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I’ll unearth the treasures buried in your club’s history.


Somewhere in your club, there’s a room, or several, full of old trophies, flags, keepsakes and file cabinets stuffed with vintage photographs – many of them forgotten historical gems. As the former photo archivist for the USGA and currently the Metropolitan Golf Association of New York, I’ve become adept at sorting through early photographs. I would love to bring your club’s history back to life by scanning and digitizing such images and building a photo archive for your club.

A professional process yields extraordinary results.

It’s a simple process that can yield amazing results, but the technical knowledge of working with older photographs, along with the understanding of the game of golf and the proper equipment needed to do the job correctly, is what matters most. I take old images, scan them and do post-production work that generates high resolution digital files useable as museum quality prints. I do the work and you keep the images --- both the original assets and new digital files.

Preserve your history. Legacy is everything.

Monetizable Assets

Your club’s many historic images could be used in a variety of ways to monetize their value, whether museum quality prints to be sold in the pro shop, quality greeting cards for members, posters, banners and more.

Recruiting Sales Tools

Classic photos of your club can make elegant and unusual images for brochures recruiting new members, showing your club’s rich history and the members who helped to build the club’s reputation. Your club’s leaders could use the images in presentations or meetings, internally and externally. They can make your website compelling and memorable.

Former Photo Archivist for the USGA

I am the former photo archivist for the United States Golf Association (USGA). In the 8.5 years I worked there on a contract basis, I scanned, developed and dropped over 20,000 assets into its current archive that holds over 375,000 images -- considered one of the most comprehensive collections of golf photography in the world.

Before + After

Using the sliding tool on these images, you will see the original condition of the images I worked with, turning them into high resolution/quality images to be preserved.

What you’ll receive:

An initial face-to-face “get to know one another” meeting held at your club.  A discussion to determine the scope of the project and what’s involved, what I need from your club and what services I will provide.

I will then submit a proposal outlining in detail the scope of work, the amount of time involved to complete the project, etc.

Upon completion of the project, all your original assets will be returned to the club along with a backup hard drive that will contain the digitized assets and a spread sheet listing the metadata of the scanned assets.

An opportunity to work together. I’m interested in not only seeing your club’s historical images, but also hearing the stories behind some of the images showing its members, the building of the course, the tournaments and championships that were held there, and more.

Get Started Today with a Call

FEATURED STORY

St. Andrews Golf Club

Considered to be both the oldest and first photograph of golf in America, circa 1888 taken on the St. Andrews Golf Club course on Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.  This is just one of many historical images that exists in their vast archive. 

“The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club, America’s oldest continuously operating golf club, is engaged in a multiyear project to digitize its historical records. Our goal is to establish the Saint Andrew’s Archives as a recognized and respected source of information on the early history of the American game of golf. Achieving this goal will require excellence in all phases of the digitization process and we have sought out the best support resources available to assist us in this endeavor. Digitization of the Saint Andrew’s photo files at the highest level of quality is of the utmost of importance. For this task we have chosen to work with Jose R. Lopez. He is the former Photo Archivist for the USGA where, over the course of 8+ years, he developed and placed more than 20,000 assets into the USGA photo archives. Prior to his time with the USGA, Jose spent 31 years as a Staff Photographer for the New York Times, rising to the position of Picture Editor. The quality of Jose’s work is impeccable. Equally outstanding is his meticulous attention to detail in the design and execution of his work plans. Finally, Jose is a pleasure to work with in all respects. It is our pleasure to recommend the services of Jose Lopez wholeheartedly and without  qualification." 

Richard G. Powers
The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club Historical Committee

 

FEATURED STORY

Sunningdale Country Club, Scarsdale, NY

“Working with Jose on our historical photo project was an absolute pleasure. This was my first time undertaking something like this, and from the very beginning, Jose's warmth, kindness, patience, and genuine enthusiasm made the entire process enjoyable and rewarding. Jose was incredibly communicative, always prompt with follow-ups after our meetings and discussions, and made what could have been an overwhelming project feel manageable and exciting. His passion for preserving history and his ability to connect personally with those he works with truly set him apart. Having him come to see the completed installation and celebrating with a champagne toast was such a fitting and memorable way to close the project. I couldn't have asked for a better person to work alongside.”

Ferial Naber
Director of Membership, Marketing & Communications, Sunningdale Country Club

FEATURED STORY

Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville, North Carolina

"Digitizing our collection of historic photographs is an important milestone for Biltmore Forest Country Club. This project is an essential element in our plan to better protect our cherished historical assets. It also enables us to share more of our images and our stories with our members and guests, as well as the broader golf community. We are grateful to Jose for his professionalism, his expertise, and especially his technical skills in completing this critical work."

Trish Shand
Membership and Communications Director, Biltmore Forest Country Club

FEATURED STORY

The Los Angeles Country Club Display

The U.S. Open Championship, considered to be one of the major golf tournaments in the industry, was played at The Los Angeles Country Club in 2023. Having scanned many images showing Hollywood actors, actresses and studio owners, I researched and gathered the images then presented them to the Museum Director with the idea that they could be displayed at the venue.  She took my idea, had museum quality enlarged prints made and created the photo wall that you see in this photo which was part of the USGA Museum’s display at the U.S. Open venue. 

I've had the great pleasure of working with Jose for more than ten years,

both in my previous role as a senior executive in the golf industry and more recently as a museum and history consultant business with a deep portfolio of clients.

Through that time, I've known Jose always to be conscientious and mindful. He focuses keenly on the job at hand, while at the same time constantly considering new and better ways to complete a task. To his exemplary talents as a photographer, photo journalist, and photo editor, he brings a mindset of customer service and customer advocacy.

 

Rand Jerris, Ph.D.
Founder and Principal, Purple Valley Strategies

We’ve been very impressed with the photo archiving work that Jose has done for us at the Metropolitan Golf Association.

He approaches his work with tremendous care and attention to detail, ensuring that all images are accurately cataloged for our needs. He is very thorough with his work and I’d recommend him to anyone looking to update or create photo archives.

HELEN FARRELLY
Director, Communications at the Metropolitan Golf Association (New York)

Jose is one of those rare people who combines expertise, passion and humility.

His distinguished career as a photographer and photo editor speaks for itself. His eye for photo quality and composition is second to note. Just as impressive is how he interacts with colleagues and functions as a valued team member.

He treats people with respect, no matter their role or level of seniority, and does his work with a positive attitude despite long hours and sometimes challenging circumstances. On multiple occasions, we ended a day together with a few laughs and proud of the work we had accomplished. I highly recommend Jose.

greg midland
Editorial Director, United States Golf Association (USGA)

Jose is an absolute professional and great teammate

- thoughtful, collaborative, responsive, and most importantly, very, very good at what he does.

His efforts to highlight the USGA's photos have elevated our entire collection, and we're very grateful for everything he's brought to our team and our championships!

beth major
Managing Director, Communications & Content at United States Golf Association (USGA)

Jose is a seasoned pro that you may have the fortune to come across and work with only a handful of times in your career.

The detail-oriented manner in which he works is a great example for others to follow, this trait can be seen across everything he does including: research, editing, communications, and delivery of the final product. I am honored and fortunate to call Jose a team member.

John Mummert
Strategic Creative Director, United States Golf Association (USGA)