Evan Schiller does not have a philosophy as such for his golf course photography, but he knows how to navigate the golf landscape, in more ways than one.

“It helps that I know golf,” starts Schiller, whose celebrated work adorns magazines, websites, and the walls of clubhouses and homes across the globe. “I have been around golf my whole life, and I have gotten to know a lot of golf course superintendents, so I have a really good sense of how they work. A lot of my job is down to preparation, and to communicating with superintendents.”

Schiller grew up playing golf at Ardsley Country Club, in Irvington, New York, literally across the street from his family’s home. Occasionally, family vacations would include rounds at Rolling Hills Golf Club in Fort Lauderdale. The club, now called Grande Oaks, earned its unconventional legendary status back in 1980.

“The movie Caddyshack was filmed at Rolling Hills,” explains Schiller. “In fact, those golf course explosions at the end of the movie—they actually staged those explosions at the golf course, but they didn’t tell anybody beforehand, so they were blowing up stuff and the police came to the course.” (This is a true story. A pilot flying overhead spotted a fireball, thought it might be a crashed aircraft, and reported it to air traffic control.)

Schiller played college golf at the University of Miami, on the same team as Woody Austin, who would play on the PGA Tour, and Nathaniel Crosby, a son of Bing Crosby who won the 1981 U.S. Amateur. Schiller turned pro after college, and while he did not make it on tour, he qualified for the 1986 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, not far from home.

“A couple of my buddies qualified, too,” Schiller recalls, “and one day in practice we were on the first tee . . . Just as I was getting ready to tee off, Greg Norman and Lee Trevino walked up to the tee. They stood right behind me, with their arms folded, as if to say, ‘What are you guys doing?’ I was thinking, ‘Please, God, just let the ball go in the air.’ I got my drive away, and my friends were laughing. They were like, ‘If you can survive that, then teeing off in the first round tomorrow is going to be a breeze!’ ”

Schiller started taking a camera to tournaments with him, for his own enjoyment and to share photos with friends. Then, while working as an assistant at Westchester Country Club in New York, he had a colleague suggest he try selling some prints in the pro shop.

“I never thought anyone would buy them,” Schiller says. “But we put them in the shop during the Buick Classic, I sold a few, and I was off and running.”

Schiller—whose exceptional photographs regularly appear on the pages of Kingdom magazine—has not stopped since.

Hole 8

Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland.

This shot (main image) by Evan Schiller captures not only the beauty of Portrush, but also the uncompromising weather of the rugged Atlantic shoreline. “I could see the waves coming in, but it took a little bit of luck to get them rolling in just above the pin,” he admits. “It was windy and overcast, and the sun just came out in short bursts. When it did, I snapped away. If I could hang around just Royal Portrush and Royal County Down for the rest of my life, I’d be happy.”

Hole 4

Belleair Country Club, West Course, Florida

Belleair is Florida’s oldest golf club, and Schiller photographed the West Course after the Donald Ross layout had been restored by Jason Straka and Dana Fry. “Belleair is right near Clearwater, and that stretch of water is Saint Joseph Sound, and the land beyond it is Belleair Beach,” he says. “A lot of trees were removed to open up the views of the water. The afternoon shadows really define the undulations on the golf course, and particularly around that fourth green.”

Hole 5

Moonlight Basin, Montana.

This Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course in Big Sky is just one element of an 8,000-acre mountainside property. Moonlight Basin extends from Lone Peak down into the Madison River Valley, close to Yellowstone National Park. “This picture was taken from a drone,” shares Schiller. “Golfers can see that mountain from just about anywhere on the golf course. A lot of the land here is preserved, and on the golf course, you are surrounded by these 10,000-foot peaks. There were no houses out there, so when you are playing golf, or taking pictures, you are out in the wilderness.”

Holes 15 & 5

Bandon Dunes, Sheep Ranch Oregon.

The Sheep Ranch course at Bandon Dunes started out as a nine-hole course, until Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were recruited to extend it into a full 18. “This is the northernmost part of the property, and this photograph is facing south, so for almost as far as you can see, this is the Bandon Dunes property,” says Schiller. “This was April last year, and the gorse is blooming, so the hills have that yellow tint. I was just hoping I would get some sun. This was shot just after the sun came up, over a hill to the east, and the early sunlight brings out the undulations.”

Hole 9

Streamsong, Black Course Florida.

Gil Hanse incorporated the sand ridges of this central Floridian expanse to great effect, creating a golf course that looks like it could be on the moon. “I actually started photographing this green further round to the left of this shot, looking back up the fairway,” recalls Schiller. “I was flying the drone around, and then, just out of curiosity, I flew it over to this spot, into the sun. Then I realized in that moment that I had been shooting from the wrong angle, and that this is the shot I wanted! The late afternoon sun illuminates such a cool green complex.”