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The Glories of Golf
THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF AIDAN BRADLEY
T
he adjective that pops to mind when viewing an Aidan Bradley-photographed golf course is “Glorious,” capital “G.” His composition is flawless, but that’s a craftsman’s technique. No, there’s something more uplifting in what his eye sees and his lens captures that speaks to the awe inside us. We don’t just want to be on the fairway he’s showing—although we do—but we want to pull up a chair and sit there awhile, reveling in the quiet majesty of the scene. We want to be washed over and illuminated by the light he has captured, as it washes over and illuminates every detail in the photograph. They are simple images, really—the ancient and solid presence of an oak tree contrasting the swaying gold of a hillside; fairways like bright green ribbons of grass striped through the sharp brown lava fields of Hawaii—and in that rich simplicity we find Bradley’s art—and it is Glorious. See more of Aidan Bradley’s photographs at golfcoursephotography.com
COYOTE CREEK— Tournament Course, Hole 3 MORGAN HILL, CALIFORNIA Jack Nicklaus, designer “What attracts me to this image is its simplicity, the primary colors, and the lone tree in the distance.”
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Left: MONTE REI GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB—Hole 1 VILLA NOVA DE CACELA, PORTUGAL Jack Nicklaus, designer “I love how the course blends in with the sprawling countryside, and the warm vegetation in the foreground gave the image a wonderful base.”
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Above: PORTMARNOCK GOLF CLUB—Hole 12 DUBLIN, IRELAND “Finding a day like this in Ireland makes a wee dram of whiskey last forever.”
Feb/Mar 2010 TexasGolfer 57
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Above: IPSWICH COUNTRY CLUB—Hole 1 IPSWICH, MASSACHUSETTS Robert Trent Jones Sr., designer “In photography, there is a lot to be said for being at the right place at the right time. Sometimes it’s good fortune but—as when chasing fall colors— more often than not it’s good planning”
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Opposite: PGA CATALUNYA—Hole 12 GIRONA, SPAIN Neil Coles & Angel Gallardo, designers “On a golf course where everything was so lush and vibrant it was amazing to come across this lifeless tree. Even though it had seen better days, it was majestic and marvelous and everything else on that hole seemed insignificant.”
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Above: THE EUROPEAN CLUB—Hole 17 BRITTAS BAY, IRELAND Pat Ruddy, designer “I had just got a great shot of this hole from the tee box and was on my way to the 18th when I looked back. The similar hues in the wild flowers and the sky screamed ‘shoot me quick before the light goes.’”
60 TexasGolfer Feb/Mar 2010
Opposite: 3 CREEK RANCH—Hole 15 JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING Rees Jones, designer “This is one of those glorious golf courses, set amidst the splendors of nature, where you stand on the tee box and realize you are lucky to be alive.”
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KUKI’O—Hole 10 KOHALA COAST, ISLAND OF HAWAII Tom Fazio, designer “Every once in a while the golf gods give you something. This shot was one such gift. I came around the corner and there it was. I couldn’t believe it. I jumped out and fumbled my way through the shot afraid it was going to evaporate. My heart was pumping. I got back in the cart and screamed aloud, ‘This is why I get up at 4 in the morning!”
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PAINTED DUNES, WEST COURSE—Hole 1 EL PASO, TEXAS Ken Dye & Jeff Brauer, designers “Not every golf hole is blessed with a dramatic setting, but it is my job is to give it some appeal. The owners didn’t even know that this was their course.”
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Feb/Mar 2010 TexasGolfer 63