I’ve been pretty quiet on social media lately. Part of that is simple—I’ve been busy doing the work that actually moves my business forward. The other part is I’ve just gotten a little bored with the grind we all fall into… chasing followers, likes, shares… all in the name of “building the brand.”

But is it?

With around 30 projects a year, I’m about as busy as I want to be. So do I really need tens of thousands of followers? More importantly… why?

I’m fortunate to work in a niche with a pretty small pool of potential clients. Whether I have 100 followers or 20,000, I’m still reaching a meaningful number of the people who actually hire golf course photographers. The competition is strong—there are a lot of very good photographers doing this work now—but with more than 38,000 golf courses worldwide, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 16,000–17,000 here in the U.S., there’s still plenty of opportunity out there.

I’ve had younger photographers ask how to break into this business. The truth is, it’s not easy—and there’s no shortcut. You get hired one golf course at a time. For me, it started by photographing courses for free, with nothing more than a handshake—if I got something they liked, they’d buy it. Thankfully, they did. And I just kept going.

Like anything creative, it really comes down to differentiation. First, you need a point of view. I was fortunate early on to realize I saw things a little differently—that I was more interested in telling a story than just documenting a place. Even now, while I use a drone and enjoy it, my focus is still on putting the viewer on the ground… trying to create that feeling of actually being there. Drones are great for perspective, but they don’t replicate the experience of standing on a tee, in a fairway or bunker, seeing a shot, and feeling what that hole is asking of you.

Second, you have to understand how to build a collection that’s actually useful. A golf club doesn’t need a handful of pretty images—it needs a cohesive body of work that supports its marketing across the board. These days, there are plenty of “golf course photographers” who are really golfers with cameras, trading photos for tee times. Nothing wrong with that. But it’s tough for a club to build a meaningful, usable library that way.

Third, versatility matters. Being able to step off the course and photograph architecture, dining spaces, or the surrounding environment adds real value. Not many people in this niche can do that well. I’ll be the first to admit lifestyle photography isn’t my strongest suit—but architecture and wildlife are things I genuinely enjoy, and they help round out the story in a way that benefits the clubs I photograph.

Finally—and this is something I’m still working on—relationships matter. I spend a lot of time alone doing this work, which suits me just fine. I love solitude. But building connections with the people who run, maintain and promote golf clubs matters just as much as anything I do with a camera. I’ve gotten better at it, and I’ll keep working on it. So… back to social media. It has its place. But for me, it’s not the engine—it’s just one small piece of the machine. You’ll still see me on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and LinkedIn from time to time.

Just not every day.

I’ve got work to do.