KEVIN MURRAY
Photographer Kevin Murray has been working in the golf industry for nearly 30 years and been on the GM staff since 2009. Here, he talks us through some of his most memorable images from that time…
Lofoten Links, Norway
My very first visit to Lofoten, situated in the Arctic Circle, was back in 2012 with Troon Golf. The course was still under construction, but even back then there was a sense that we were witnessing the birth of something very special. I’ve since been back a further three times, with last year’s shoot for FootJoy possibly being the best trip so far. It really is my favourite place on the planet and the owner, Frode Hov, has become a really great friend. I remember on my first visit he asked me if people would like the course and travel that far to play it. The fact that it’s recently been voted as one of Golfmagazine’s Top 100 Courses in the World most definitely answers that question.
Scotty Cameron, Carlsbad
This was a Golf Monthly trip to visit the Titleist offices in Carlsbad, California and spend the day with Scotty Cameron, possibly the coolest guy in the golf industry. It was a fantastic insight into his world and what makes him tick as a designer and an artist. We really were VIP guests and were shown areas of his workshop that no media had seen before.
I didn’t have much time to take this image of him holding an alligator skin, which was going to be used on a new headcover design. Normally, I would set up studio lights to balance the shadows on his face, but there was enough natural light to work with and really throw out the colours. What I really like about this image is how the angles work and help to make a natural, well-balanced composition.
Swilcan Bridge, St Andrews
As the official photographer for St Andrews from 2014 to 2018, my role was to provide archive images of the courses, so I was always looking for different angles to shoot from. Any elevated images were normally taken from step ladders or, on bigger shoots, a cherry picker. Drones were not so common back then.
Fast forward to 2022 and I was commissioned by Toro to produce a series of videos and images to celebrate its relationship with the Links Trust. I was following a Toro mower with my drone when this picture came into frame. I spent the next ten minutes capturing the bridge from an angle never seen before. It’s one of my favourite photos to date, especially as it made the front cover of The Golfer’s Journal.
Henrik Stenson, Abu Dhabi
Traditionally, the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi would kick the year off for getting player content for Golf Monthly. We would have access to the top players to get features and front-cover shots. In 2015, I was with Neil Tappin (now the Golf
Monthly editor) to work with Henrik
