Kevin Diss

I first came across the work of Kevin Diss when Sunningdale Golf Club kindly granted me permission to use one of his photographs (of the 18th on the Old Course) from their website, with the condition that I provided accreditation for Kevin, which naturally I was more than happy to do.

I was blown away by the composition, colours and artistry of the Sunningdale photograph and thus after publishing the article I visited his website Kevin Diss Photography to hopefully find out more about Kevin and about his photographic work…WOW is the only word to summarise the stunning array of his photographic golfing portfolio.

The website features a gallery of stunning images and photographs from numerous Golf Tournaments, Golf Courses and Projects…and when I uncovered that Kevin is also a very good amateur golfer I was left with no option but to contact Kevin to see if he would kindly participate in an article for Golfing Herald!!

Almost immediately he said yes and what follows is our conversation aligned to the template I use for the ‘Meet the Professional’ golfer series amalgamated with Kevin’s social media strapline, namely:

‘A serious golf photographer with a passion for the game’

Hope you enjoy.

The First Tee

Golfing Herald (GH): I started by asking Kevin when and where his golfing journey ‘teed off’.

Kevin Diss (KD): After swimming competitively from the age of 9 I started playing golf in 1974 when I was aged 13. There were not many (golf) driving ranges back then so I started playing on a field at the back of a new housing estate with a lad I swam with. His grandfather played golf and he started giving me a few golf lessons. I have no idea why I really wanted to play. No one in my family had ever played golf, though I do remember being fascinated by the British Open on the TV. It was probably the only golf shown on TV at that time.

(GH): Absolutely…for a long time the British Open was one of the ‘Crown Jewels’ on the free-to-air sporting events list!! How did you progress from the back of a housing estate to playing at a recognised golf club?

(KD): It wasn’t easy to play. My father would occasionally take me to a driving range as where we lived there wasn’t a golf club where you could really turn up and play. I first had a junior membership at Girton Golf Club and then in 1977, I joined The Gog Magog Golf Club, Cambridge whilst studying for my A-Levels at a nearby college. We were very fortunate in that at the Gogs we had a guy who really connected with the Juniors. Sadly he had lost his wife to cancer but he generated such a great team spirit and togetherness…for example, we used to play table tennis in the clubhouse on a Wednesday night!! When I look back he used to phone up and ask if you wanted to play golf in ‘something or other’ then get your parents to provide a lift one way, as the parents of another junior would taxi us home!! He was somebody who helped you as opposed to somebody that disciplined you. I made a load of friends whilst playing Junior Golf. We used to play golf all day in the holidays, particularly in the summer whilst it was daylight. A number of those friends became golf professionals.

Lasting Friendships

(GH): Are you still in touch with any of them?

(KD): Yeah…in fact, I have just been on a golfing trip around Ireland with one of them. He was my best man who now lives in Bay Hill, Florida. We played 26 rounds in 16 days in Ireland and had a great time.

County Honours

(GH): Not surprised you had a great time playing so much golf in such a fabulous golfing country. I did see on your Twitter Account, whilst preparing for our chat today, that you had recorded your first-ever albatross on that trip in Ireland!! Just going back to those early days at Gog Magog, did the standard of your golf improve by playing with a quality group of juniors?

(KD): It certainly did. I played competitively for a long time and I used to really enjoy doing a job away from golf, then play in Open Tournaments, County Competitions, etc. at the weekend.

(GH): What was your handicap back then?

(KD): You will remember that back then the handicapping system was so different from what it is today?

(GH): I certainly do!!

(KD): From 1980 onwards I was playing golf off a handicap of 1 or better. It was quite difficult to get down to scratch as you had to play a sequence of competitive rounds and also play rounds away from your home club.

(GH): What would you say was the highlight from your early amateur days?

(KD): In 1980 I won my first Cambridgeshire County title, namely the County Open. And a couple of years earlier I started to represent Cambridgeshire and I played for the county team for about another 25 years!!

Amateur Achievements

(GH): Kevin, you mentioned earlier that some of your friends from those early days at Gog Magog joined the Professional Ranks. Did you ever consider turning Professional?

(KD): Becoming a Professional golfer was something that you think would be lovely when you first play golf, but when I played a lot of golf I felt I didn’t want to play all the time. The appeal of working and playing amateur golf has always been something that appealed to me personally and I don’t think I would have made the grade as a Professional golfer.

(GH): So how did your amateur career progress from winning your first County title?

(KD): In the early 1980s I did win quite a lot such as the British Universities Strokeplay Championship. I also won the 36-hole Eden Tournament Strokeplay Qualifier at St Andrews…this event has evolved into a much bigger amateur tournament today. I just missed out by 1 shot on qualifying for the 1985 Open at Royal St. Georges when Sandy Lyle won. I also reached final qualifying a few years earlier when Bill Rogers won the Open in 1981, again at Royal St. Georges. I just missed out by 3 shots that year. Yeah, you look back and think that would have been my best golf experience playing in a major.

(GH): Did you also enter the major national events such as the Brabazon Trophy and the English Amateur?

(KD): Yes. One year I reached the last 16 in the English Amateur and played in all of the other national events. I also represented the Midland Golf Union. They select an 8-10 man team from all of the counties within the Union. Generally, I would say I have been an OK amateur. Enjoyed playing tournaments and working. I have met a huge number of people through golf which is such a privilege. At times I can’t believe when we now go to a tournament how many people I know from the past.

Golfing Family

(GH): I can relate to that, albeit in a slightly smaller/different way since launching Golfing Herald. I have been so lucky over the past 12 months to meet some fantastic Professional Golfers who have so kindly helped and supported me with various articles. Also, the global golfing community are second to none when I have requested images/photos from a golf club website to augment an article…just a couple of examples of what makes the game of golf so great.

(KD): Absolutely. You play in a tournament, you meet people, some of whom you have played with before, some you have not. As an example, earlier this year I played in an event at Parkstone Golf Club with Pádraig Harrington’s brother!! Spent the day with him, where we ended up talking about what they did growing up. There are not many sports you play where you spend a long period of time with people.

Match Play vs. Strokeplay

(GH): When you were playing in the various Amateur Competitions and also representing Cambridgeshire, did you have a preference between Match Play & Strokeplay?

(KD): I love Match Play golf. In Match Play you are playing against somebody and you are in control of what is going on. I enjoy the responsibility and at times the opportunity to apply pressure with this format. In Strokeplay, you could shoot 68 and not win or you could shoot 76 and win, but you don’t know the result until all players are in the Clubhouse.

(GH): I can provide some very recent anecdotal evidence to support what you have just said, Kevin. I recently played in a Winter League Qualifier at my home club (Beverley & East Riding) and my partner and I shot a Betterball score of 62 and finished 9th…the previous week, a 62 was the winning score!!

(KD): Exactly…I still play for the Cambridgeshire Seniors County Team and in the (Match Play) Scratch Leagues for Golf Magog and John O’Gaunt, golf clubs that I am lucky enough to be a member of.

(GH): And your handicap today is…?

(KD): I have just gone up to 2!! I have found that since I have got a bit more time to play golf I remember that I do like playing but not all of the time…I like doing other things as well and having a balance in life.

Fully Manual Camera

(GH): Hitherto we have focused on your golfing journey to date, but now I would like to chat about your work as a Professional Photographer…so let’s turn the clock back and start by asking “What happened next after completing your A-Levels at College?”.

(KD): After A-Levels, I went to University and did a technical degree in Electronic Engineering. After graduating, my first job was with closed-circuit television when no one knew what it was!! I became fascinated with image capture and optics and that really started me to take photographs. When you are just out of University and you have just bought a house you have not got a lot of (spare) money. So the cheapest camera you could buy then was a Zenith fully manual camera. It was a Russian made fully manual camera. It was fantastic as because it was fully manual you had to understand everything about it to take decent photos. When I had a little bit more money I progressed and bought some photographic equipment that I started to use for Sports Photography in the early 1980s. It is very difficult for people to get started in taking Sports Photographs, particularly something like golf in that you can’t just take a camera into a golf tournament. I used to go every year and follow the RAC rally, including through the night…that was fun!!

(GH): I assume Sports Photography was still a hobby at that time?

(KD): Yes, purely a hobby. I was still working in the Electronics and Lighting Industry and it is probably only about 5 years ago when I started photography professionally.

Golf Monthly Ranking Team

(GH): How did you transition from generic Sports Photography, such as the RAC rally, to specialise in Golf Photography?

(KD): What started me taking golf course photographs was doing course reviews for Golf Monthly, as I became part of their Top 100 (golf courses) ranking team.

(GH): How did you become part of their ranking team?

(KD): It came about when I looked at some course rankings and questioned the rankings list. I then got invited by the Golf Monthly editor who said “I am interested that you have got a different view, so will you provide me with a review of a course you have played recently…we will provide the course review criteria list…then tell me which 3 courses you would take out and which 3 courses you would put in?”. Which I did!! He saw that I played a lot of courses and had an appreciation of courses and he asked: “Would I like to start reviewing courses?” Which I did!!

(GH): How many courses in the Top 100 have you now played?

(KD): I am getting quite close to playing all of the Top 100 courses. I have only got about half a dozen left to play in the current ranking list and I have probably only got about 30 courses left to play in the Top 250…I am just so fortunate.

Sunrise and Sunset

(GH): So how did you assimilate photography into the overall golf course review for Golf Monthly?

(KD): I started playing courses and as part of writing a review of the course, I would also take photographs. I am one of those people that when I start something I say “How could I have done that better, how could I have done this better?”. So I started doing that and people would ask if they could use some of my photographs.

(GH): At this stage (of our chat), I am entitled to invoke the rule which says I am allowed to ask a sort of dumb question!!…which is “How do you actually achieve a good (golfing) photograph?”.

(KD): To get good photographs you usually photograph the light on the subject as opposed to the subject. When you see a good photograph of people they are usually lit dramatically. That is why people use studios so they can control the light. On a golf course, you have to control the light by being in the right place at the right time, which is usually when God is turning the light on or when he is turning it off!! i.e. When the sun is breaking the horizon at dawn or at sunset. People don’t often see the sunrise over a golf course but they might see a sunset, albeit not in the right place on a golf course. I would recommend to people to try and stand on a course before it is light and wait for the sun to break the horizon and then watch the landscape…it’s like somebody turning more and more lights on. Whereas with a sunset, it looks like the lights are being turned off and it is not as dramatic.

The Light

(GH): What style of golf course do you find is best for dramatic shots? Inland or Links?

(KD): Links courses are the most dramatic especially if there are large dunes and wild grasses. With no trees to stop the light, there are often many more options for capturing images, especially if the sea can be incorporated. When photographing tree-lined courses there can be holes that are just not lit at any time by the light close to sunrise or sunset so you are forced to plan very carefully to get the best shots. You need a plan of where/when you are going to photograph a golf course based on where the sun will break the horizon and which part of the course will be illuminated and likewise which holes are best aligned to sunset. But on a Links course you usually only have sand dunes in the way that often add to the drama of light and shadow.

(GH): From your perspective, what is the best light when you are photographing a course?

(KD): The best days are when it is partially cloudy, so that the sun illuminates the clouds in the sky, especially at sunrise/sunset…you don’t want a clear blue sky. I am always looking for conditions that will add drama to an image, sometimes the simplification of black and white can produce special results.

Assignments

(GH): How do you approach golf photography assignments?

(KD): Most golf courses would like a website that when somebody looks at it they go ‘WOW…I want to go and play there!!’. You want the best views in dramatically lit conditions where somebody would say “I would love to go and stand there never mind hit a golf ball on it’. You start planning with what the club wants as deliverables. If it is to be used as content for the website then it is important to consider the various aspect ratios for images.

(GH): Yes, I have certainly learnt some (painful) lessons when it comes to image ratios on the Golfing Herald website!!

(KD): The most frustrating thing at some clubs is that they look to update their website over the winter and ask can you take some photographs for us…and you think…

(GH): …if only you had asked me a few months ago for some shots during the summer!!

(KD): I have just completed a project for Royal Worlington Golf Club where I managed to get photographs captured before they cut the long grass back. Once a course has been ‘chopped down’ it can be difficult to capture the essence of the club/course. For example, if you want to photograph a course with heather then you are really just looking at July and August. It might sound crazy but sometimes you only get a few days a year when the light is good and the course looks at its best.

(GH): How do you work with a club in advance of a shoot? Do you sit down and find out exactly what they are after?

(KD): I always want to know what someone or a club wants to achieve…what are you going to use the photographs for…website, brochure, marketing material, etc. Thus, clear, defined requirements can be agreed, aligned to the light (sunrise and sunset). Sometimes I provide a library of images that they can select from and use.

Correlation

(GH): Do you think it has helped your golfing photography with being a very good amateur golfer?

(KD): I don’t think it matters how good a golfer you are. You certainly need an appreciation of the game of golf. I think playing golf helps but I don’t think the standard you play at makes much of a difference. An 18 handicapper can appreciate a course as much as a +5 handicapper.

Tournament Photography

(GH): Do you have to apply for accreditation to attend a golf tournament as an official photographer?

(KD): If you want to attend an event on the European Tour you have to be representing one of their recognised agencies or publications.

(GH): Such as the Press Association or Getty Images?

(KD): Yeah. I go to quite a few tournaments and I do some work with people who want to use images for news stories, from a database of images which I have built up for them. It is important that photographers at tournaments are experienced as you are an absolute liability if you have got a camera on a golf course and you don’t know what you are doing, in that when you press the shutter it’s like having a machine gun with no bullets in it!! It is so loud. However, once you are recognised as an experienced photographer and trusted then everything is fine. You get some great access at events and it gives you a different view of what some golfers are like.

(GH): Such as…?

(KD): Justin Rose is an absolute gentleman on the golf course. Rory McIlroy is the same. Last year I walked all 18 holes with Rory, Ross Fisher and Francesco Molinari at the BMW Championship at Wentworth in the final round. Firstly they played very quickly and secondly, they genuinely encouraged each other. It would be “Good Shot”, or “Super Strike” …or something similar. When on an assignment like that you think ‘I would love to have a round of golf with you’.

Life Lessons

(GH): Your experience of those players during 18 holes at Wentworth is a perfect illustration that we can all learn from about playing golf in the right way.

(KD): I think you can be highly competitive but if you lose you shake hands and congratulate your opponent(s). You have fought as hard as you could. I think it is a good lesson in life and golf teaches you things in life.

(GH): Absolutely.

(KD): Don’t get jealous. If somebody has played better than you, congratulate them and move on. If you want to think ‘What can I do about it’ then you might need to work harder or find out how you can play better next time…that is what happens in life?

(GH): Every day in life that happens…it is how you respond to mistakes as opposed to living on your success…as in life, you are only as good as your next shot.

(KD): Yeah…if things don’t quite go your way then you stand back…you don’t get difficult with somebody, whether it is a business deal, sport, etc. If somebody beats you think ‘I won’t let that happen again if I can help it’. I think golf is a curious sport that generally you don’t need a referee. As players, we call penalties on ourselves and I think that is a great philosophy on life. You know the rules so play by the rules.

(GH): Comes down to integrity. Whether it is at the end of the working day or at the end of a round of golf, as long as you can hold your head high and say you worked or played with integrity, learn lessons along the way, then you won’t go far wrong.

If not a Professional Photographer

(GH): Kevin, if you had not become a Professional Photographer, then what?

(KD): I have a real interest in Sports Psychology. When you see players being interviewed or see players who are leading a tournament you can tell that they are clearly under extreme pressure. But you hear them say this is what I have worked hard for and I am going to enjoy today. That is what a Sports Psychologist is helping them with. Some people can’t cope with pressure, other people thrive on it. Either they know naturally what to do or they have been coached by people who know how the human brain works.

(GH): I have read a number of books by Dr Bob Rotella on the mental side/approach to golf and I know for a fact they have helped me…especially when my game is not in a good place (like now!!).

(KD): ‘Golf Is Not A Game Perfect’ and ‘The Unstoppable Golfer’ are my top picks from his many books. I also admire Professor Steve Peters.

Favourite Course – Part 1

(GH): Reverting back to playing, of all the courses you have played, which is your favourite (excluding Gog Magog and John O Gaunt!!)?

(KD): I think the front 9 holes at Royal County Down is as good a 9 holes of golf that you can play. Massive Dunes and a huge variety of holes. The dramatic landscape, the mountains and the condition of the course make Royal County Down such a special course on a special piece of land. What I love is courses with subtle trouble where you think ‘Good gracious me, what am I going to do now’. I think you see that at courses such as Royal County Down. When the wind changes in direction you have a totally different course. When I played Royal County Down there was a wind of hurricane proportions approaching and you think ‘How on earth do I stop the ball downwind’.

One Course Only

(GH): If you could only play on one golf course for the rest of your golfing life, would it be Royal County Down or A.N.Other?

(KD): My favourite type of golf is Links golf. However, due to the changing/bad weather, especially during the winter months, I wouldn’t choose Royal County Down as the only course I would want to play for the rest of my life. If I had to choose only one course then it would be the Old at Sunningdale. A very special place, very friendly. The Old course has a great variety of holes and it doesn’t beat you up from the point of view that there are numerous birdie holes. The Par 5 opening hole is a birdie opportunity, the 2nd is a tough hole, the 3rd is a short Par 4 and you are sort of thinking I have got a chance…and so on. There are a lot of risk and reward shots. Standing on the tee at the 3rd and you think I could try and get near the green with a Driver…but if you do and are slightly offline you reload and have another go off the tee!! There are quite a number of holes like that at Sunningdale. It’s a course that is difficult but is a memorable course because of the variety.

(GH): And by today’s modern standards, Sunningdale Old Course is not a long golf course.

(KD): Yeah. Fun golf is not 7500 yards. There is nothing better than a hole where you know you could make a birdie but sometimes make a 7!!

Favourite Course – Part 2

(GH): Of all the courses you have photographed, which is your favourite (as before, excluding Gog Magog and John O Gaunt!!)?

(KD): For a Links course it would be Trump International, Aberdeen and for an Inland course, it would be Sunningdale.

Plagiarising Henrik Ibsen’s famous adage “A thousand words leave not the same deep impression as does a photograph” …as per the 2 photos below.

Fantasy Fourball

(GH): In addition to yourself, who would you have in your Fantasy Fourball?

(KD): I have been asked this question before. I actually have a Dream Fourball and a Modern-Day Fourball and the courses where the respective fourballs would be played!!

(GH): I like the sound of this…OK, so let’s start with your Dream Fourball.

(KD): I would have Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus with the match played at Augusta National. Bobby Jones was the person who saved the Augusta National course when he retired. He really didn’t want to play but establishing the US Masters meant Augusta National survived. Ben Hogan is somebody whose legend grows and grows. And Augusta was a special place for Nicklaus. We all have the image of the last win he had in the Masters where he holed that putt down the green.

(GH): And his iconic celebration with his putter held high in his left hand.

(KD): That’s right. A big-headed putter, his son on the bag, it just couldn’t have been scripted any better.

(GH): And your Modern-Day Fourball?

(KD): Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Tiger Woods with the match played at Pebble Beach.

(GH): Why Pebble Beach?

(KD): I think it has such a fantastic front 9. A special place in a special setting. Whether I ever get to play it who knows, but as a public course, you can just pay to get on. Do you remember when Tom Watson chipped in on the 17th to win his only US Open in 1982?

(GH): I certainly do. Iconic pictures of him running around the green in celebration.

(KD): Well, half the photographs you see are reversed as if he has got his golf glove on the wrong hand!!

(GH): What!! I will have to check that out…so what is your thinking behind your picks?

(KD): Rory and Justin are golfers who I think would be 2 of the greats to play a round of golf with and as for Tiger, he has played fantastic there and whenever he plays in a Tournament there is such a magical buzz.

(GH): Kevin, what a great way to finish with 2 Fantasy Fourballs for the price of 1. A huge thanks for your time today and for sharing your golfing journey so far and providing a fascinating and passionate insight into the world of professional golf photography.

Finally, just a reminder to all the Golfing Herald readers that Kevin’s golfing photographic gallery can be viewed at his website Kevin Diss Photography – you will not be disappointed.