Chip Beck - Champion's Tour Pro

Interview With Chip Beck Champion's Tour Pro

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Chip has won four career PGA TOUR events and one Japanese Tour event and earned over $7 million on the PGA Tour. Received the Vardon Trophy in 1988. Recorded the second 59 in PGA TOUR history on October 11, 1991 in the third round of the Las Vegas Invitational. Made 13 birdies and no bogeys at Sunrise GC. Sank a three-foot putt on his final hole to join Al Geiberger (and since, David Duval) as the only sub-60 shooters in PGA TOUR history. Best year on TOUR was 1988. Played in three Ryder Cup Teams-1989, 1991, 1993. On August 7, 2003 became the second TOUR player to a record a rare hole in one on a par four when he aced the par-4 ninth hole at the Champions Club in the first round of the 2003 Omaha Class.

The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you do the game?
My mother introduced me one morning in the summer of 1967. Ronnie Reitz was giving a junior clinic and my mom coerced me to attend. She said I had to go one day and if I didn't like it I didn't have to continue. I loved the first time I hit the ball, I couldn't believe how high and far the ball went. I was hooked from that point on.

What is your current home course?
The Merit Club in Libertyville, Illinois. Bert Getz invited me in and I've enjoyed my relationship very very much.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Shooting the 59 allowed me to start with the PGA Tour and PGA Of America the Chip Beck Scholars with the Western Golf Association. We have done it for 20 years now with nearly 40 graduates and I'm proud to have been a part of helping others improve their lives through this great game of golf.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
The juniors today don't know golf etiquette. I'm not sure they are being taught either.

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
The Putter, because it is the most important club to winning.

What is your favorite golf destination?
I always enjoy Pebble Beach and Harbor Town in South Carolina. These resorts have so much to offer with great golf, amenities, and weather that changes daily for skillful play. The restaurants are wonderful and convenient after a long day on the course.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Crystal Downs is on my list this summer when we travel there for two of our majors. I've heard it as good a Augusta National.

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Cypress Point because of it's natural beauty.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
I think after a period of time I would do as Nicklaus says the slow the ball down so we can play shorter courses that are more challenging around the greens. This would make the game more competitive and quicker which would lead to more exciting tournaments and more people playing.

Dream foursome (living)?
Nicklaus, Palmer, and Tiger in one day would be great.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Pope John Paul 2, Jack Kennedy, Ben Hogan

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Long putt

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of Life

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Crack of Dawn

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power fade

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Halfway house

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Wrap

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Sand

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid? hybrid

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Long par 5

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Beatles

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Fun

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
flop shot

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Gamble

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18

Article Tags: Interview With Chip Beck

Revised: 03/02/2012 - Article Viewed 31,899 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.