Patrick's Blog

2010 marks the 150th anniversary of the Open Championship, and we’re extremely honored that an image from the Stonehouse Golf Collection has been selected to help recognize this important milestone:  A special Limited Edition gicleé of our “Rainbow” image of hole #17 on the Old Course will be signed by all of the players and hung in the St. Andrews clubhouse.

I personally oversaw the print’s production and numbering – 1 of only 125 editions – and I believe this is the first time a photographic image has been selected for this purpose, so I’m very grateful.  It’s the best of all possible scenarios for Stonehouse.  We’re here to create and preserve lasting memories of golf, and this image, with its panoramic view of the 17th green, Swilcan Bridge, the 18th “Tom Morris” tee and fairway, and the historic R&A clubhouse overarched by a delicate rainbow, is a fitting tribute to the game’s oldest and most revered Championship.

This week, as you watch the drama of the Open Championship unfold, you might give a thought to the fact that you’re seeing more than a golf tournament.  You’re witnessing the continuation of a historic tradition, a tradition in which the world’s most talented competitors have displayed their skills – a tradition now celebrated, in part, with the help of the Stonehouse Collection.

Best regards,

Patrick

Among the year’s most pleasant developments so far is an arrangement between Stonehouse Publishing and Premier Golf, one of the nation’s best-known golf destination travel agencies.

Premier Golf intends to use Stonehouse Mini Prints as confirmation gifts for clients who book golfing tours – customized golf-centric packages that can range from attending the Ryder Cup, to virtually any destination golf course in the UK or U.S.

Patrick Drickey, Stonehouse photographer and founder,  sees the arrangement as a natural extension of both firms’ expertise.  “For over 20 years, Premier has been recognized as the “go-to” travel specialist for golf enthusiasts,” he said, “and the addition of Stonehouse Mini Prints as confirmation gifts is the perfect way to say “thank you” to clients.

“Chris Gurney, Premier’s Director of Business Development told me our first effort for the agency, a Turnberry image, was a ‘huge hit’, and we’re proud of that.  It underscores what we know about how our golf course prints can help meet client-relations goals on an on-going basis.  People tend to hang to our golf prints.”

The Premier Golf print program will include customized stickers, special feltweave envelopes, customized vellum inserts and logos.

First of all, we must thank everyone who entered the “Show Us Your Stonehouse Print” contest by sending us photos of where you’ve hung your Stonehouse Golf prints. It’s humbling to see our images displayed so nicely in so many homes, offices, clubhouses and yes, even bathrooms. It’s great to think about golf anywhere, isn’t it?

Our winner really impressed the judges and his story exemplified one of the things we have always believed about golf pictures from the Stonehouse Collection: looking at the photo is a great way to share the experience and re-live the experience of having played a great course.

So congratulations to Jay D. from New Palestine, Indiana on winning a framed Signature Edition print from the Stonehouse Golf Collection! Jay – we hope to get a picture of where you hang your latest addition to your own collection! Thank you for entering and for being such a great collector.

Here is Jay’s entry:

To whom it may concern:

Please see the attached photos of my Stonehouse prints.  I have a total of 15 prints which surround the inside wall of my pool room.  These are all of my top courses I have played and these make for great conversation while playing pool or when having visitors in our home.

I like Stonehouse prints because of the panoramic view of the course and you have a wonderful selection of courses.  This is the only room in our home where I can decide what pictures are hung on the wall… which means my wife likes them too.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Jay D.

Well said, Jay! A gift certificate for your framed Signature Edition print is on its way!

The first week in France has been everything we’ve hoped for.  Flew into Nice from London; saw many golf courses from the air, none of which I recognized (future assignments?)  We stayed in a villa overlooking the harbor at Cannes., and from that base we explored the area.  First was the little town of Eze, just 10 miles from Monaco.  Great food – what would you expect? – and friendly people, especially when I try speaking French.  You’d think I’m a comedian on stage.  Raucous laughter.  Every time.

Getting around the French Riviera is easy… trains and inexpensive bus shuttles can take you almost anywhere you want to go.  And weather?  San Diego perfect, as my son would say.  One of the many reasons the beaches at St. Tropez are world-famous.  Nice scenery, too.

Dinner at Villefranche-sur-Mer was right on the water, and the catch of the day was grilled to perfection.  Excellent wine served by the pitcher, fresh croissant for breakfast.  A villa in Villefranche is on our wish list for the next trip to France.

World Cup soccer on big screen TVs in every club and restaurant, it seems.  Fans everywhere, of course.

This week:  Italy.

About three weeks ago I arrived in Philadelphia to photograph the famous Aronimink Golf Club, site of this year’s AT&T National Tournament hosted by Tiger Woods.  Tiger had been there only a week before to check out final arrangements, so I was able to experience the course at close to its playing level for the pros. Let me tell you, this is one heck of a Donald Ross design.

No history of golf in the Philadelphia area can be told without mentioning Aronimink. It was incorporated as a club in 1900, although its true genesis stretched back several years to the Belmont Golf Association (reorganized as Aronimink) and its role in founding the Golf Association of Philadelphia in 1897.

Golf was catching on in the U.S. around the turn of the century, and the citizens of Philadelphia were determined not to miss out on the game’s rising tide of popularity.  The demand for professionally-designed, 18-hole tracks was growing. So much, in fact, that Aronimink actually outgrew and moved its facilities four times before finally acquiring its present site in 1926.

The club had the foresight to hire Donald Ross to design the layout, which today retains much of the character for which his courses are so well-known.  At first glance, the casual observer might think the mature trees are Aronimink’s only real scoring obstacles, but Ross never designed a course with only one defense. Aronimink’s arsenal of hills, bunkers, valleys, and doglegs present what Ross called “a supreme test” to many of the world’s best players at this year’s AT&T.

Having seen it, walked it and photographed it, all I can say to the players who are about to take on Aronimink is… Good luck fellas,  you’ll need it.

Tiger Woods. Phil Mickelson. Tom Watson. This week, golf’s top players and stories gather for the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach – one of the world’s iconic venues – to contend for the coveted championship of the United States.

We’ll all have to wait until Sunday to see who hoists the winner’s trophy, but in the meantime fans around the world will able to enjoy the unmatched beauty and windswept challenges of Pebble Beach.

Big Sur’s most famous golf course holds a special place in the history of the Stonehouse Golf Collection.  Pebble was the first course shot by Patrick; the first venue captured in his trademark panoramic format.  And it should come as no surprise that his image of hole number 7 continues to be the most requested in the Stonehouse Collection.

This week the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach holds center stage in the world of golf… and in the hearts of all of us at Stonehouse.

Want to win a FREE framed signature edition print?

Then fire up your camera and send us a photo of where you hang your Stonehouse print. Include a sentence or two about why you chose the print displayed in your photo. We’ll choose a favorite, or favorites, to win a signature edition print.

Send your submission to promotions@stonehousegolf.com. Submissions and winner(s) will be posted right here on our blog. Submissions must be received by 11:59 PM CST on June 30, 2010.

Congratulations to Stacey Miller, winner of our Desk Caddie contest!  Here’s what Stacey had to say about her caddie:

“My desk caddie is on my end table at home in our living room.  In it, I keep clips from magazines or emails on vacations I’d love to take one day (St. Andrews is our dream destination!)… and, of course there are pictures of my son and my golfer hubby. (And probably a nail clipper and a pen!)”

Stacey, we hope you make it to St. Andrews someday too. Until then, enjoy your new caddie!

Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry. Try again in May!

We’ve received some great, and interesting, responses to our desk caddie promotion.  Among the interesting, a submission from Drew – in desperate need of some office decor.

"I don’t actually own a desk caddie, but at this point anything for my desk would help me out."

Drew, we couldn’t agree more. Thanks for the great submission!

Last Chance to Enter!
If you haven’t sent your submission, do it now! The contest ends April 23rd.  Send a story (and better yet, a photo) to promotions@stonehousegolf.com. Our favorite responses will win a desk caddie to keep or give away.

To all you desk caddie owners out there – we want to hear how you’re putting yours to use. Is it at home or the office?  What do keep in it? What print did you choose and why?

Send us a note and a picture (if you’ve got one) to promotions@stonehousegolf.com. Our favorite responses will receive a free caddie to give to a friend or keep for yourself.

Check back here for updates and winners.