Page 37 - Las Vegas Golf & Leisure Magazine Spring 2020

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Story by Bill Bowman

hey are some of the biggest names in the
world of golf: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus,
Arnold Palmer, Channing Benjamin.

T Wait a minute, Channing Benjamin? Yes.
Take our word for it—his name belongs with
the greatest to walk the fairways, even if he doesn’t play
Tradition Golf Club golf as well as the other three. While the first three names
are the best to ever swing a club, Benjamin is one of the
best when it comes to showcasing golf courses near and far
through camera lenses.

He got started shooting golf courses in as roundabout a
way as possible. “I was actually in television production,”
he says. “I did a lot of live concerts and sporting events in
Indiana.” Then came a huge leap of faith. “I did some con-
cert directing and that led me to LA in 1999. It was for a
small group that no one knew about, NSYNC. It was a risk

The Links at Spanish Bay Pebble Beach Resorts to go out with them and Britney Spears and PINK, but I
did it. I traveled around the world and picked up golf along
the way.”

A new career was about to be launched, and on a golf
course of all places. “I started taking photos on the courses
and it was kind of special,” he says. “That began to change
my course, change my focus. There was less stress, and I
had more of my own time for myself.”

But, how would he get the photos out to the world? Well, the

Pebble Beach Golf Links solution was easy. “I was kind of ahead of the game with
social media,” Benjamin says. “When MySpace came out I
got into that and created a page, and then InstaGram came
out and I started posting images. I got great feedback and
had a lot of photos reposted and it just kept going. I had
incredible feedback.”

And now? If a publication has the word ‘golf’ in it, chances
are Benjamin has contributed his work to the covers and
inside pages. His work has been seen worldwide, from Golf
Digest to Golf Magazine to Australia’s Caddie Magazine,

SilverRock Resort

Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach Golf Links are registered
trademarks of Pebble Beach. Used under license.
www.lasvegasgolfandleisure.com SPRING 2020 LAS VEGAS GOLF & LEISURE 35