Masters 2026: Photographer's career has been happily interwined with capturing the magic of Augusta National
· Yahoo Sports
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Paul Lester was walking around Augusta National Golf Club with his unmistakable bucket hat and smile.
MORE: Masters picks, the Bryson Dilemma
Visit h-doctor.club for more information.
He was there to watch final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur as a fan before working the Masters as a professional photographer. Lester didn’t have his camera with him, but he was still recognizable to so many. As he walked, he stopped to chat with, among many others, Golf Channel broadcaster Brandel Chamblee, a college coach and a USGA employee., Stranger isn’t in his vocabulary.
“It is wild. Like you saw today, I can’t walk 10 feet without seeing of someone I know,” Lester said. “I’ve been in the business 55 years. Thank gosh I haven’t done too many things wrong and I’m friends with just about everybody. It’s cool to see everybody there. If I spot someone, I’ll say hi and it doesn’t have to be a full conversation. I’ll wait for the right time.”
It’s always the right time to snap pictures at Augusta. This will be the 76-year-old Lester’s 31st season snapping photos here. Lester has pulled back on his schedule a touch and shoots mostly the practice rounds now. He’s walked the course too many times to count. “To me, it’s like walking Disneyland,” Lester said. “I know every inch of this course. It’s so beautiful.”
Lester first started shooting the Masters in 1995 for Ben Crenshaw's emotional win. Since then, he’s chronicled everything from joyous celebrations to the agonizing losses. During competition days, he figures he taken between 700- to 1,000 photos per day.
He was shooting at the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds Plantation in Lake Oconee in 1995 when he got a call from Golf Illustrated that they needed him to go to Augusta. “Seeing 13 for the first time, the water, the azaleas, the bridge, was great to photograph,” Lester said.
The era of the PGA Tour that included Ben Crenshaw is among photographer Paul Lester's favorite. (Photo courtesy of Paul Lester)
One of his favorite photos is of Fred Couples playfully putting Tiger Woods in a headlock during a practice round. His favorite era were taking photos of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Crenshaw.
For Lester, the best part about Masters week isn’t a particular hole at Augusta—although his favorite part of the course to watch is at the par-3 sixth tee. It’s the people playing, walking and working who have his heart.
“What keeps me coming back is the players. They change all the time. I love seeing players playing for the first time,” Lester said. “Like Chris Gotterup playing for the first time [this year]. He has the game for this. The course is the same. That doesn’t change, although they did lengthen it.”
Lester is a native of Van Nuys, Calif., just north of Los Angeles, and has a plethora of connections in the golf world. Southern California is where he shoots most of his assignments—professional and club tournaments, golf parties, charity events and more. But it’s Augusta that is the most special place for him. After all, he met his partner, Brenda Remkus, here in 2000.
Lester’s friends played matchmaker and the couple went to a Glenn Frey concert in Georgia. Lester was living in Los Angeles at the time, but the two hit it off and have been together ever since. Their Georgia home base for the last 15 years is Evans, a town bordering Augusta.
Lester and Remkus have tons of Masters memorabilia, especially photos. Each year, they host a party of about 25-30 people after the winner dons his green jacket Sunday. They’ve got the cups, plates, snacks and the Masters flag outside their home.
Asked if they’ve ever thought about renting their home for the week—which many locals do for a serious windfall of cash—Remkus said no because they always open their home to someone who needs a place to stay for the week, like a media member or friend. That’s their generous nature.
Lester knows so many don’t have the opportunity to go to the Masters because of the lofty price tag of the tickets and hotels, so he always buys packs of ball markers at the gift shop and hands them out to people he meets who would love to go one day. He’s always wearing his Masters watch, one he got about 15 years ago for $250. It’s always a conversation starter.
Every year, he marvels at how pristine and clean the place is, how workers immediately wipe the sink after someone washes their hands. And especially how fans behave.
“They never get too excited out here,” Lester said. “There’s no screaming. There’s no yelling ‘get in the hole!’ They’re quiet and respectful. They keep it under control.”
Lester isn’t sure how long he’ll continue to don a credential at Augusta. He loves it, so retiring is a fleeting thought. After all, he lives nearby and all his friends are there.
“You’ve made it when you’re working at that place,” Lester said.
Three decades in, it’s still special.