Larry E. Beck Sr. (August 12, 1939 – June 3, 2019) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

from Kinston, North Carolina. Beck was born in Randolph County, North Carolina. At age 17, Beck won the 1957

U.S. Junior Amateur The United States Junior Amateur Championship is one of the fourteen U.S. national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association. It is open to amateur boys who are under 19 on the last day of the competition and have a USGA Ha ...

, beating

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

4 and 3 in the third round of match play. As a professional, he competed in the 1964 U.S. Open (tied for 39th) and the 1966

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

(tied for 72nd). Beck was a

PGA PGA is an acronym or initialism that may stand for: Aviation * IATA code for Page Municipal Airport, Coconino County, Arizona * ICAO designator for Portugália, regional airline based in Lisbon, Portugal * Abbreviation for Prince George Airport ...

Life Member who developed and renovated golf facilities as well as instructing, and managing facilities as a pro in several locations in the Carolinas. "Heads Up Golf" instruction principles are his creation which gives students a good understanding of how position, balance and energy maximize their performance. Beck was with Whispering Pines (

Pinehurst, North Carolina Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 13,124. It is home of the historic Pinehurst Resort, a Golf resort, which has hosted multiple United States Open Champion ...

) as teaching professional for 15 years where he created and conducted the first of its kind, Junior Golf Camp in the U.S. in 1966. He was head golf professional and instructor at a number of club operations. He received his education through golf scholarships at Wake Forest University and the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

with a major in Elementary Education. Beck died June 3, 2019, in Sanford, North Carolina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Larry American male golfers Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's golfers Houston Cougars men's golfers Golfers from North Carolina People from Randolph County, North Carolina Sportspeople from Kinston, North Carolina 1939 births 2019 deaths