Five years ago, to launch Carefree Golf Photography I sent out an email with a simple proposal: £199 for a golf course photoshoot.
Why? Whilst I knew people said nice things about my photography, I genuinely didn’t know if anyone would actuallypay me to take photos of their golf course.
As they reopened after the initial pandemic lockdown, several clubs took me up on the offer, including Leamington and County, which was the site of our first ever commission (below) and a kind testimonial from GM Bryan Frazer:
“We were so pleased with Mike’s level of professionalism, and the results are stunning. Without question the best set of images we have ever seen of the course. I would have no hesitation in recommending Carefree Golf Photography.”
Those £199 shoots in the summer of 2020 turned into a career beyond my most optimistic hopes —working with brilliant clubs, tournaments and brands across the UK and Ireland. Since Carefree Golf Photography launched I’ve worked with over 60 courses, and to mark five years in business, I’m turning back the clock!
For one lucky club, I’m bringing back my original offer:
✅ Full photo shoot - compelling, evocative golden hour photography of your golf course ✅ 25 images with the option to purchase more at preferential rates ✅ £199
The full value today is over £1400, but this is a celebration of where it all started.
And if you aren’t successful, you won’t go empty handed. All clubs that enter will receive:
📸 Free Download - ‘Our Guide to Activating Photography for Your Golf Club’ Packed with tips to get the most out of your course imagery—online, on social and around your club.
🖥️ Free Photography Audit I’ll personally review your website and social channels and send you quick-win suggestions to improve your photography and visual storytelling.
🎟️ Priority Booking for 2025 Bookings for the rest of 2025 are currently on hold. Clubs who enter the £199 shoot giveaway will get early access to our remaining availability.
I don’t want to worry about pages of T&Cs, but there are some ground rules…
If you don’t mind when I visit your club, the cost is £199, and I will schedule the visit to you during our course photography season — one day between 21 May and 30 September — with at least 72 hours notice of our visit.
If you would like to schedule your photoshoot for a particular day or window in the calendar, the cost is £199 plus expenses (accommodation and travel costs from Co. Down, NI).
The draw is open to clubs in the UK & Ireland. If you’re based elsewhere, you are welcome to enter but the cost will be £199 plus expenses (accommodation and travel costs from Co. Down, NI).
I have a simple weather policy — if the sun doesn’t shine, we’ll come back!
You will receive our 25 favourite photos, and will have the option to purchase more at a discount on our normal rates, and only if you want to.
I will draw one random winner, who will be announced shortly after.
Thanks for being part of the journey—whether you’ve been along for the ride since day one or just discovered my work. This is my way of saying thank you, and here’s to the next five years!
This year’s biennial gathering of the club managers from around Europe and beyond took place in London from 22-25 September, and Carefree Golf Photography was honoured to be tasked with capturing the event.
It was a pleasure to meet all the delegates and speakers — thank you for making my life easy by smiling and engaging with the conference throughout the four days!
To access either of these galleries, just enter an email address and you will be able to view and download any images you want to keep. It doesn’t have to be the one you registered for the conference with — it just tracks any images that you ‘favourite’ if you log back in.
Thank you again for a fantastic few days — it was great to catch up with some old friends and meet plenty of new faces. I hope to cross paths with plenty of you again down the road…
Finally, if you are looking to update your club or golf course photography, please get in touch — it would be a joy to work with as many of you again as possible!
All the best
Mike Hyde Carefree Golf Photography mike@carefreegolf.co.uk | +44 7793 027885
I went to university in Cardiff and continued living there for several years after, so it’s always a pleasure to return to Wales and I was delighted when I got the call from Pyle and Kenfig for a visit in May ‘23.
The brief to capture as much of the golf course a possible in the two shooting windows we had and to create a short video using drone footage. However, much of the course is already well-photographed, and Ryan Evans — assistant secretary and my contact for the shoot — was keen to see some new angles of their iconic holes.
I had visited the club once before and played the back nine where the most dramatic land lies, so I knew what we has getting at and relished the challenge.
I also already knew that I wanted to try and make the most of the amazing views up the coast, where you can see the industrial landscapes of Port Talbot, with plenty of flames and steam adding a dramatic backdrop to the course.
Club championship qualifying rounds were taking place when I arrived, so I headed out to see if I could capture any of the play and reacquaint myself with the course. A road runs through the middle, so it was helpful to get my bearings again, and it’s always nice to get a little on course action as well.
Having checked into the dormy-house — always a treat to be able to roll out onto the course in the morning! — I then went out to shoot the course, aiming straight for the box office stretch from 11-15. The weather was glorious in both windows, so I flew around trying to make the most of the light, and was delighted with what we captured.
The one spot I took a little more time was 14. This is the signature hole at Pyle and Kenfig, but it’s also the most photographed, so I worked hard to find some new perspectives. In particular, I really like the photographs taken from the back of the 15th tee, featuring a commemorative bench. Apparently members are fond of that spot, so I wanted to incorporate it into some of the shots. I hope I did it justice…
As I mentioned, I was keen to document the sense of place that is really important to that part of the world. There’s no getting away from the history of the area, and I think the industrial backdrop adds a reassuring atmosphere. You know exactly where you are…
The next morning I worked on capturing the vibrant colours around the course, in particular the glorious bluebell beds, the wildflowers and various trees that were blossoming.
I also tried to spot the little details around the course, which are as important as the wide vistas (and, shot in portrait, are perfect for Instagram stories!).
After a wonderful, hearty breakfast in the clubhouse I had to quickly make my bed and clear out so that I could photograph the dormy-house rooms, including mine. They’re lovely, homely rooms and I would love to return to play 36 holes without having to leave the property, and being able to make the most of the superb hospitality!
On the final stretch, I spent some time in the beautiful, historic part of the clubhouse, which has some lovely details and would a perfect spot to nurse a drink and reflect on a round.
Finally, we took some portraits of the key staff members, with that part of the clubhouse as the backdrop.
Once I got home, I set to work editing the drone shots into a short marketing video, which I’m delighted to see is playing on the club’s homepage. Sometimes you can’t beat some cinematic aerial footage! Here’s the film:
Ryan was lovely to work with - enthusiastic about the project, flexible around scheduling — I work hard to give us the best chance of good light, but it means keeping an open mind on timings — clear with the brief and warm with his welcome. He also very kindly offered up a testimonial:
“Professional, flexible and a pleasure to work with, Mike provided us with a much-needed updated gallery of photos for our golf course. All the photography was first-class, showcasing our course in the best way. I would thoroughly recommend Carefree Golf Photography to anyone looking to refresh their golf course photography.”
All in all, it was a successful visit and I would recommend a trip for anyone thinking of heading to play the course, it’s a beautiful spot with a glorious hospitality. I hope I can return soon…
