|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE PRO-AMFebruary 13, 2007Chip BeckLUTZ, FLORIDA PHIL STAMBAUGH: Just sort of give us a few comments about your early part of your Champions Tour career, you played very well at the end of last year, contended several times and off to a good start again this year, just a couple of thoughts about coming to Tampa. CHIP BECK: Well I'm thrilled to be here. We had three inches of snow yesterday in Chicago and also had about 90 percent of the city was shut down today. Let me tell you, if we get some nice weather in the West Coast of Florida, I think the West Coast of Florida has the best weather, I couldn't be happier. From December to March, there's less wind, you know, you have bad days, 65 degrees, maybe we're a little bit further north but I'm down near Fort Myers. So anyways I'm happy to have had the opportunity to play. I'm still thrilled to be playing. I didn't play my best last week and there's a lot of -- I just didn't play well last week. I wasn't consistent enough and I didn't make any putts. You know, you take your putter away -- you know, I think that's a good golf course. I think this is more of a traditional golf course and this to me sets up in a way that you can really see clearly where you should hit your ball and what is required of you. This is a good golf course, the greens are firmer and we're going to have a great tournament. That's one thing I've noticed, I've had a really good time, I played with Jim Colbert, I played with Gary Player, I played with Tom Wargo, Bob Murphy. I played with a lot of guys I admired who are Hall of Fame players. You know, it's really fascinating how good they were and what's really wonderful is that they are still interested in playing and that they still can compete. You know, I look 20 years down the road, for me, I hope I'm still here and having a good time playing. Tom Wargo was hitting it right by me; that guy is still hitting it long at 65 years old, so that's pretty good. I'm hoping, to keep improving. I feel like I've had a slow start, just haven't converted my putts. Like I said, if you don't putt -- so great facility, great venue, the competition is really keen. I think what's great about the Champions Tour that no other tour has is that every player is a contender in the tournament. It's like giving the top four long-ball hitters a few shots from your bag. Here, every person has a chance. All of these players, Ben Hogan, even the best players in the world -- I don't know what the stat is, but it's a low number. It's like a low percentile of fairways hit. I mean, the game of golf is really about driving it and chipping and putting. It's always been that way. But when you take the straight ball away, I think that you ruin the competition for most people. I mean, it's like some of the tournaments, they cut -- some of the majors are getting so long, Corey Pavin -- inaudible. Up there in Long Island, what's the name of that course up there, Bethpage? You've got to give him ten yards, but don't cut him out if he can't hit it 300 or I think it's 280. We don't do that out here on the Champions Tour that I've seen, in the seven tournaments I've played, you're in the tournament, and that's worth a lot -- inaudible -- the only way to really accomplish that is and -- every day and not getting tied down -- to play the game and play with the freedom that's allowed you to transcend. So you have to work on those parts of the game. That's what I look forward to, I look forward to doing things, and if I do that, I'll be very happy, like I've done all my life, I've done my very best. If I don't moan and cry and complain and get down on myself and worry and all that stuff, generally I'll do okay. So hopefully a year from now we'll be talking about it. Q. Inaudible? CHIP BECK: Well, basically got forced out, I wasn't playing well, I was having problems, and so I just couldn't -- I have six children, a family, I wasn't going to throw away everything I made trying to chase a golf ball. It cost me, what, three to five thousand a week to play. So I had to figure out a way to go about it in a different way. You know what, it's hard, but you know what -- I went in, I called a good friend of mine to help me and he took me under his wing and he helped me, got me insurance -- it was like watching Jack Nicklaus play golf every day. So I thought I used to know what hard work, and it's diligent and he deserves everything. I was involved in that word and I just said, you know what -- so I kept playing, I kept working and knew I was getting better but it was a matter of could I actually bring it back -- living that lifestyle. I just kept going down the road trying to get better, trying to compete, I was playing about seven events a year on the Nationwide Tour. I knew that wasn't enough for me to compete because I never, I couldn't just walk out and play like that. It's like pinching pennies -- so that was just part of it for me. That's the way life it, that's the way golf is, that's the beauty of golf. Q. Inaudible? CHIP BECK: Took the train freezing cold, all of these guys, reading the paper, everybody reading the paper, reading a book, and I'm thinking, I'm supposed to be a golfer, look at me, I'm sitting here doing something, in North Carolina never dreamed I would have any kind of life like this. And like I was telling Mike Donald the other day, I said, Mike, the biggest blessing of all is that I didn't play on any tour or anything, I said out would you like to be Jack Nicklaus going through what he went through every day, they are asking him, what's wrong, what are you doing, how are you going to come back. I couldn't live through that. Nobody seems to deal with that. But when those guys have done it -- I was pretty fortunate. I didn't have to deal with all that. Whether you like it or not, you get tired of answering questions about why. What year was that, I can't even remember year it was, you know what I mean, it's so far away. The beauty of it is -- I love golf, for me -- no matter what I would do all my days, this is what -- I sure felt blessed to have the opportunity. Q. (When did you start thinking about playing on the Champions Tour)? CHIP BECK: Well about a year and a half ago, I knew that I was going to have the opportunity. You know, fortunately the Tour gives guys a chance if they are a former winner on the regular tour. So I was going to have -- I knew I had to get a year in, maybe two years in. I thought, you know what, that's worth a lot. And so I started getting my clubs organized, I started playing, I was playing pretty much, but I started playing a few more tournaments. It hard to compete with those young boys because they hit it so far. Hard to beat people that are outdriving you by 50, 100 yards, in any game, that's the way it is. So I was just going about playing and trying to improve my game. So I didn't know what to expect. I was just glad that I was able to compete and, you know, looking to see how well I can do. So for me, that's what I'm looking forward to. Q. Inaudible? CHIP BECK: He knew what I was good at, every meeting that I scheduled. You don't have a way to make a living, that's why your skills in life, other than playing golf -- you know, I was used to being invited. You know, you go to Olympia Fields, it cost me $1,500 to go take a group out there, a group of men. It's expensive but it's the price you pay really to be good in other fields. So it's just a better way, I'm telling you, any way you look at it. Q. (Inaudible.) CHIP BECK: I don't know how -- you know, the greatest optimist to me is the person -- they are the most real, they face reality. So for me I don't see myself as a positive optimistic person, per se, but I think that you do have to surround yourself with people that can really help you, and I think like my wife really helped me because she never really lost faith in me. She can see what had happened. You know, we kind of came together and we just kind of piecemealed it, put it back together slowly, one day at a time and things just started looking better to us. Starting to be able to pay my bills on a daily basis. I was starting to be able to not spend everything I made. So it was kind of nice to be able to do some of the things that as a family that we wanted to do and get a little financial freedom in a way. You know what we had a good time, we played great, and I'm sure I'll see more of him down the road. But the -- you know, last week a friend of mine came in and it's like you needed some insurance, you've got a law firm, they have a retirement plan, and I said the best way to buy insurance is through the benefit plans. He said, "Well, that's what I'm working on right now." I want to get myself in a position where I can take my insurance -- and that's part of business. But I know how they do it. But those are the things I've learned so for me, I like all that, but I like playing golf, you know what I'm saying. So I really love doing way do on a daily basis. But as far as coming back and being positive, I couldn't have made it without my wife. I tell people that -- the fact that -- inaudible -- I knew I was getting better, I just didn't know -- like Chip -- being away from the tournament where I could practise and do it on my own. So you can't make changes playing golf. So I mean I even look at certain holes where some of my old habits from playing 25 years come back. So I'm still, I've gotten better every year. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|