The United States Golf Association (USGA) has reached a long-term agreement with the family of celebrated sports photographer Hy Peskin for the USGA Museum to maintain the archive of Peskin’s 1,700 innovative and historic golf images.
Peskin, who died in 2005 at age 89, was the first staff photographer for Sports Illustrated. Peskin was known for his pioneering style and his ability to select angles that offered fresh perspectives of the action on the course.
“Hy Peskin was a pioneer in sports photography who documented some of the greatest moments in the history of golf,” said Robert Williams, director of the USGA Museum. “We are excited to have the opportunity to be the caretakers of his collection. His legacy lives on in every frame and we will preserve his body of work for future generations to appreciate.”
As part of the collection, the USGA obtains the rights to one of golf’s iconic images: Ben Hogan’s 1-iron approach shot on the 72nd hole of the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.
Positioned behind Hogan in the fairway, Peskin captured the follow-through of the swing that led to a par that forced an 18-hole playoff, in which Hogan defeated Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio for the second of his four U.S. Open titles. The triumph came just 16 months after a bus struck the car in which Hogan and his wife, Valerie, were traveling. After the accident, doctors doubted that Hogan would ever walk again, much less play professional golf.
“It has always been important to our family that Hy’s work find a place to be revered,” said Preston Reynolds, son of Hy Peskin and Adriana Peskin-Reynolds. “We’re very excited to be partnering with the USGA and we believe that this great organization provides an opportunity for a great man to be remembered and for the golf community to preserve an important piece of the sport’s history. We’re very proud.”
Peskin’s golf images can be licensed for editorial and commercial purposes via the USGA’s photo archive at http://photocollection.usga.org. The 1-iron image can now be purchased through the USGA Museum’s Photo Store at http://photos.usgamuseum.com
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