{"id":170120,"date":"2025-08-26T08:01:59","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T12:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=170120"},"modified":"2025-08-27T21:19:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T01:19:10","slug":"behind-the-scenes-with-bates-golfers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/26\/behind-the-scenes-with-bates-golfers\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the scenes with the Bates golfers turned stars for an Adobe AI video"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Earlier this year Golf Digest<\/em> was looking for college golfers to star in a video that would showcase how a new Adobe tool could be used by lovers of the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 1,300 men\u2019s and women\u2019s college golf programs in the U.S. but typically the talent pipeline for pro golf \u2014 and its preeminent publication \u2014 runs through powerhouse NCAA Division I schools such as Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Wake Forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this video production though, Golf Digest<\/em> turned to Division III and Bates College. To demonstrate the creative reach and user-friendly qualities of Firefly, Adobe’s generative AI tool, Golf Digest<\/em> followed members of the Bates men\u2019s and women\u2019s golf teams as they explored its potential applications to build idealized golf holes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"As<\/a>
As members of the film production team capture video and audio, Derek Duncan (left), Golf Digest\u2019s architecture editor, talks to the Bates golfers on the elevated 9th tee at Martindale Country Club in Auburn, Maine, on May 20, 2025. The Bates golfers were the stars of a branded video about Adobe Firefly, a new generative-AI tool. (Jay Burns\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shot in Lewiston and Auburn on a single day in May, the result is a 12-minute custom feature video sponsored by Adobe<\/a> that debuted this month, starring many Bates golfers adorned in Bobcat-merch, the Martindale Country Club, and campus locations that included Pettengill Hall\u2019s Perry Atrium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bates landed on Golf Digest<\/em>\u2019s radar through connections with two Bates golfers. The first is a current student, Charlie Weinman \u201927, a politics major from Rye, N.Y., whose father, Sam Weinman, is the publication\u2019s digital editorial director. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Sam Weinman\u2019s connection to Bates predates his parental one. For Golf Digest<\/em> in 2018, he profiled a teenage golfer, Sam Gerry \u201924, who at that time was raising awareness of mental health<\/a> by drawing on his own experience. Gerry went on to attend Bates and play golf. Over that time, Weinman followed his progress. Then, when Charlie Weinman was first considering Bates, he got a campus tour from Sam Gerry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Golf Digest<\/em>\u2019s brainstorming sessions for the Adobe project, the idea of using a small-college team came up. Weinman said his colleagues \u201cknew that Charlie was having a great experience at Bates.\u201d They included Stina Sternberg, an executive with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports who leads video and branded content for the publication and who ultimately made the call to select the Bobcat team for the Adobe project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Watch the Golf Digest video:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/iframe>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Filming day was May 20. Production started at Bates\u2019 historic home course, Martindale Country Club in Auburn, then shifted to campus, where the golfers used Firefly to imagine, design, and create realistic visual images of their own golf holes \u2014 all in front of a production team capturing their every move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather was familiar Maine \u201cspring\u201d weather: cloudy skies, north winds gusting to 20 mph, and a temperature that barely reached 50 degrees. The day\u2019s first scene focused on one of the course\u2019s signature holes, the par-3 9th hole, a precipitously downhill hole that plays 180 yards from the white tees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a storytelling standpoint, it was the perfect place to begin. Since the course opened in 1921, the elevated tee has felt magical. \u201cClimb to the very crest, keep your eyes on the ground until you reach the summit, and then turn around and drink it in,\u201d exhorted the Lewiston Sun Journal<\/em> in its review of the new Auburn course. (Today Martindale Country Club is owned by Nick Glicos, whose son Evan graduated from Bates in 2024 with an economics degree.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Surrounded<\/a>
Surrounded by the film production team, the Bates golfers (in white caps) walk and talk with Derek Duncan, Golf Digest\u2019s architecture editor, along the par-5 12th fairway at Martindale Country Club in Auburn, Maine, on May 20, 2025. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Atop the windy hill, the film crew assumed their positions on the 9th tee. Down below, the Bates golfers were gathered on the green. \u201cAction,\u201d said supervising producer Michael Sneeden, and three handheld cameras captured video, and a drone tracked the action from above, as the golfers completed a cinematic walk up the steep hill. There, they met Derek Duncan, Golf Digest<\/em>\u2019s <\/em>architecture editor and host of the podcast Feed the Ball<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With cameras rolling, Duncan offered a historical primer on golf course design. He explained the history and legacy of Charles Blair Macdonald (1855\u20131939), who studied classic U.K. holes and brought their strategic brilliance to his U.S. designs. \u201cMacdonald had a set of what he considered his \u2018ideal\u2019 golf holes, and he worked to design courses from those holes,\u201d he said, referring to Macdonald\u2019s concept of \u201ctemplate holes,\u201d basic layouts that could be tweaked and adapted for any terrain or setting, but that would always be playable, fun, and challenging for all golfers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what you will do with Adobe Firefly,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cYou\u2019ll use inspirations from holes that you’ve played, some from your own hometown courses, and from your travels. Think about what you like and don’t like about those courses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He asked them to look down at the 9th green, which has Beech Hill Road passing right behind the hole. The hole\u2019s design reflects strategic course design: To help the golfer keep the road behind the green out of play, there\u2019s a generous, safe landing area in front of the green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"At<\/a>
At Martindale, Henry Ehrlich \u201926 (right) of Portland, Ore., talks with teammate Charlie Weinman \u201927 of Rye, N.Y. \u201cWhen you’re on the course as a golfer, it’s so easy to get in your own head,\u201d Ehrlich said. \u201cThinking about the way the course is constructed and how everything’s laid out isn\u2019t something that’s always at the top of your mind.\u201d (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want a road to be part of a hole\u2019s strategy, unless you\u2019re talking St. Andrews,\u201d Duncan told the golfers, referring to the famed Road Hole, where a road behind the green and along the right side of the fairway becomes a critical part of a golfer\u2019s decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the 9th tee, the production team and the Bates golfers moved to the 12th, a straight 484-yard par 5 where a right-handed golfer could slice the ball into the Little Androscoggin River that runs alongside the fairway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Duncan walked the 12th fairway and talked with the Bates golfers, the 16-member production team \u2014 camera and audio operators, drone specialists, producers, directors, and executives \u2014 moved in a loose orbit around them. The video team came from IMG Media, based in London, with freelance professionals capturing audio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"At<\/a>
At Martindale, Isabelle Meltzer \u201928 of Summit, N.J., explains to Derek Duncan the challenges of the tee shot from the par-4 13th hole agrees. \u201cA big part of scoring in golf is being good at course management,” she said. “Walking the course gave me more things to think about when it comes to where I want to be on a green or fairway in a competition.\u201d (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Duncan asked what made the hole challenging. \u201cIt\u2019s just so straight,\u201d said one Bates golfer. As they advanced down the fairway, team captain Will Phillips \u201925 of Portland, Ore., took note of Duncan\u2019s approach to the course, which was instructive beyond golf. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the way he walks a golf course: He walks slow<\/em>, and he takes time to look at all the undulations in the green, to look at where a good miss might be off the tee.\u201d (A \u201cgood miss\u201d is a shot that misses the golfer\u2019s intended mark but doesn\u2019t find deep trouble.) \u201cHe takes his time to gather in what is all around him before he makes any remarks or gives his opinion.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Phillips, the morning exercise at Martindale turned the typical golf experience inside out. Like other individual sports, golf demands an inward focus. But like only a handful of other sports, such as skiing or running cross country, golf\u2019s playing venue changes dramatically with each match, which tests the golfer\u2019s ability to stay focused, block out distractions, and make smart decisions under pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe just came off our season,\u201d explained Phillips. \u201cPractice, practice, practice, and play, play, play. You work to get comfortable with yourself in your own head. You find little techniques to stay on it mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"golfers<\/a>
The Bates golfers arrive at the green of the par-5 12th hole at Martindale Country Club on May 20, 2025. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But as Phillips walked the Martindale golf course with Duncan, he realized that to view the course as a creative course designer, he needed to step outside \u201cthe player mentality and into the designer mentality, and visit the game of golf without having to be completely locked in, dialed in, and focused on yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His teammate, Henry Ehrlich \u201926, also from Portland, Ore., was similarly struck by how Duncan invited the group to shift their thinking. Duncan asked the golfers to imagine how any given hole might be different, and how that would affect someone\u2019s experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you’re on the course as a golfer, it’s such a mental sport. It’s so easy to get in your own head,\u201d Ehrlich said. \u201cThinking about the way the course is constructed and how everything’s laid out isn\u2019t something that’s always at the top of your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cYou gave us gold. You blew all of us away with your engagement, enthusiasm, smart questions and answers, and, yes, design skills.\u201d \u2014 Stina Sternberg, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For example, said Ehrlich, when he\u2019s on Martindale\u2019s 9th tee, \u201cminus wind, I\u2019ll hit the same club no matter what. I know where I’m going to be, because I’d rather be short in that collection area than be long.\u201d (That\u2019s an example of the \u201cgood miss.\u201d) \u201cWhen you realize that the hole is designed for that purpose, that it\u2019s how you’re supposed<\/em> to play the hole, the architecture makes more sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its heart, a liberal arts education teaches students to ask the question \u201cwhy,\u201d and that played out even during the experience of starring in an advertising product. Mehar Nijjer \u201927, a psychology major from Chandigarh, India, said that her mindset on the tee would typically be focused on tactics. \u201cHit the ball to this target, avoid that hazard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"woman<\/a>
Mehar Nijjer \u201927 of Chandigarh, India, tees off during the NESCAC Women’s Golf Championship on May 5, 2025, hosted by Hamilton College at the Yahnundasis Golf Club. Participating in the Golf Digest project gave Nijjer a deeper, more strategic understanding of golf course design. (Photograph by Joshua McKee)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, she has \u201cwhy\u201d in mind. \u201cI’m thinking much more about strategy and the architect’s intended path. I ask questions like, \u2018Why is this bunker here? What is the best angle of attack to this green, and why?\u2019 It\u2019s no longer just about hitting a good shot but about hitting the right shot for the situation, based on a deeper understanding of the hole\u2019s design.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her teammate Isabelle Meltzer \u201928 of Summit, N.J., agrees. \u201cA big part of scoring in golf is being good at course management \u2014 taking into account shot shapes, risk vs. reward for certain shapes, and where to place balls on the green. Walking the course gave me more things to think about when it comes to where I want to be on a green or fairway in a competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the morning at Martindale, everyone headed back to Perry Atrium in Pettengill Hall where the Bates golfers broke into groups and used what they saw and heard from Duncan to take a crack at designing their own golf holes using Adobe Firefly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a break in the afternoon shooting, Michael Sneeden, the project\u2019s supervising producer, was asked what the Bates students were bringing to the project. He used the example of a Venn diagram, how a series of circles might explain a video project that uses volunteer student talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bates<\/a>
This video viewfinder shows Derek Duncan and the Bates golfers at Martindale Country Club on May 20, 2025, during production of a Golf Digest branded video for Adobe Firefly. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sneeden rattled off the circles of need. One, of course, was being top-flight golfers \u201cat a great college.\u201d Then being available and willing to give their time, the ability to \u201ctake physical direction as we move the cameras around,\u201d and, finally, the ability to speak on camera, \u201cthoughtfully, respectfully, and intelligently.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like other Adobe products such as Photoshop and Illustrator, Firefly enables users to create and enhance visual content. It uses generative AI, which means users can produce images, including text effects and other visual attributes, by typing a text description. The Bates students also used Firefly Boards, a collaborative tool to help with the overall ideation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phillips\u2019 team took a crack at designing a variation of the par-3 12th hole at Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters. First, they used Adobe Fresco, a free drawing tool, to make rough sketches, then used Firefly to make the hole look real, with lush greens, swaying trees, and a vivid water hazard fronting the green. They didn\u2019t touch the iconic green, but instead imagined new tee boxes. \u201cWe gave them four new options, differing yardages, which creates more or less of a battle with that traditional angle across the green.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"golf<\/a>
Will Phillips \u201925 of Portland, Ore., and his Bates team used Adobe Firefly to create this image of a signature par-3 with multiple tee boxes staggered along the water’s edge, giving golfers different strategic challenges. (Golf Digest) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Nijjer found inspiration from across the country, designing a dogleg-right par 5 that features stunning redwood trees sometimes found on northern California courses like Northwood Golf Club in Monte Rio. \u201cWe felt this provided a unique and scenic element that is not often seen in golf course architecture,\u201d she said. \u201cA key element was ensuring the hole was accessible and engaging for golfers of all abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what the Golf Digest<\/em> team wanted to see. \u201cThe engagement from the Bates golfers comes a lot from the fact that they\u2019re so genuine,\u201d said Sneeden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2021, NCAA student-athletes can profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) through endorsement deals and other business ventures. At the Division I level, this means millions going to top athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"During<\/a>
During the afternoon shoot in Pettengill Hall, a camera operator films the Bates golfers as they used Adobe Firefly to design their own golf holes. At right is James Lockman, group manager for Adobe. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re making a ton of money, which means they often already have media training by the time they get to college,\u201d said Sneeden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the Golf Digest<\/em> team found at Bates was golfing excellence among the men and women on the golf team. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be professional in their fields, just not professional golfers. They gave us their honest opinions, not something manufactured.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or as Stina Sternberg put it in a thank you note to the golfers: \u201cYou gave us gold. You blew all of us away with your engagement, enthusiasm, smart questions and answers, and, yes, design skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jay Burns recently retired from Bates Communications and Marketing after a 32-year career that included many titles and ended with senior editorial director. He edited <\/em>Bates Magazine for much of his career at Bates and will continue to contribute to the college’s publications as a freelancer.<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The talent pipeline to PGA Tour stardom typically runs through powerhouse NCAA Division I schools. But when Golf Digest \u2014 the sport\u2019s top publication \u2014 went looking for college golfers to star in a feature video sponsored by Adobe, they turned to Bates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":170121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[24,44,133,11012],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","category-enewsletter","category-creativity","category-student-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170120"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170229,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170120\/revisions\/170229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}