Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Well, that's it, now I want a comic book about golf.


I like golf.  I can't say for sure whether the sport likes me, but I'm willing to bet that all the problems I have with my short game and long game can be summed up with "doesn't play enough."  I learned when I was young and immediately picked up a fondness for the sport.  Riding in golf carts, trying to size up power and angles into arcs and rolling distances.  Eyeing trees that I suspected would suddenly lean in to deflect my ball into some deep grass, or bring their branches into the way to stop me in my tracks.  I went to golf camp when I was young, took private lessons, even learned from a former pro in some "one on one" lessons, where I was told that "if I could get a few things straightened out, I'd have a swing frame most golfers would kill for."

But I never really enjoyed watching golf.  Whether it was being there, watching others play, or watching players on TV or even watching golf in movies, having the emotional investment taken away just took away a lot of the fun.

Playing golf, when done right, is like communing with nature, if you take into account that nature has been plowed, flattened, grassed, and maintained with the same determination as a lot of botanical gardens.  But there's just something about the fresh air, the rush of oxygen coming off all the grass and trees, the sounds of frogs diving into water hazards to avoid stray balls, and following the wide, winding pathways to the next flag that just really feels tranquil and peaceful.

So when I found that artist Nathan Fox did some artwork for Golf Digest at the Masters, I was slightly intrigued.  Then I looked at the artwork, and I was blown away.

Honestly, if someone told me "Nathan Fox is the artist for a graphic novel about a really great game of golf," at this point I'd have my money slapped down on the counter before I even knew if it was in stock.

These images are absolutely gorgeous and seem to carry the serenity and tranquility that a good game of golf provides (or even a bad game of golf, once you accept how you're playing and look around you).  They were also all pulled from this site, so go there to read the article, see more of his work, and see some of the original sketches he worked from.

More of his artwork after the cut.








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