Tag Archives: PGA Show

Chip Beck, PGA Tour Winner for Pitchfix



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.


Chip Beck, PGA Tour Great for Pitchfix



Rick is joined once again this year, from the PGA Show in Orlando, but PGA Tour great and one of the nicest guys in golf, Chip Beck.

Chip is once again at the show serving as a brand ambassador for Pitchfix.

Pitchfix USA, a global market leader in switchblade divot tools and other golf products, introduced new products at the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando (Jan. 22-25). In addition to the Pitchfix Tour Edition and Tour Edition 2.5 divot repair tools, the Pitchfix 4 in 1 MultiMarker Chip will make their debuts at booth #2015 at the World’s number one golf merchandise show.

The Pitchfix Tour Edition divot repair tool is the first non-switchblade metal product from Pitchfix. Two versions are available, one with the traditional fork (Tour Edition) and one with the award winning RepairtecTM pins (Tour Edition 2.5). Both have a club rest and removable ball marker. Each model has a combination of treated finished steel and soft feel plastic. The manufacturing process allows for special color combinations, personalization as well as adding logos for branding and promotional uses.

The Pitchfix MultiMarker Chip is an alternative to the standard poker chip ball marker. With the same diameter as a poker chip, the Multi Marker Chip is easy to find in your pocket and has a small magnetic ball marker that’s useful when you are close to someone’s putting line. The MultiMarker Chip has a ‘tee toss’ function on both sides and a putting alignment function on the reverse side. The multi marker chip is available in a wide range of colors.

“We’re excited to introduce three new quality items to our extensive, award-winning product line,” said Bart Fokke, president, Pithfix USA. “We look forward to sharing the capabilities of these products and demonstrating them to PGA professionals and buyers at the PGA Merchandise Show and through our distributors worldwide.”

About Pitchfix

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, and the Multi Marker Chip.
The Pitchfix Fusion 2.5 was named “Best Divot Repair Tool” by Golf Digest in its 2018 Editors’ Choice Awards for the second consecutive year.
Pitchfix currently has operational and manufacturing facilities in Hong Kong, China, the Netherlands and the U.S. In the U.S. the company recently opened three fulfillment centers with five customer facing/support employees to facilitate custom order processing and fulfillment. Custom orders are fulfilled within two to eight days of receipt. For further information go to www.pitchfixusa.com.

CHIP BECK

At the youthful age of 10, Chip Beck’s mother first introduced him to golf by taking him to a junior clinic. Little did she know the impact that day would have on him. After a successful junior career, Chip enrolled at the University of Georgia where he would become one of the most decorated golfers in UGA history. As a three-time first team All-American and five-time tournament winner with more top ten finishes than any other player in the school’s history, Chip Beck decided it was time to test his skills with the best players in the world on the PGA Tour.
Chip had four PGA Tour victories and twenty runner-up finishes during his playing career. He won the Vardon Trophy in 1989 and spent 40 weeks in the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings from 1988 to 1989. Additionally, he was the second player to ever shoot ’59’ in a PGA Tour tournament. Several players have accomplished this feat on the PGA Tour, but only Al Geiberger and David Duval have also reached that magical thirteen under par number. Prior to the Las Vegas Invitational, the Hilton family said anybody who could shoot a 59 would win a million dollars. Despite never having seen the course before, Chip had five pars and 13 birdies (a PGA Tour record for birdies in one round), including a three footer on the 18th hole to shoot a 59. Beck finished tied for third in the tournament, but half of the million dollars he won ended up funding the Chip Beck Scholarship. Since 1991, this scholarship has run in conjunction with the Evans Scholars Foundation with the Western Golf Association and still continues today.

In addition to his PGA Tour accomplishments, Chip Beck is also well known as a three-time Ryder Cup member, especially as a crucial player in the 1993 Ryder Cup, the last time the United States won on European soil. His all-time Ryder Cup record is 6-2-1, with a point percentage of .72. Furthermore, Chip is one of two people to ever have a hole in one on a par four, which he achieved on the 314-yard 9th hole at the 2003 Omaha Classic. Although Chip has never won a major, he was the runner-up in three Majors and one Players Championship. (1986 US Open, 1989 US Open, 1989 Players Championship and 1993 Masters).

To many around the world Chip Beck is simply known as ‘Mr. 59,’ but ask him and he will tell you he is just another guy who loves God, his family, and the game of golf. Chip is currently an ambassador for Arcis Golf and for PitchfixUSA, the company that manufactures the Golf Digest award winning Fusion 2.5 Divot Repair Tool.


Jim Stracka, President of StrackaLine



Rick is joined this week, by Jim Stracka, President of StrackaLine.

The company is most known for its laser-scanned greens guides that are used on every major professional tour and by more than 250 Division I college teams, professionals and tournament players.

StrackaLine, one of golf’s leading technology companies, vaulted to prominence in 2017 as leading players on every major professional tour and 250+ collegiate teams began using the company’s laser-scanned greens guides.

Utilizing patented technology, StrackaLine creates topographical greens maps that are accurate down to the millimeter. The greens maps, which feature easy to read arrows, allow players to view contour and fall lines, in addition to slope percentage, anywhere on the green.

StrackaLine now has 700+ courses scanned, including some of the nation’s most prominent layouts. Use of the greens guides at the highest levels of the game surged throughout 2017, and the company now counts nearly every Division I golf program, including last year’s national champions, among its users.

“StrackaLine Greens Guides are leading the game forward, allowing players of all skill levels to better read putts and improving pace of play,” company president Jim Stracka said. “The use our greens guides receive on professional tours across the globe is a testament to the quality of StrackaLine, as is the usage by more than 250 college teams. We look forward to helping even more players properly read greens on their favorite courses in 2018.”

“The books are awesome,” a top 100 men’s college coach said. “Kids that wouldn’t even look at their yardage books are using them on every green.”

Professional usage has helped drive interest in the StrackaLine Greens Guides, and the technology is just as valuable to “regular” amateur golfers hoping to improve their score.

The greens guides can be purchased in book form ($97/each) or accessed via the StrackaLine smartphone app ($179/course).

For golf course owners and operators, the technology can be used to improve pace of play and help ensure quality course conditions. For players, the results can come right away. StrackaLine offers hole location software that allows superintendents to utilize a proprietary algorithm to help set hole locations.

StrackaLine will continue to add to its library of golf courses throughout 2018. It takes just eight minutes to scan and capture an entire green and the StrackaLine team can complete an 18-hole course and practice green in five hours without disrupting play.

For more information on how to order a greens guide or have a course scanned, go to www.StrackaLine.com