The secret to good storytelling is more than simply smart and insightful words on a page or screen. It also calls for images that capture the essence of the subject, whether the demeanor of an individual, the mood of a moment or richness of place or thing. Golf Digest has long prided itself on capturing unique photos and portraits that bring stories into full relief. With that in mind, we look back at some of the portrait photography we were particularly proud of in 2024.

Keith Mitchell Photographer: Steve Brahms

Dubbed the PGA Tour’s best dressed player, the 32-year-old nicknamed “Cashmere Keith” became the cover star of our inaugural standalone Style issue. Asked why more tour pros don’t have a stronger sense of fashion, Mitchell noted that sponsor scripting sometimes gets in the way. “If more golfers could wear their own style on the course, I think a lot of guys would blossom. Then again, I also think some players are helped by their uniforms.”

Joe Pugliese

Erin Lim Rhodes Photographer: Joe Pugliese

The actress and former “E! News” host posed at Smashbox Studios in Los Angeles for a Golf Digest/Malbon collaboration in our Style issue titled “Skip The Stuffy.” Rhodes take on golf fashion: “I love that you can have fun with it, from goofy socks to skirts that twirl. Don’t be afraid to take menswear and make it your own. This shirt I’m wearing is a men’s small.”

Andrew Hetherington

Jim Rader Photographer: Andrew Hetherington

Rader, shown here leaving his home at The Villages in his “pimped out” golf cart, was part of a story from our February issue that explored the hot-rod culture at the famed Florida retirement community. Rader’s ride pays homage to the Meyers Max dune buggy.

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Tom Kim Photographer: Justin Bettman

The 22-year-old three-time PGA Tour winner from South Korea was photographed in Scottsdale as part of a cover story for our May issue, where he explained how he’s trying to handle his early career success. “I just try to live a very quiet life,” Kim says. “I’m enjoying just trying to live easy.”

Stephen Curry Photographer: Rob Liggins

It’s hard to label Curry, who is not just a legendary basketball player but a scratch golfer and founder of the Underrated Golf Tour, which in its third season in 2024 comprised of four tournaments across the United States and one in London for 48 boys and 48 girls ages 12 to 18 from diverse communities, plus a season finale with a reduced field. For each event, costs are covered via sponsors as Curry tries to make good on his foundation, Eat. Learn. Play., motto of “purpose for profit.” According to the Underrated Golf website, “We are dedicated to enacting real change by creating lanes for youth from underserved communities to gain access to all of the opportunities the sport golf offers.” Curry posed for us in Stanford, Calif., during his June 2024 cover shoot.

Andrew Santino Photographer: Peter Yang

Many actors/comedians love golf. But in an interview for our September issue we learned that Santino is a true nut who often brings his clubs on tour and talks about the game on the regular in a text chain with other celebrities like Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, Michael Pena and Scott Caan. “I’ll play anytime I can,” says Santino, photographed in Los Angeles. “I’m an addict. It’s an addiction. It’s disgusting. It’s sick. It’s twisted.”

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Gordon Sargent Photographer: Daniel Brown

The talented senior at Vanderbilt, who we photographed in Nashville for a story that ran in our May issue, already has a spot on the PGA Tour locked up after he finishes the college in May, thanks to a stellar amateur career that has earned him a tour card through the PGA Tour Accelerated program.

Steve Boyle

Jimmie James Photographer: Steve Boyle

The avid golfer ambitiously played all of Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Best Golf Courses in one year, chronicling his journey in the book “Playing From the Rough.” He posed with a collection of scorecards at his home in Pittsburgh, Pa., when we ran an excerpt from his book in our May issue. All told, James flew 73,284 miles and drove another 17,472 while completing his journey.

Chris McPherson

Min Woo Lee Photographer: Chris McPherson

The Australian pro, who ranked second in ball speed last season on the PGA Tour (188 mph) despite his lean 165-pound frame, shared his pound-for-pound power secrets for our October/November cover story. “His awareness of how his body moves and what he can do with the golf ball is off the charts,” says his swing coach, Ritchie Smith.

Bryson DeChambeau Photographer: Jesse Rieser

DeChambeau carried a black-hat image among many golf fans as he jumped from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf in 2022. But this past summer, he turned things around in part via a growingly popular YouTube channel. The new Internet sensation invited Golf Digest to his under-construction home in Dallas just two days after finishing runner-up at the PGA Championship in May to share his swing secrets and explain how he transformed into golf’s content king. A month later, DeChambeau claimed his second U.S. Open title. The true sign of Bryson’s new popularity? Many in the crowd at Pinehurst No. 2 were openly rooting for him to beat fan-favorite Rory McIlroy. 

Tom Shaw

Jimmy Robertson Photographer: Tom Shaw

This photo shows Robertson tending to his duties as the starter and greenskeeper at Scotland’s Bruntsfield Short Hole Course, located in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle and, amazingly, free to play for the public. The first mention of golf being played there dates back to 1695. Once six full holes, the layout changed in 1890 to 36 par-3 holes, each ranging from 40 to 90 yards. Every green, all of which are roughly 500 square feet, boasts one of the iconic metal pins with a painted hole number. The course weaves back and forth through the public land, playing out towards the backdrop of Arthur’s Seat, another extinct volcano and hill near the center of Edinburgh, and returning to a green outside The Golf Tavern, one of Scotland’s oldest existing pubs.

Eric Murray Photographer: Jesse Rieser

Six months after their son’s suicide, the Murray family spoke to Golf Digest’s Joel Beall about Grayson’s immense talent, kind heart and the burden he couldn’t shed. This photo was taken inside Eric’s home in Raleigh, N.C., with a picture of the father and son hanging on the wall that was taken last April at Augusta National ahead of Grayson’s first start in the Masters.

Adam Riding

Karl-Anthony Towns Photographer: Adam Riding

Towns, a 7-foot center with the New York Knicks, says he’s about a 13 handicap with an all-time low score of 73. But the most impressive part of his game is his length—he’s one of the longest drivers on the planet, hitting 400-plus-yard drives with little trouble. “I learned a lot by trial and error,” says Towns, who we photographed in Moorpark, Calif., for this story in our December/January issue. “I was just picking up tips, reading Golf Digest, watching YouTube, getting VHS tapes in the library and just watching people swing.”

MIchelle Watt

Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler Photographer: Michelle Watt

This month’s Cyrpto.com Showdown brought together a pair of the PGA Tour’s best against LIV Golf’s best—Scheffler and McIlroy vs. DeChambeau and Koepke—in a televised event at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. Before the competition, the foursome came together for a Golf Digest photoshoot, where our Alex Myers got to interview the group and find out that while playing on rival leagues, they’re all still good friends.

Mary Kate Morrissey Photographer: Caroline Tompkins

The Broadway actress and star of “Wicked” photographed outside the Gershwin Theatre in New York City ahead one of her nightly performance. Morrissey insists that her passion for golf has helped her play one of theater’s biggest roles. “When I’m out playing, I don’t have a spare brain cell for the show,” Morrissey says. “All I’m doing in the sunshine for those four hours is thinking about how to get that tiny ball into that hole. That is so restful for all of the pressure and all of the singing and all of the blocking or the interpersonal relationships on the stage and things like that.”

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com