Tag Archives: golf

Chip Beck, PGA Tour Winner for Pitchfix

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Rick is joined by PGA Tour winner and all around nice guy, Chip Beck at the 2020 PGA Show, where he was appearing again for Pitchfix.

Chip Beck is a three-time All-American at the University of Georgia. He has four victories on the PGA Tour and twenty runner-up finishes. He spent 40 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings between 1988 and 1989.

He was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was the runner-up at the 1993 Masters Tournament, and was tied for runner-up at the 1986 and 1989 U.S. Open championships. He is also noted for his stellar play at the 1991 Ryder Cup held at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort and is a three-time Ryder Cup participant, also playing in 1989 and 1993 at The Belfry Golf & Country Club in Sutton Coldfield, England. He won the Vardon Trophy in 1988.

Beck shot a round of 59 in the third round of the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational on the Sunrise Golf Club (par 72) in Las Vegas, Nevada, one of only six players in the history of the PGA Tour ever to do so. His round included 5 pars and 13 birdies (a PGA Tour record for birdies in one round) including a three footer on the 18th hole. Beck finished tied for third in the tournament. He also shot a hole-in-one (also a double eagle) at the par-4 9th hole in the first round of the 2003 Omaha Classic, a Nationwide Tour event. It was the first in Nationwide Tour history and second recorded in the history of the PGA Tour umbrella combined. Chip also has played on the PGA Tour Champions.

Pitchfix’s new products will broaden the company’s product portfolio beyond divot tools. In addition to the Greenkeeper Pro divot repair tool, the PickCup, AquaBrush and AimPRO are going to be offered in 2020.

The Greenkeeper Pro is being reintroduced at the 2020 PGA Merchandise Show and now features a more flexible green maintenance solution for all playing surfaces. After significant on-course testing with professional greenkeepers around the world, Pitchfix has developed the Greenkeeper Pro to provide a simple but effective professional ball mark repair solution for all greens surfaces. Utilizing the company’s proprietary RepairTech pin technology, the Greenkeeper Pro is now the most complete repair tool available for professional greenkeepers and golfers alike.

The 33” Greenkeeper Pro is constructed of a rubberized handle, carbon fiber shaft and a spring loaded steel cast head with stainless steel ‘teardrop’ pins. With one push down on the handle into the ball mark, the stainless steel prongs in the head pull up, creating a level surface and a perfectly fixed ball mark without bending down.

The Greenkeeper Pro comes in a two-pack with each tool designed for varying degrees of green hardness.

PickCup is a device designed to improve the efficiency of removing golf balls from the cup while maintaining the integrity of the grass surrounding the hole.

The creation of PickCup is in large part a result of the new R&A and USGA rule that now allows flagsticks to remain in the hole while putting a ball from on the green. Many golfers, when removing the ball from the cup, will insert their hand or putter between the flag stick and the edge of the hole, creating damage to the hole edges. This causes the greenkeeper to move the hole around the green, creating extra repair and maintenance work.

The PickCup solution, easy to install and replace, has a soft edge to protect the grass around the hole and easily fits on any flagstick. PickCup helps improve speed of play, eliminates damage to the edge of the hole, reduces the need for new pin placements and eliminates the requirement to bend over to the retrieve balls.

AquaBrush is a new essential device for golf bags, fitted with interchangeable and replaceable brush-heads and a water reservoir used to clean club heads. Press the button on top of AquaBrush and a spray of water shoots out and on to the club face. Wipe it clean with a towel or the brush attached at the base of the grip.

Aquabrush is available in multiple colors and as with Pitchfix’ range of award winning divot tools, can be logo’s with a club crest, tournament brand or logo.

AimPRO is a compacts, circular ball marker with a mirror on top designed as a practice aid to help golfers learn and master the Aimpoint method of reading the break of a putt. The mirrored surface is placed upon the putting green and helps the golfer learn how to calculate the correct scale of any slope on the green and adjust their aim accordingly. The system promises to help users find the right line and improve the accuracy of their putting. AimPRO is designed to help golfers of any ability learn this relatively new method of reading the break that is proving increasingly popular with Tour Pros.

Founded in 2005, Pitchfix is the market leader for switchblade divot tools and other golf green related products in Europe and Asia and is renowned for its high standards in design and product quality. It aims to be the market leader in divot tools and other golf related products in the United States by designing, manufacturing and distributing an ever-growing line of high quality and innovative European designed products through selected distribution partners.

Pitchfix currently offers an array of diverse and innovative products for golfers worldwide: Twister 2.0 Divot Tool; Classic Divot Tool; Hybrid 2.0 Divot Tool; XL 3.0 Divot Tool; Alignmee Marker Alignment Tool, Hatclip Ball Marker, The Tour Edition and Tour Edition 2.5 Divot Tool, the Multi Marker Chip, Greenkeeper Pro, PickCup, AquaBrush and AimPRO.

The Pitchfix Fusion 2.5 was named “Best Divot Repair Tool” by Golf Digest in its 2019 Editors’ Choice Awards for the third consecutive year.

John Smoltz, Baseball Hall of Famer, Bridgestone Golf

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Rick is joined this week by Baseball Hall of Famer and Atlanta Braves legend, John Smoltz.

Smoltz played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time All-Star, Smoltz was part of a celebrated trio of starting pitchers, along with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who propelled Atlanta to perennial pennant contention in the 1990s, highlighted by a championship in the 1995 World Series. He won the National League (NL) Cy Young Award in 1996 after posting a record of 24–8, equaling the most victories by an NL pitcher since 1972. Though predominantly known as a starter, Smoltz was converted to a reliever in 2001 after his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and spent four years as the team’s closer before returning to a starting role. In 2002, he set the NL record with 55 saves and became only the second pitcher in history (joining Dennis Eckersley) to record both a 20-win season and a 50-save season. He is the only pitcher in major league history to record both 200 wins and 150 saves.

Smoltz was one of the most prominent pitchers in playoff history, posting a record of 15–4 with a 2.67 earned run average (ERA) in 41 career postseason games, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1992 NL Championship Series

I caught up with Smoltz not in Atlanta, but at a Bridgestone Golf event that was part of the 2020 PGA Show in Atlanta.
Smoltz has now turned his attention to golf and recently won another celebrity tournament. He’ll be making some starts on the PGA Champions Tour and hopes to qualify this year again for the U.S. Senior Open.

Smoltz is also now a respected voice in the baseball broadcast booth. Hard pressed to find someone better to explain the game than Smoltz.

Pete Charleston, Co-founder, President of Golflogix

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Rick is joined by a great guest this week on “Tech of Sports.

Golflogix Co- founder/President, Pete Charleston. Prior to GolfLogix, Charleston co-founded Premium Cigars International and helped take the company public on the Nasdaq. Charleston served as vice president of sales for Premium Cigars International, where he successfully launched an in-store humidor program in over 10,000 retail outlets, negotiating contracts representing over 25,000 retail locations and managed 50 sales reps. Charleston now leads GolfLogix’s marketing, sales, and business development efforts and helped successfully negotiate the acquisition of GolfLogix by Emigrant Capital Corp. in 2014. Having been in the golf GPS business since its inception in 1999, Charleston is one of the most experienced executives in the Golf GPS industry.

Founded in 1999, GolfLogix is the world leader in Golf GPS technology, was the first to introduce handheld GPS to the golf industry, and holds a patent on wireless Golf GPS. GolfLogix has been professionally mapping golf courses for over 12 years and is proud to have the largest, most up-to-date golf course database in the world. All of our maps have been verified by millions of rounds of golf played by our members.

We talk about the new Putt Line feature. The long-anticipated update to the innovative app shows the exact read for distance and line, taking the guesswork out and allowing users to see exactly where to aim their putts.

GolfLogix is the only on-course app that shows you the exact line of your putt to the hole, along with break, change in elevation and the speed of the green.

Now the regular golfer can use GolfLogix to get the same information that the pros have on tour.

With one simple swipe, golfers can easily:

Get the exact read for distance and line
Determine the optimal aimpoint of each putt
See the elevation change from the ball to the cup
Read the changes in speed with the color-coded putt line
View contour lines, arrows, and the slope grid
Set the green stimp
Use the animated putt line to see how the ball will break into the cup
Sink more putts!

Through 2005 GolfLogix developed proprietary software and maps for a Garmin co-branded handheld GPS device that was featured at thousands of prestigious golf courses all around the world. In 2006, the USGA and the R&A officially sanctioned the use of Golf GPS and many companies scrambled to develop GPS solutions for golfers; but GolfLogix was already there. In 2007, the company launched the GolfLogix GPS-7 handheld waterproof consumer unit and based on the company’s mantra of “keep it simple” it was adopted by golfers around the world with incredible success. GolfLogix followed up with a launch of the GPS-8 unit including a full 30-minute TV infomercial campaign featuring Gary McCord and Peter Kostis which captured the attention of millions of golfers worldwide. Today, the GPS-7 and GPS-8 units still lead the pack in being the most reliable and easy-to-use golf GPS system ever produced.

In 2009, seeing the rapid advances in Smartphone technology, GolfLogix quickly captured the market with a golf application that provides precise GPS distances plus keeps score and tracks stats and uploads them to our online clubhouse community where golfers can share and compete with millions of golfers worldwide. Now available on over 60 different Smartphone models, with new phones being added monthly, the GolfLogix Golf GPS application has become the No. 1 Golf App across all Smartphones.

Great to talk with Pete and continued success to Golflogix.

Tom Cox, President and CEO of Golfballs.com

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Rick is joined by Tom Cox of Golfballs.com this week.

A country club manager turned internet entrepreneur in 1995, Tom Cox has been involved launching and helping to start businesses for 25 years. Married to Susan (also an entrepreneur), father of Thomas, a 2-year old.

Tom is the President & CEO of Golfballs.com, a business he co-founded in 1995, and notably was one the first ecommerce businesses in golf. Golfballs.com has been named by Inc Magazine to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in America 8 times.

Tom is co-founder and volunteer President of Opportunity Machine, a business accelerator. Tom is also a limited partner in Tectonic Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on technology companies with high growth potential.

Tom is a former member of the editorial board of Internet Retailer Magazine and has been a featured speaker at its world conference on topics like social media and employee recruiting.

Tom is a past chairman of Lafayette Economic Development Authority, past chairman of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, past Vice Chairman’s of the Louisiana Immersive Technology Enterprise Center, past Vice President of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and past member of the Louisiana Innovation Council.

Great to talk with Tom. Golfballs.com is a growing company and much can be learned from Tom.

Robbie Ames, Sea Pines Country Club General manager and COO

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A fun and informative interview with Sea Pines Country Club’s Robbie Ames this week.

Robbie is the General Manager and COO of Sea Pines Country Club on Hilton Head Island.

Recently recognized as one of America’s Healthiest Clubs and one of only 179 Distinguished Clubs in America, Sea Pines Country Club provides a lifestyle that is far from the ordinary but a feeling that is just like being home. Considered the epicenter of the community and a retreat from the daily hustle, the Club’s world class amenities provide a sanctuary for members with diverse interests where creating lifelong friendships becomes the commonplace.

Robbie is doing a great job leading the charge at Sea Pines Country Club and is beloved by its members. He’s making big changes and the members are reaping the benefits.

You too can be a member at Sea Pines Country Club.

Whether you are a long-time Island resident or a new arrival making your first entry into the community, you will find a spirit of welcome and warm hospitality that brings a well-rounded fulfillment to your life on Hilton Head Island. Membership has its privileges. At Sea Pines Country Club, you will find them to be abundant and unparalleled. Planned for the entire family, our Club enjoys a reputation as Hilton Head Island’s best full service private club.

To request additional membership information and schedule your personalized tour please contact Nic Booth at (843) 671-2335 or nbooth@seapinescountryclub.com

Find yourself, find your home and come discover the healthy, the distinguished, the private side of Sea Pines.

Joshua Jacobs, CEO, Founder of TGA Premier Sports

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Rick is joined by one of the most innovative minds in sports, Joshua Jacobs.

Jacobs is the CEO and founder of TGA Premier Sports.

TGA Premier Sports is the leading introductory “delivery system” for kids’ in-school and community-based golf programs. They just added their eighth youth sports golf franchise in the New York/New Jersey market and the 53rd nationwide.

Founded in 2003 and driven by an innovative curriculum that combines golf skills development with STEAM education modules and life lessons, TGA has had over 750,000 youth go through its golf programs and is on-pace to enroll its ONE-MILLIONTH student in youth sports programs by 2020. In schools and communities all across the country, TGA is driving growth in golf participation in powerful and sustainable ways.

Jacobs has made tremendous inroads, founding TGA Premier Junior Golf in 2003. Joshua was named by Golf Magazine and Sports Illustrated in 2010 as one of the Top 40 most influential people in golf under 40 and in 2013 was recognized as one of golf’s “Innovators” by Golf Inc. Joshua created the first scalable business model for school based golf programs in 2003 in the Los Angeles area and franchised the youth development and business concept in 2006. In 2010, he created the TGA Sports Foundation, dedicated to Developing Youth through Athletics. In 2011, Joshua orchestrated TGA’s horizontal move into the tennis industry by franchising TGA’s school based business model and facilitating a National Partnership with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in the same year.

In addition to TGA, Joshua co-founded a social golf network called GLinks and has been serving his community since 9th grade coaching youth sports programs in Los Angeles and Atlanta. He currently serves on the PGA Golf 2.0’s National Building Blocks Committee, TGA Sports Foundation’s Board of Directors, the Southern California PGA’s Foundation Advisory Committee and the Southern California PGA’s Growth of the Game Committee.

Joshua Graduated from Emory University with a degree in Economics and Business and a minor in History. His passion for golf began at three years old and tennis at six. From those early years, Joshua’s love and respect for sports continues to drive him to break down barriers and open doors for all students ages 3-13 to have the opportunity to learn golf and tennis.

Jacobs is never short on opinions, especially when it comes to tennis. He discusses some of them with Rick!