PGA Tour Player Parker McLachlin plays the 16th hole at TPC | Golf Chronicles. Professional Golf Photography

Canon 1DMIV, PGA Tour, Phase One - P65, Photography

Tornado’s, the 16th Hole @ TPC & Parker McLachlin

This past week in Phoenix included some wild weather. At the top of the list, a tornado touching down in north Scottsdale. While this caused major havoc for some, it made for some great cloud patterns and soft light, an ideal combo for photography.

With the effects of the storm still very much in play, I stopped by the TPC Stadium Course, home to the….(Phoenix Open… FBR Open… Waste Management Open) for a little pre-tournament work in-and-around the infamous 16th hole.

For the first time in recent memory, the Tournament no longer falls on Superbowl weekend and as such, preparation are still very much underway; including the ‘stadium’ surrounding the 16th.

For those unfamiliar, the 16th hole at the TPC Stadium course is essentially the PGA Tour’s version of a tornado. On a given tournament day, 0ver 100,000+ people will cram around this simple 170 yarder and for the sake of argument, not watch much golf!

Instead it’s the biggest party of the year on the Tour and why this hole was bestowed the moniker, “the loudest hole in golf”.

*If I get a chance, I’ll post some of my work from the last few years from the 16th.

As it turned out, my day included some great weather, an opportunity to test Canon’s new 1D Mark IV on PGA Tour Player Parker McLachlin and some great wide-angles with the 60 megapixels Phase One P65+ Digital Back. Not bad for an impromptu workday.

Tornados, the 16th Hole @ TPC & Parker McLachlin

Canon EOS 5D Mark II at f/7.1, 1/160 sec, 24mm, 200 ISO, Manual

When I first arrived, the light was perfect!

I scrambled up to the top level of the stadium and for no good reason grabbed the 5DMII. After rallying off a few shots I realized the light was changing and wished I had started with the Phase One.

Notice how the shadow from the top level of the stadium cuts across the tee boxes. After this shot, the cloud cover behind me thicken-up and I lost my ‘pop’.

PS: This is not an HDR! Shot as a single exposure with the camera in one hand and a graduated ND Filter in the other.

After 10 minutes of waiting, I got bored and made my way down to do some work from ground level.

As I was changing equipment, PGA Tour player Parker McLachlin happened to drive into the ‘stadium’. He was in the midst of a quick practice round and we decided to have a little fun and setup for an impromptu shoot.

PS: Be sure to checkout his great site www.parkermclachlin.com.

I’ve made mention of the numerous rules golf photographers have to comply with in other posts. The most famous of the rules, taking a photo prior to the player hitting the ball is a big NO NO.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV at f/5, 1/200 sec, 24mm, 200 ISO, Manual

As you can see, I paid this rule no heed and finally had a chance to fire away at 10 frames per second :- ).

I converted all 16 shots into a little movie so you can see the entire sequence….

Parker McLachlin shot at 10 fps with the Canon 1DM4 with TS-E 24mm f/3.5 L II

How good is his swing! Notice his head position throughout the takeaway, barely any movement, along with a great shoulder turn.

For the next sequence, I wanted to go with an angle rarely seen in golf and setup between Parker and hole. Instead of firing away, I switched to video and 1280×720 at 60 fps.

Parker McLachlin as shot with the Canon 1DM4 - 1280x720 at 60 fps

xHere’s a slow motion version of the above taken as he’s about to start his downswing…

SLOW MO - Parker McLachlin as shot with the Canon 1DM4 - 1280x720 at 60 fps

So good!!

With my remaining time and light both dissipating quickly, I broke out the Phase One and headed back to the top of the stadium.