Eureka Earth tweets aerial photos of bare fairways, changes to treelines and more at the host site of the Masters.
Augusta National Golf Club has seen plenty of changes over the decades. The bunkers look nothing like they did when the host site of the Masters opened in 1932. Holes have been lengthened, ponds have been added to Nos. 11 and 16 and tees have shifted. The now-famous and ultra-speedy bent grass on the greens wasn’t introduced until 1980. Fairways have been narrowed, and a second cut of grass – almost rough, albeit on the light side – was introduced.
On and on. The chairmen in the green coats have always kept a close eye on making the course – which ranks No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses list – play the way they want. And, it appears, they are back at it with heavy machinery on the Alister MacKenzie layout.
Based on tweets by Eureka Earth at @EurekaEarthPlus, which feature detailed aerial photos, several holes at Augusta National have become worksites since Hideki Matsuyama wrapped up his Masters title in April.
The club has not commented on what work is underway. And while it looks as if several holes might feature new tees or fewer trees, it’s also possible the club has other plans. It’s likely that nobody except the members will know for sure until after the work is done.
The Wisconsin products selected during the 2021 NFL draft began their careers this week. The return of rookie minicamp is a welcome sight
The Wisconsin products selected during the 2021 NFL draft began their careers this week.
The return of rookie minicamp is a welcome sight after last year’s cancellation. Practice videos are back and I never thought that would feel so great to say.
Here is a first look at Isaiahh Loudermilk, Rachad Wildgoose, Cole Van Lanen and Jon Dietzen with their new NFL teams.
Steelers 5th Round pick Isaiahh Loudermilk getting put through some bag drills here. Hand power, flexibility, and footwork all getting some work. pic.twitter.com/aiYJftpTbD
The Wisconsin products selected during the 2021 NFL draft began their careers this week. The return of rookie minicamp is a welcome sight
The Wisconsin products selected during the 2021 NFL draft began their careers this week.
The return of rookie minicamp is a welcome sight after last year’s cancellation. Practice videos are back and I never thought that would feel so great to say.
Here is a first look at Isaiahh Loudermilk, Rachad Wildgoose, Cole Van Lanen and Jon Dietzen with their new NFL teams.
Steelers 5th Round pick Isaiahh Loudermilk getting put through some bag drills here. Hand power, flexibility, and footwork all getting some work. pic.twitter.com/aiYJftpTbD
From California to Ireland and all points elsewhere, Evan Schiller takes photos that make the game of golf look better.
Anybody can take a picture of a golf hole with a smartphone. Quick glance at the framing in broad daylight. Try to get some background. Push the button. Easy.
But to capture golf courses in the best light consistently, to wait out the weather and the clouds, to frame a shot in such a way that golfers will spend hundreds of dollars or more to hang a print on their walls at home? That’s art.
Evan Schiller has been such an artist for decades. His photos have graced the covers of too many magazines to count, been featured on websites, are sold in pro shops and wow golf fans on social media. Schiller is one of just a handful of accomplished photographers specializing in commercial course photography that makes the rest of want to climb into an airplane to reach the best destinations in the game.
And there’s a lot more to it than just snapping a quick photo. He typically is hired well in advance by customers with high expectations. He shares his shots with the courses and sells them to consumers on his website, evanschillerphotography.com. On site at a course, he typically spends days looking for just the right shots at the perfect angles in flattering light. He uses traditional cameras and, in recent years, drones to make those shots happen.
No. 3 at Ballyneal in Colorado (Courtesy of Evan Schiller)
Schiller has a long track record in golf, both as a player and a club pro before hanging out his shingle as a photographer. He played on the college squads at Tulane and the University of Miami, where he teamed up with Woody Austin and Nathaniel Crosby. He played the mini-tours and plenty of state opens after college, going so far as the South African Tour in the 1980s. He then took his first club job at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in New York, later moving to Westchester Country Club. And that is where his love for photography blossomed.
His new website features more than 800 photos for sale on a variety of paper and other mediums. They are even available as MetalPrints, for which dye is infused directly onto specially coated aluminum to create a beautiful luminescence. The courses he has shot include many among Golfweek’s Best lists of top courses. Think Bandon Dunes, Pebble Beach, St. Andrews and the like.
The devil is in the detail for these kinds of high-level photos. Lighting is crucial to show the ground contours, and capturing just the right clouds can make or break a shot. It takes days of planning and sometimes a bit of luck with the weather, and frequently there are just minutes available in a given day when it all comes together perfectly. And Schiller has to coordinate it all with course operators and ground crews, going so far as to ensure that nobody has driven any machinery on a given hole before he arrives in the morning, thus leaving unsightly tire tracks in the dew. There’s a lot more to it than pushing a button.
The affable Schiller recently shared what goes on behind the scenes to make it all come together, on demand, time and again. The following are excerpts from that interview.
Alabama football has had their first football practice of the season and posted a few pictures that show some high-profile players to watch.
The reigning national championships have started training for a repeat performance in 2021. Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide are back on the field with spring practices.
Former stars Mac Jones, Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith are no longer with the team, meaning that the coaching staff will use this time to build the early stages of a depth chart.
There are plenty of questions surrounding the offensive line, as well as who the starting quarterback will be.
The Alabama Football team’s social account have posted a few pictures from the first football practice of the spring, one of which includes sophomore quarterback Bryce Young, who joined the Crimson Tide in the 2020 recruiting class as a five-star.
A look at the 10 best photos from the Seattle Seahawks 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round of the payoffs.
The Seattle Seahawks’ season is over after falling to the Los Angeles Rams Saturday in the wild-card round. Here’s a look back at some of the best photos from the matchup.
