By Mike May
If you saw images on social media of the Epson Tour’s French Lick Charity Classic from The Pete Dye Course in French Lick in early August, those posts were created by a Hoosier – Ben Harpring from Columbus, who is a content producer for the Epson Tour.
“In French Lick, my main role was taking photos and getting those photos shared with the media,” said Harpring. “Outlets across the country and around the world use the photos to help better tell the stories that happened on any given day. I also helped update our social media pages, giving updates on what happened throughout the day.”
According to Harpring, a 2013 graduate of Columbus East High School, some social media outlets have a bigger reach than others.
“At this point, I believe Instagram gives the Epson Tour its greatest exposure,” says Harpring.
While Harpring generates a great deal of content himself, he’s not the only one on the Epson Tour collecting and distributing pictures and videos.
“We utilize photos and videos that often get shared by players and others in the golf industry, and this gives us quite a bit of awareness,” says Harpring. “We also share links to our website stories, and this gives us more traffic to the website.”
While Harpring thoroughly enjoys his role in the golf industry, golf was not always his number-one sport of choice.
“I did not play golf in high school, not competitively anyway,” adds Harpring. “I was a baseball player, and during the summer ahead of my junior year, I got hooked with the golf bug. I played golf during the summer and fall, but I was locked in for baseball season and put the clubs away then,”
In college, he played some club golf events for IUPUC.
“We played against Big Ten club golf teams and other bigger schools,” added Harpring.
Harpring has been attending and working LPGA tournaments since 2017, but this is his first year working for the Epson Tour.
Working in professional golf has its perks, but it’s not a lifestyle for everyone.
“Once this year is complete, I will have spent around 30-32 weeks on the road,” says Harpring.
And, when Harpring is not working, Columbus remains his home.
