An early morning image of sunrise over the Castle Course at St Andrews Links has been proclaimed the winner of the 2021 BIGGA Annual Photographic Competition.
Taken by Course Manager Jonathan Wood, the image shows the course bathed in early morning light, with greenkeepers working in the background and atmospheric Scottish skies overhead.
Jonathan said: “Working on a golf course, you get to see the most incredible sunrises and so my camera goes everywhere with me. It’s funny, I would change holes a lot because it was a good excuse to take my camera out and when I spotted that scene, I jumped out of the buggy and fired off a couple of shots. It was a good morning for it and I just knew it was going to be a good photo.
“I have always had an interest in photography and from a mental health point of view, photography has certainly helped me over the past two years. You don’t have to have a fancy camera, but it’s an excuse to go outside and you realise that in the bigger scheme of things we are quite small.”
For the first time, entries into the competition were divided into three categories: Greenkeeping, Landscape and Wildlife.
While Jonathan’s photograph won the Landscape category, Joe Simpson of Ipswich Golf Club won the Greenkeeping category and Laura Sayer-Hall of Wallasey Golf Club won the Wildlife category. Category winners all receive a £150 shopping voucher.
