04/12/2026
As I look back over my life, several notable "firsts" come to mind. One of the most memorable was my short visit to Augusta National, the home of the Masters golf tournament. It was the first golf course I had ever stepped on. I can't quite remember the year...sometime in the mid '90's.
I was still assisting established photographers, and I was hired by Stephen Szurlej, the head photographer at Golf Digest magazine to shadow him on Sunday, the final day of the tournament, to be his personal sherpa. I carried two long lenses (a 300mm and a 500mm perhaps?) as we trooped around the course.
If it's not obvious from the television coverage, the course itself it extremely manicured...one could say even coiffed to the level that a beautiful woman would display at a function of the highest level. It is truly spectacular, and the fact that the tickets are almost unobtainable makes even attending one day of the tournament a golfers dream.
Upon arrival early that morning, he had me climb the TV tower on the 18th green to clamp a camera to a railing that had a full roll of film. It had a long cable release that went down to the ground, and my task later that afternoon was to make my way to the base of the tower, and fire off the roll as the last group arrived on the green. Usually the tournament winner will be in the last group.
Once that task was accomplished, we entered the club restaurant, and had breakfast. Imagine my surprise when I noticed a portrait of Dwight Eisenhower on the wall! I had no idea that he had been a member.
Once we were fueled up, we hit the course. Basically we stood behind the golfers in the tee box, and as they contacted the ball (not before!!!), Stephen would fire off a burst. Assistants were not allowed to even bring a camera up to their face, for fear of firing too soon, thereby possibly disrupting a golfer's timing during his swing. This policy was strictly enforced.
After tee shots were completed, we walked at a very brisk pace to the green, in anticipation of the group's arrival. We literally had a front row seat as we crouched down in front of the patrons to get the best angles.
If memory serves, it was on the ninth green that I began to noticed just how skilled the golfers were. We were in position, and suddenly a ball arrived on the green rolling towards the pin. I could not see the golfers from our spot, so that meant that the golfers could not directly see the hole, and were in essence aiming at a point in three-dimensional space. They were pretty darn accurate too! That was the beginning of my appreciation for their skill, and the years it took to reach that level.
Much like a professional photographer.
Several years later, my wife presented golf lessons to me for my 40th birthday. I joined the United States Golf Association (USGA), and began to receive their monthly magazine. It was extremely well done, and one day I got brave and called the photo editor and told her so. One thing led to another, and she hired me to go to Madison, Wisconsin to photograph Andy North, a two-time US Open golf champion.
It became my first national magazine cover.
Andy had written an article for the magazine about skin cancer, and was forthright about his own experience with the disease, and his treatment for it. Once I learned that part of his nostril had been removed and surgically repaired, I made it a point to not hide it, but to minimize it in the resulting photographs.
I was only supposed to have 30 minutes with him, but he was very generous with his time, giving me almost two hours. In the end, he was gracious to a fault, and I left very impressed with a fellow who exhibited true hospitality, when he didn't have to. It was a lesson I haven't forgotten on how to treat people.
Fast forward to Friday afternoon of this week, and there he was on TV as a guest commentator, something he has been doing for years. Nice to see a familiar face...even with a few more wrinkles.
