Canon 5DMII, Canon 7D, Gateway Tour, Golf, Photography

Best of The Gateway Tour ’09

With the New Year fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of my favorite moments from the 2009 Gateway Tour Summer Series.  In total I covered six tournaments during my first season and enjoyed myself from start through Tour Championship.

For those not familiar with, the Gateway Tour is the preeminent within the numerous mini-tours that nurture and feed Professional Golfers into the Nationwide and PGA.  Gateway’s domination is a matter of fact…

…Of the participants at the 2009 Q-school finals, 75 were either current or former Gateway Tour players.  Moreover, 55 Gateway Tour alum are eligible for play in 2010 on the PGA Tour; an amazing achievement.

I’m often asked why I like working with the Gateway Tour so much (PS:  Pray, I need more trucker hats -white- thanks!)  In addition to the aforementioned, it’s a photographers dream job as I make-up my own rules and have 100% creative freedom.

And while there are trade-offs, above all else, the Tour offers me the opportunity to practice my craft with professional athletes as my subjects.  For that I am forever grateful…

With the mushy stuff out of the way, back to the initial reason for this post, a grouping of my favorites photographs from the 2009 Summer Series.

This season’s categories includes the traditional — Favorite Drive, Favorite Bunker shot, Favorite Position at the Top of the Backswing, etc…

As well as the not-so-traditional — Favorite Use of a Driver (for a non-golf ball related swing), Favorite ‘Accidental’ Photo, Favorite Shot from the Shit, etc..

For some photographs, I’ve added commentary, please read if you are so inclined.  Otherwise thanks for stopping by and spending your time to look at life on the Gateway Tour through my lens.

Play well!!

-allan

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~ Favorite Drive ~

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – August 7: Steele DeWald during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Grayhawk Golf Club on Aug. 7, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona

The 18th at Grayhawk Raptor is a great par 5 starting with a downhill stretch players love taking rips at.   I was setup perfectly to catch DeWald right after he made contact with the ball.  This perfect setup included my camera settings, albeit inadvertently.  When looking at this picture I can’t help but wonder what I was doing at 400 ISO with that camera and that lens at f/2.  But hey, it worked!

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~ Favorite Position at the Top of the Backswing ~

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – September 9: Trevor Murphy on the par 5 fourth during the first round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Tonto Verde Golf Club on Sept. 9, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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~ Favorite  Clouds ~

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – September 10: Julien Trudeau in the fairway during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Tonto Verde Golf Club on Sept. 10, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona

Congrats to Julien Trudeau for a great showing at Q-school.  Cheers to your success and play well in 2010.

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~ Favorite ‘Accidental’ Frame ~

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – September 11: Just the tip of a cactus is visible in an accidental frame taken during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Tonto Verde Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona

In a given round I average a dozen or so accidental frames as the cameras gets triggered while bouncing around. Usually, these photos are badly exposed and include blurs of grass or bits and pieces of my shoes. With this in mind, it’s easy to see why this frame caught my attention; I instantly feel in love with it.

I love the simplicity, three colors and three subjects all in perfect harmony.   But most of all I love the composition and how far outside of my comfort zone it falls; I would never have thought to take this picture and therein lies a great lesson.

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~ Favorite Golf Ball Marking ~

NORWALK, IOWA – October 1: Titleist belonging to Clint Jensen in the fairway of the par 5 6th hole during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club on Oct. 1, 2009 in Norwalk, Iowa.

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~ Favorite Photo(s) of the Rainy Season Championship in Des Moines ~

NORWALK, IOWA – October 1: Randy Leen taps in for his par amidst the downpour on the par 3 5th during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Summer Championship

NORWALK, IOWA – October 1: Brandon Askew on the par 5 6th hole during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club on Oct. 1, 2009 in Norwalk, Iowa

To say that it rained in Des Moines would be an understatement the likes of saying that Halley’s Comet is not that rare.  For nearly three days it rained non-stop, yet play commenced on two of these days.  Of the field, only four players broke par for the tournament; kudos to the guys for sticking it out.

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~ Favorite Celebration ~

NORWALK, IOWA – October 3- Trevor Murphy with a “thumbs up” after visiting the can aside the tee of the par 4 2nd during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk, Iowa.

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~ Favorite Gateway Tour Logo Photograph ~

MARICOPA, ARIZONA – September 3: Gateway Tour Tees during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Southern Dunes on Sept. 3, 2009 in Maricopa, Arizona

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~ Favorite Composition ~

NORWALK, IOWA – October 3- Barrett Jarosch hits his drive on the par 4 16th during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk, Iowa.

With the exception of camera settings, nothing is more important to me than composition. While this statement rings true for all photographers, as a photographer who specializes in golf, I decided to create a set of golf-specific rules that I judge each photograph against.

While I’m not going to get into detail on all of these elements and their varying degrees here, the important components include: The player body position, a realistic sense of scale, symmetry and the use of layers to draw the eye to the subject.

As with the game of golf, photography is more about failure than success.  If I can get just 1 or 2 photographs on a given day to meet all of my requirement, I’m very happy.

In regards to this photograph of Barrett Jarosch and why I selected it. I had been working this angle throughout the week but to no avail. In my 20 or so prior attempts, the results were lackluster — not enough light, no ball in the frame, didn’t like the players body position, focus hit the leaves, etc…

During the final round all of the elements finally came together and I love everything about this photograph.

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~ Favorite Bunker Shot ~

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – August 7: Kendall Critchfield from the fairway bunker of the par 5 Fourth during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Grayhawk Golf Club on Aug. 7, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona

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~ Favorite Tournament Winner ~

MARICOPA, ARIZONA – September 4: Chris Kamin hits his approach shot to the par 4 5th during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Southern Dunes on Sept. 4, 2009 in Maricopa, Arizona.

Kamin dominated at Southern Dunes, a very difficult track, shooting 62, 63, 64. Need I say more!!!

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~ Favorite Course Backdrop ~

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – September 10: Eric Meierdierks during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Tonto Verde Golf Club on Sept. 10, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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~ Favorite Pin Position ~

NORWALK, IOWA – September 30- Matt Miller watches his putt run past the hole on the par4 15th during the first round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk, Iowa.

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NORWALK, IOWA – September 30- Rodney Hamblin on the par4 15th during the first round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk, Iowa.

For the top example (Matt Miller), I stitched together a couple of photographs, hence the sucky quality.  Same distance and line for both players, if memory serves, Miller’s putt ended up rolling off the green.

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~ Favorite Non-Golf Landscape ~

NORWALK, IOWA – October 3: Flower fields and hills adjacent to the par 4 12th during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk, Iowa.

~ Favorite Shot with an Animal Appearing in the Frame ~

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – September 11: Scott Harrington winner of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Tonto Verde Golf Club on Sept. 11, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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~ Favorite Sunset ~

NORWALK, IOWA – September 30- Bobby Collins hits his final drive of the day on the par5 18th hole during the first round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk, Iowa.

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~ Favorite Putter Toss ~

NORWALK, IOWA – October 3- Nathan Tyler flips his putter after narrowly missing his putt on the par 4 16th during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk, Iowa.

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~ Favorite Photo of a tee in the Air ~

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – September 10- Doug Smith with his drive on the 18th hole during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Tonto Verde Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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~ Favorite Use of a Driver (for non-golf ball relate swings) ~

NORWALK, IOWA – October 2- Matthew Kinsinger slams his club into the tee box of the par 5 18th hole during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club on Oct. 2, 2009 in Norwalk, Iowa.

With a 72 on Day One and a 41 through nine on Day Two, Kinsinger’s score was tiptoeing around the cut line. His hard work for the back nine (-2 through 16) came to an abrupt end after he doubled the 17th. This photograph was taken just after he pulled his drive on 18.

For the record #1 — Kinsinger would go on to par the hole and make the cut.

For the record #2 — He shot a 68 on the final day that included a front nine score of 32 to finish tied for 17th place.

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~ Favorite Morning ~

MESA, ARIZONA – August 28: Morning sunrise during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Longbow Golf Club on Aug. 28, 2009 in Mesa, Arizona.

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~ Favorite Shot on a Whim ~

MARICOPA, ARIZONA – September 4: Kendall Critchfield hits his tee shot on the par 4 5th during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Southern Dunes on Sept. 4, 2009 in Maricopa, Arizona.

I was making my way from the green of the par 3 Fourth and spotted Critchfield about 50 yards away teeing off on the Fifth.  I did a quick check of my setting and shot.  This is a great example of the compression the 300mm f2.8 L IS provides.

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~ Favorite Rules Official ~

NORWALK, IOWA – October 1- Ryan Prey, the Gateway Tour’s VP of Tour Operations during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Championship at The Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk, Iowa.

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~ Favorite Shot from the Shit ~

MARICOPA, ARIZONA – September 4: Eric Meierdierks from out of the rough on the par 4 15th during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Southern Dunes on Sept. 4, 2009 in Maricopa, Arizona.

The 15th at Southern Dunes is an easy pitch-&-putt par 4 measuring 496 yards. Meierdierks (pronounced My-er-driks) was a little quick off the tee and ended in the native left of the fairway.

For the records, I have played this hole over 100 times and have had this lie on many of these occasions. However unlike me, Meierdierks expertly extricated his ball, landing on the green set uphill 185 yards away and two putted for par..

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~ Favorite Hair ~

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – August 7- Benoit Beisser lines up his putt on the par 4 Third hole during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Summer Series at Grayhawk Golf Club on Aug. 7, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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~ Favorite Position (just after impact) ~

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – August 7- Brian Prouty hits his drive on the par 4 7th hole during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Grayhawk Golf Club on Aug. 7, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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~ Favorite Position (w/o the golf club) ~

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – August 7- Brian Prouty drops his driver after hitting his drive on the par 4 7th hole during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Grayhawk Golf Club on Aug. 7, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

PS: Prouty would go on to win the tournament.

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~ Favorite Pose (no ball in the frame) ~

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – August 7: Kendall Critchfield during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Grayhawk Golf Club on Aug. 7, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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~ Favorite Little Critter ~

MESA, ARIZONA – August 27- A tasty morsel for a friendly little critter during the final round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Longbow Golf Club on Aug. 27, 2009 in Mesa, Arizona.

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~ Favorite Rainbow ~

MARICOPA, ARIZONA – September 3: An early morning rainbow in the background of the par 5 463 yard Eighteenth hole. Photo taken during the second round of the Gateway Tour’s 2009 Desert Summer Series at Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Arizona.

x~ Favorite Plug for golfchronicles.com :- ) ~

That’s it for my Best of Gateway Tour 2009.  Here’s a sneak peak from the first event of the 2010 season.

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