AP photographer Matt Slocum knows his way around the bucolic Augusta National Golf Club during the week of the Masters — and it’s a difficult task with the regulations that help preserve the aura of the tournament. So, when he saw the light and clouds combining for a perfect backdrop, he knew exactly where he should go to take some tee shots.
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. AUGUSTA, Ga. — AP photographer Matt Slocum knows his way around the bucolic Augusta National Golf Club during the week of the Masters — it’s a difficult task with all the regulations that help preserve the aura of the tournament.
Photographers are not allowed “inside the ropes” at the Masters — patrons are kept from the playing areas such as fairways and greens by ropes that mark the course. Being on the players’ side of the ropes give photographers better sight lines and ease of movement. But The Associated Press is lucky to have a good mix of photographers and editors onsite to help cover the tournament. We work together under the direction of David J. Phillip.
Because we are not allowed inside the ropes, we tend to camp out at strategic spots and then leapfrog around before the crowds get too big. There are a few tee boxes that have access from behind. Patrons at the Masters are very polite and helpful when asked if we can kneel in front of them to get a key shot. By staying low, we don’t block them, and it allows us to emphasize the golfer and clean up the background.
I set my camera with the lowest native ISO, 100, to emphasize the dramatic sky. As golfer Rory McIlroy walked up the tee, I placed the camera very low and tried to keep him centered among the trees lining the hole. I just about always shoot at the widest aperture available, in this case F/1.4, to keep the emphasis on McIlroy. I was hunched way over on my knees, straining see the built-in level on the back of the screen. The camera was set to its fastest frame rate, 30 frames per second.
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