Beck has a lot going on off the course -- and on it

text size

Cohen/Getty Images

Chip Beck was 63rd in Total Driving in 2011 -- a stat he wants to improve dramatically as he turns 55.

Chip Beck is multi-tasking this week. He's getting his golf and his body in shape and at the same time working the floor at the annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.

The first is no surprise. The other might be.

Beck is coming off his finest Champions Tour season. He cracked the top 30 on the Money List and earned his first trip to the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 2011. He earned $636,833, good for No. 26 on the Money List, with four top-10 finishes, including a pair of thirds at the Boeing Classic and the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn.

Put it all together and it earned Beck honors as Comeback Player of the Year. And while any award is nice, Beck's focus remains on winning.

"I have some goals in my mind," he said. "It's the first time I made the top 30. I would like to improve on that. Like Aristotle said, happiness is working for it. If you're happy and enjoy what you're doing, like Steve Jobs said, the journey is the reward. It helps you to be free, play without fear.

2012 season preview

From the best driver to the best iron player to the most improved putter (Chip Beck), Vartan Kupelian breaks down the best on the Champions Tour ahead of the 2012 season. Insider | Players to Watch

"That's really what I look forward to. To be in the heart of my Champions Tour career at age 55, that makes a difference as well. I'd like to get a little more fruit out of it than I have in the past."

Toward that goal, Beck spent the offseason working out and playing only casually with friends. He knows what he has to do to back up his solid season with another.

"Trying to get my legs in shape, trying to relax and heal my body up completely to get stronger than I was at the beginning of last year," said Beck, who will tee it up Feb. 10 at the Allianz Championship on The Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton.

It's not difficult to pinpoint the key area of improvement that raised Beck's stature as a Champions Tour player.

"What really stands out is that I improved my putting so dramatically," he said. "I went from the bottom of the list to the top 15 ... When you improve your putting that dramatically it makes everything so much easier. I made more cuts and was more productive even in my down weeks. It instills hope in your game. It frees you up quite a bit."

The improved putting covered up some of the issues in Beck's ball-striking.

"I didn't really hit the ball that well," he said. "In stretches, it was the worst ball-striking I've had in two, three years. It's an interesting way to play golf. Hopefully, this year I will hit the ball a little more consistently. I've taken steps to get the equipment tuned up just a little bit better. I think that will pay off."

But a tune-up in his clubs isn't why Beck is in Orlando for the PGA Merchandise Show. He's there to tell people about Grip Guides for Golf, a new product designed to help golfers with their consistency and ball-striking.

It is an interactive training tool that helps golfers place their hands in the proper position on the grip. The product is an adhesive-backed template -- based on Beck's grip -- which fits onto the golf club's grip. Imprinted on the template is a color changing and sensitive ink that indicates whether the hands are in the proper position.

The idea began with Beck's wife, Karen, who was about to play in a member-guest event. She asked her husband for a lesson. Beck adjusted Karen's grip and Karen played quite well until she developed an issue with a sore hand.

"I asked her, 'What did you do?'" Beck recalled. "Karen said, 'I couldn't remember what you told me.' The caddie took over and put her hands in the wrong grip position."

The result was soreness in her hands so Karen went in search of a reminder of where her grip should be on the club because she knew it would help her play better and more consistently.

With generous doses of research and experimentation, Grip Guides was about to become a reality. It is manufactured by Chicago-based LCR Hallcrest, a leader in color changing temperature indicating technology and graphics. The company specializes in micro-encapsulation of liquid crystal compounds and the development and manufacture of products, inks, dyes and paints that change color.

"The adhesive strip on the grip changes colors when the hands are in the right place," Beck said. "It's ingenious. And so simple. We've test marketed it and had a very good response. It works. That's the best part."

The product has been patented and copyrighted for all handled sports equipment.

"A lot of females are visual," Beck said. "Karen likes seeing color change. The lines on it will align the hands properly at the right pressure points. It will help a lot of teachers move past the first lesson with students."

Beck has samples at this week's Merchandise Show and the product will be available for shipment in March.

Champions Tour Insider Vartan Kupelian is a freelance contributor for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.