More Than a Round of Golf: A Marriage Proposal at Old Head

Driving back to Cork after photographing the 2026 PGA Cup, I had plenty to reflect on with no further golf photography bookings in the calendar for this year's golf season. There had been a great week at The K Club, an unforgettable Irish Open at Doonbeg, and a memorable year photographing groups visiting Ireland to play golf.

What I didn’t know was that my final golf booking of the year would be one of the most special.

A couple of days later, an email arrived overnight from Damon in Arizona. He wanted to know whether I was available to photograph him and his girlfriend, Samantha, playing Old Head during their first visit to Ireland.

There was, however, a twist. Damon was planning to propose during the round, and he wanted me to capture it.

I had never photographed a marriage proposal before, but I have photgraphed Old Head more than any other golf course and as a result know the place and the staff there extremely well. That familiarity gave us a starting point for working out where and how it could happen, with the setting, timing and surprise all part of the plan.

During a Zoom call, I showed Damon photographs I had taken at Old Head over the years. He wanted to pop the question on the back nine, but without leaving it too late in the round. When I brought up a photograph of the view from the iconic 12th tee, I barely had time to explain how it might work.

“That’s it. That’s where we’re doing it.”

With the location settled, the next step was working out how to be in position without giving the surprise away. Between planning with Damon and coordinating with Old Head, we came up with a cover story: as they approached the 12th tee, I would be off to the right, apparently looking for golf balls.

Not quite the usual way to begin a photography booking, but it gave me a reason to be there without making my camera the centre of attention.

For all the planning, there was still a moment we couldn’t rehearse. I needed to let Damon do his part, keep the surprise intact and be ready when it happened.

As Damon and Samantha approached, I stuck to my ball-searching duties. Then he went down on one knee, and it was time to pick up the camera.

Thankfully, Samantha said yes.

We had the photographs, the surprise had worked, and a round of golf on their first trip to Ireland had become something neither of them would ever forget.

It was a joy to walk with them afterwards and photograph the remaining holes. The proposal was the moment we had planned around, but being able to stay with them for the rest of the round meant their photographs could tell more of the day’s story, rather than ending just after the question.

After a year that had taken me from private golf trips to major tournaments, this was a very different kind of highlight. Knowing the course had helped me advise on the location and plan where to stand, but it was Damon and Samantha who made the day so special.

Damon did a brilliant job, and the two of them could not have been sweeter. What a way to finish the year’s golf bookings.

Wishing them a lifetime of happiness together.

If you’re planning a golf trip to Ireland and have something special in mind, I’d love to hear about it. More often than not, a photography booking turns out to be about much more than golf.