A Great White House Perk

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President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden practice their putting on the White House putting green April 24, 2009.

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

A Fun Golf Shot

Woody Austin of the U.S. Team hits a shot from the water on the 14th hole during round two of the fourball matches at the Presidents Cup. (Photo taken at The Royal Montreal Golf Club on September 28, 2007, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.)

Nike Golf Swing Portrait

Q: What happens when you combine the greatest swing in golf with the power of modern digital photography technology?

A: Nike Golf: Swing Portrait

Nike Golf is airing a new ad this week showing Tiger Woods’ swing via slow-motion, high-definition photography. The ad was orchestrated by cinematographer Junusz Kaminski, who won Academy Awards for “Saving Private Ryan” and “Schindler’s List,” and utilizes a Phantom v5 digital camera capable of capturing 4,000 still photographs per second. The ad was shot in April, 2006, inside a Las Vegas sound studio, with Woods taking 20-25 swings over an eight-hour period.

An original cello arrangement composed by Christopher (Kimo) Kemp, with cellist Cameron Stone, accompanies the footage.

You can view the poetry at nike.com/nikegolf/swingportrait/ and be sure to turn up your speakers for the full effect.

Update: It appears Nike have removed this campaign from their web site. Thankfully, YouTube comes to the rescue and you can still view the original ad there.

(Thanks to Berger for the background information.)