Choudrant

Squire Creek Country Club

Choudrant is the town in North Louisiana where you’ll find this, the finishing hole at Squire Creek.  Cash and prizes to he first person to correctly pronounce Choudrant.

Wilmax Construction

Wilmax Construction

There’s something very real, very authentic about a construction site.  Maybe it’s the comfort of seeing what’s there, without having to sift through what someone wants me to see.  Maybe like Rudy Guiliani’s hair.  Remember when he abandoned the comb-over?   Weren’t you thankful?

Squire Creek

Squire Creek Country Club

Here’s a shot of the clubhouse at Squire Creek.  Wait’ll you see the other side.

More Downtown Austin golf

Downtown Austin Golf Course

Another thing:  In Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, there’s an old private golf club smack in the middle of the city.  Why not Austin?  Austin Country Club began that way (at the now 9-hole Hancock Park), but now sits way out in Westlake.

Downtown Austin golf

Butler Pitch & Putt Austin Texas

Yesterday, I was talking with some bigshot ad execs from London, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and some other places.  They were in town for some sort of conference about real estate marketing?  They were blown away by Butler Pitch & Putt.  They seemed to think that Bridges on the Park has a huge advantage over other downtown real estate developments, simply because of the little golf oasis that sits across the street.  I’ve always been a fan of Butler, for lots of reasons.  Price, proximity and personality among them.

Augusta National

Squire Creek Golf Club

Who needs it when you’ve got this?  I’ve heard some people say Squire Creek might be the best course in Louisiana.  Hmmm.  It’s easily that.  It might be the best golf club in the United States.  Pound for pound, it is by a long shot.

RAW vs. JPEG

swan

Here’s an argument for shooting RAW all the time.  I was out on the Colorado River in a canoe with my kids and shot this with my D80.  Usually on trips like this, I shoot JPEGs, because I end up using about 20% of what I shoot.  So, I shoot a lot, and I want to be able to shoot a lot.  (RAW files take up more space, for those who didn’t know.)  Click on this one and look at the detail in the feathers and drops of water.  Had I been shooting RAW, I’d be able to blow this one up to billboard size with very little quality loss.  Since it’s JPEG, I’m stuck with trying to cheat it up any size larger than about 24×36″.

Marc DeWall, PGA

I wonder if the owners and members of Cordillera Ranch are aware of what a good golf pro they’ve got. Here he is modeling for me on the 3rd tee out there on a recent shoot. There used to be an ad for the PGA saying something about PGA Professionals wearing many hats. Add “modeling” to that list.

Billboards

As much as I hate billboards, this image (or a similar one) should start showing up on them across Texas any day now. Where is this pool? Here.

D-Crain Design & Construction

More landscape artistry from Dylan Roberston and his team at D-Crain.

One cool thing

At Sky Creek Ranch, they laser all the flagsticks from every tee placement, every morning, and change the numbers on the tee signs.  No searching the card for the number or looking on the ground and stepping it off.  Very, very cool.  You don’t see this at your average daily fee golf course.  Know what’s not cool?  You dorks with your rangefinders.

Change

The kind I can believe in.

More from Sky Creek Ranch

Just off the patio outside the clubhouse.

Barton Creek Resort

How good does Barton Creek look?  I was out there last night for their fireworks show, and saw this, the 18th hole of the original Fazio course.

Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club

Just got back from a couple of days’ worth of shooting and playing the golf course.  This place is bigtime underrated.  Incredible greens, really good layout, very good service.  Never thought I’d be a fan of any golf course in the sprawl of the Metroplex, but I’ll play this one again.  Any day.