In February, 2007 Lee Wybranski traveled from the PGA Show in Orlando directly to Sea Island, Georgia to begin work on an art commission for Frederica Golf Club. The artwork featured the tenth hole set against the marsh and was created for the club's annual Member Guest, and the original will hang in the new clubhouse currently under construction.

Winter also brought a few Logo Design projects to successful conclusions, the first of which being arguably the most prestigious. Group W is proud to have designed logo materials for the 2009 Walker Cup at Merion Golf Club. This marks the second time we have been privileged to work with this outstanding event, as well as the second time Group W has worked with Merion on a USGA competition.

Group W had been working for over a year with Alpine Country Club in New Jersey, Met Club of the Year in 2006, on re-inventing the club's identity. The facility now has a new trademark to match its lovingly restored Tillinghast golf course and stunning, new clubhouse. The new design draws upon and celebrates the club's past, while establishing a solid graphic system for future use on all new club collateral.

Group W also had the pleasure of working with GAP neighbor Squires Golf Club, whose members wanted a logo with a little more verve to go with their newly renovated George Fazio golf course (the first that famed nephew Tom worked on). The top hat and iron of the country gentleman were selected and the logo is serving well in its first season at the club.

Two golf course guides were published by Group W this spring for two excellent clubs: Conway Farms Golf Club outside of Chicago, and The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe near San Diego. While both clubs are of the same recent vintage, the strongly traditional CF and equally spectacular RSF are as diverse as golf courses can be, and these books demonstrate well how the look of our publications is tailored to the facility.

Spring also brought two special Framed Miniature projects. The first was the InterClub Invitational, an international event hosted annually by Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, with a field of players from the finest clubs in the world. Lee created a painting of the scenic Par 3 11th. The second project was completed for Morris County Country Club's Weekend of Golf. Morris County is a founding member of the USGA and this year marked the 82nd Weekend of Golf. Group W is pleased to have published Lee's painting of the clubhouse with the 18th green for the event.

Late spring brought us to a warm June and to Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh for the U.S. Open. This was the record 8th time that Oakmont hosted the national championship and Group W was more involved than usual. The 2007 U.S. Open Logo, as last year's, was designed by Group W and was better implemented than ever in merchandising and media throughout the event. In addition, Group W had the honor of producing the 2007 U.S. Open Player Gift, which every member of the field received. The framed piece featured the 2007 logo in gold bullion embroidery along with original imagery from each of the seven previous Opens hosted by Oakmont. All material was selected from club archives and Group W extends a special thanks to John Fitzgerald.

High summer arrived with a bang as Lee Wybranski was contracted to create the official poster for the Inaugural AT&T National Hosted by Tiger Woods. The event, hosted by storied Congressional Country Club, was a spectacular success and Lee made an appearance on Sunday to sign posters. The tournament was immediately regarded as one of the best on Tour, and all posters sold out early. Thanks to Tiger and Congressional.

Summer has also afforded us the time to wrap up a number of projects with charity or non-profit clients. Group W has created identity materials for the Bruce Edwards Foundation for ALS Research, based on the very recognizable silhouette of Tom Watson's longtime caddy and friend. We also developed a trademark for the New Jersey Golf Foundation, a non-profit foundation established by the NJ section of the PGA with the goal of bringing golf to young people. Lastly, we were pleased to provide some design work to good friends Bobby and Leslie Weed as they put together the first annual Valley of Dreams event at TPC Sawgrass to benefit the HEAL Foundation. The benefit was a remarkable success and raised over $388,000 for Autism research. Group W is grateful to be involved with these fine organizations.

Upcoming Projects include a hand-drawn and painted course guide of Merion's famed East Course, and a Centennial Routing for Whitemarsh Valley CC, the only George C. Thomas design in the East. Lee will also be working on the final two miniature paintings of the summer for Caves Valley Golf Club (our 8th Fall Member Weekend!) and South Fork CC in Amagansett.

Group W would like to acknowledge the departure of Ron Pennington and the fine contribution he has made to the studio and our clients over the last several years. Those of you who have interfaced directly with Ron will agree that he is a highly professional and talented designer and will be missed. We wish him well in his future endeavors.

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