09 PLAYERS

2009 PLAYERS... What a week! Monday was the first annual Nationwide Tour reunion and cookout. They brought in the "Big Truck" and fired up the grill. A bunch of former Nationwide players dropped by to catch up old with friends.Jerry Kelly adds his signature to the banner in the truck.We had a lot of requests as usual. Here is our shot chart for the week!Early in the week we gathered images of tournament preparation.

Caddies gather early near the clubhouse and wait for their pros.A bag of balls on the back range.
Tuesday evening was the player family party at the Ponte Vedra Surf Club. It was a circus theme and even had a performing dog show. Caryn was totally jealous!Climbing a ladder.This dog had a monkey on its back. Maybe too many years in showbiz?Wednesday is the annual caddie contest at #17. Players donate to the Bruce Edwards charity fund and then their caddies take a shot at the island green.Wednesday was also military day and concluded with a tribute to President George Bush (#41). I had a birds-eye view in a TV tower behind the 18th green. Thursday finally arrived and we got to photograph some golf! This is a photoshopped image from the 6th tee, one of my favorite spots.Friday evening was the media party and pig-roast. They had the full pig on a spit. I called Caryn in the media center and told her how "blog-worthy" it looked. She came right out.
I wanted to try a new remote location this year at the foot of the trophy presentation stage. Caryn grabs a shot of me and Stan as I'm rigging it up.Fans gather at the first tee for the final groups on Sunday.You never know who you'll see at the PLAYERS! Beth hangs with Lisa, Evan and Andrea as they taunt me with cold beer.#15 is another of my favorite tee boxes. Henrik Stenson tees off with the lead.
A remote shot at the 18th green as Henrik Stenson wins the 2009 PLAYERS.Rick Dole gets a shot of me waiting for the trophy ceremony.
I usually shoot from the side for a different angle.Halleran looks relieves that it's over. The remote I put on the stage worked out pretty well for the trophy handoff.Sergio congratulates Henrik on the victory.Rick Dole shoots the final trophy shot from the roof as Caryn gives direction.

Pre-PLAYERS shoot

We are always looking for ways to get good hospitality photos for our marketing dept. It's tough to get good people shots during a tournament, so we set up a few shots at the 17th hole chalet before PLAYERS began. Our designers would Photoshop a crowd in later.Cast group photo.Amber and Caryn find some disgusting bird poop on the railing!Then pose as though it never happened!Anna came to assist since Caryn was supervising and blogging. I ended up using her in the "gallery" too. Thanks!

Savannah and LMLOG

The Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is one of my favorite tournaments. It's a team competition and different than the regular stroke-play events we have week-to-week.

Bernhard Langer and Tom Lehman won in exciting fashion! Golfworld ran this as a spread.

One of my favorite trophies.

A few locals checked out the action.It's a fun week because the players (No pun intended) are really fan-friendly and interact a lot with the galleries.Wynona Judd performed at the Pro-Am awards dinner. She put on a great show and her backing band was great.A side stage view of her teleprompter which displayed song lyrics.The bridge to Hutchinson island is a major landmark to the people of Savannah.Volunteers work the summary board on #18.I set up a remote on the 18th green TV tower. JR supervises and makes sure that he gets my cameras if I fall!The final result.To the victors go the spoils. Congrats Tom and Berhnhard!

Relay for Life

Beth volunteered to be on the committee of the 2009 "Relay For Life" in Neptune beach. It's a 24 hour walk to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. We spent most of the day manning the advocacy booth.
The walkers had a nice gallery of spectators.Jimmy Gilbert and Debbie Carpenter make things happen!I saw someone feeding seagulls and had to get a few shots.
Later in the afternoon was the annual "Miss Relay For Life" pageant. Yep, they're guys!Lucky Stiff performs on a very cool portable stage!

West Coast & Stonebrae Classic

A fun west coast trip for a new Nationwide event, The Stonebrae Classic. The course is pretty close to my brother Don's house, so I set up camp with he and Vivian for the week. I also commandeered Don's BMW 1200RT for a few days. What a nice ride! Best media parking ever!The Big Truck is the "Mothership" of the Nationwide Tour and ops base for every event.The golf course is at the top of a mountain and
very scenic. (But a long hike!)Nationwide Tour CEO Bill Calfee manned the grill during the Pro-Am and cooked his famous pork chop sandwiches. Yum!Thursday brought the fog and a cold wind to the mountain top. Many players were wearing gloves, rainsuits and wool hats.The sun eventually came back out and it was a beautiful weekend.Sunday I got a rare treat, a chance to ride in a zeppelin airship! It's run by Airship Ventures
and is based in the bay area. It usually flies tours over downtown SanFrancisco but we got a special tour over the TPC Stonebrae.
After being driven to a field at the Oakland airport, we wait for the airship to pick us up.
It's larger than a 747 and has seating for 12 plus flight crew.Pretty modern cockpit!A great view of the Oakland sports complex.There was a great panoramic window in the rear to shoot from. Looking back at Oakland.Here's a view of the course. What a fun flight!