In 2018, I paid my first visit to Rye Golf Club. I was on my first RGV Tour and I was excited to see the historic Devereux Emmet design. I left the golf course impressed with the amount of fun that was packed into such a small piece of property. I distinctly remember thinking… “Man, I would love to return and properly photograph this beauty.”
8 years later, I got the call. Quitno Golf Design had recently completed a renovation of the golden age design and I was commissioned to capture the results. The bunkers have been improved, short game and putting greens have been added, and greens have been re-contoured to match the 1920’s styling of Devereux Emmet. The results are glorious. Please enjoy my 10 favorite photographs from my 2026 photography shoot.
#10 - Sweet Sixteen
The 16th hole is my favorite hole at Rye Golf Club. At 437 yards long, it is one of the longest par 4’s on the golf course and provides a great deal of interest. When you crest the hill on the fairway, a glorious view of Milton Harbor is revealed and the green is cozied in between a series of bunkers. I took the photograph below from the 15th which adds some nice exposed rock.
#9 - Boats and Birdies
The 8th hole gets up close and personal with Milton Harbor and during sunset, a steady stream of boaters pass by. This photograph does a great job of encapsulating the Rye Golf Club experience during a sunset round. Boats and long shadows are guaranteed but the birdies are up to the individual.
#8 - Rye Rock Party
One of the dominant visual features at Rye Golf Club is exposed rock and the 6th hole gives us our first big boulder. This jagged beauty provides an excellent foreground for our 8th place photograph.
#7 - Picture Perfect Punch
One of my favorite parts of a golf course photoshoot is capturing imagery that I wasn’t expecting. I was hustling to photograph the far side of the golf course when a member appeared in a perfectly framed portion of the first fairway. I pulled out my camera and snapped the photograph as he punched his approach under the trees.
#6 - Ten Seconds of Sun
A lot of golf course photography is waiting around for the right moment. The sad news is that about half the time, that moment never comes. After about 45 minutes of waiting around at sunrise, I was almost ready to pack it up. There was a tiny gap in the clouds, but I didn’t give it much thought until a burst of sun shot through the clouds and illuminated the spectacular 14th hole. I had no more than ten seconds to capture this beauty.
#5 - Belle of the Ball
The 14th hole is the most interesting par 3 at Rye Golf Club and this angle at sunset probably does the best job of showing off how glorious this 136 yard hole is. The harbor looms in the background, exposed rock frames the hole on all sides and a lone tree provides a truly dramatic setting for a golf shot.
#4 - Bunkers and Boats
Our 4th place photograph takes us back to Rye’s iconic 8th hole as viewed from the 9th green. Quitno Design has created some dramatic bunkering that does an excellent job of separating the two golf holes and adding a glorious visual. The setting on the 8th and 9th holes is by far the most photogenic portion of the golf course and and its no surprise that these holes dominate the top 10.
#3 - Finish Below Whitby Castle
Even with the 14th hole commanding some serious attention, the most notable aspect of Rye Golf Club is the 18th green which sits directly below the historic Whitby Castle. Built around 1852, the castle is modeled directly after the historic Whitby Abbey ruins in England and even incorporates some of the original abbey stones. With the par 3 17th in the foreground, this photograph is hard to beat.
#2 - Sunset Stroll
The #1 photograph from the Top 10 photographs from Mill Creek Country Club was titled “Solo Sunset Stroll.” This photograph is strikingly similar. However, the golfer here had a buddy that was just out of frame on the right hand side. I dropped the “solo” from the name and dropped the photograph into a solid 2nd place. What makes this moment so special is how the sun captures just the flag and the golfer on the green. Just several minutes later, this photograph was completely covered in shade.
#1 - Portrait Party
Never before in the history of my Top 10 series has there been a tie at the top of the leaderboard. Portrait Party changes all of that. The majority of great golf course photographs display the best in a landscape orientation. However, these two beauties dominate the scene in a vertical manner. Fittingly, the glorious 18th green and the waterfront 8th hole are the most striking portions of Rye Golf Club. These two photographs represent my very best efforts to communicate the glory of Rye to the viewer.
