Score Some Fresh Art

Anything can be art, even golf score cards — and artist Sam Van Galder is teeing it up. Around four years ago, Sam began combining his hobbies of art and golf by painting courses. Last summer, he sought a new medium: score cards. Now he takes commissions from all over the world. Clients send in their score card and Sam captures a signature hole or portion of the course, making the card into an original piece of art.

“I still try to have some of the info come through to give it that unique look,” he says, adding that the compact art is desirable to a larger audience. “It’s not like a massive poster or anything, it’s a nice little size.”

“I haven’t found anyone else painting on scorecards yet, so I’m trying to become the scorecard man,” he laughs.

Clearly his pursuit is paying off, because Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club recently commissioned a scorecard to be sold in the golf shop as prints. Although Sam is based in Wisconsin, he’s proud to have Mid Pines as his first golf course client. You can expect to see some at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club and Southern Pines Golf Club soon. To our surprise, Sam hasn’t actually been to the area yet but would love to work with more courses (near and far) on prints. Ready to tell Sam to visit the land of the pines or just want to see some really satisfying time lapse videos? Follow him on IG.