I agree with Mark B is not that they are too many tours, but that too many of them are dull because they are poorly edited with too many pictures - which maybe amounts to the same thing!. Less is definitely more. The worst are those with drive/approach/green, hole after hole. I think 25 pics max per thread would be a good rule. A couple of courses deserve the full treatment, but most do not.

[RJ_Daley]

Some advise they don't like the photo threads with so many photos of each hole.  Yet, I personally find that approach even more enjoyable.  While we only look at the hole corridors in 2-D, the essence of GCA and design is obviously 3-D in the real world.  So, the only way to approach the depiction of a hole corridor and its features is try to show multiple looks from varied sides and portions of the FW, etc.  The best place to really see as much as possible that is captured in this many photos along the hole corridor is Frank Pont's website:

http://www.golfarchitecturepictures.com/Pages/usa.html

While I'm not sure how, I believe we can actually embed a link to video clips on these thread posts.  To stand on a tee, zoom down the FW, then walk out and zoom and pan, would be even better to depict the architecture, and extend and enhance the vicarious enjoyment many of us may feel, particularly we viewers who look in on threads of courses that we realistically will never get to play in person.  The more we see through the photos, and read through the commentary of those who have played the photo in question, the more understanding.  If the pursuit of all that is too tedious, well then just start a thread in writing only and have at your wordsmithing talent to inspire us with your prose. 

[Sven Nilsen]

The problem with video tours is that they end up looking like this mess:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbo7CkPCTF8&feature=plcp

Especially when you're trying to film in a 4 club wind.

[Joe Bausch]

Mark (and the others that apparently don't care for a style of photo tours that mine fall under):

I will attempt to post fewer photos and more commentary in the future.  But I'm making no promises.

What I would recommend in the meantime is to not read, uhhh view, my photo tours.  The way you do this is by not clicking on a thread that has "photo tour" in the title and authored by me.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Joe, I visit your website frequently.

[Frank M]

If I need to include commentary apart from a general introduction it would take too much time that I simply do not have.

[Mark Chaplin]

Guys post what you like, how you like, the viewer will decide its value!

[Patrick_Mucci]

I'm not a fan of the photo tours either. But not because of their proliferation.

I just wish so many of them weren't a string of dozens of pictures.  Instead I would love to see fewer pictures and more of the  thoughts of the poster.

There's a reason the most successful magazines aren't wall-to-wall pictures.

K

Exactly.  The vast majority of photo tours consist of dozens of photos with no discussion, no analysis and no insight.  At least when Pat Mucci posts about holes he discusses them, analyses and criticises.  A photo might help but his approach is so much better than pages of photos but no discussion.

Would it be helpful if Patrick could list his top 5 photo tours ?

Niall,

I don't understand the request, could you please explain.

Thanks

Niall

[Sean_A]

Its not at all odd that a guy would like to read what folks have to say.  I took Mark's post as a compliment. 

If I were a better photographer and more insightful (willing to take the effort to talk with supers, managers etc) I would use less photos in tours, but given my limited abilities I settle for the 25-30 range in a tour. 

I like Ran's tours (they are consistently the best), but I wish he included more pix.  Ideally I think 15-20 should get the job done if a guy has something interesting to say.  But I fully understand that to each is own so I am not overly fussed how folks go about their business.  Whats important is that folks share their experiences - without that this site wouldn't be anywhere near as interesting.

Ciao

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