All About The B-Man | B-Man's Guide to Golf in Charlotte

All About The B-Man

My real name is Chris Beeman and I live in south Charlotte on what used to be the 2nd fairway of Charlotte Golf Links. I’ve been playing golf regularly since 1999 and now play over 120 rounds a year. I created this site back in 2002 because I was frustrated with the lack of complete, up-to-date course information for Charlotte area courses. Word of mouth and a great community of golfers that want to help other golfers has helped the site grow into what you see today.

Read my recent course reviews

My Game

I learned to play at a local par 3 course near me (Pebble Creek off US74) and then graduated to full courses. After about a year of playing, I finally broke 90. It took another year to shoot an 81 (up at Crescent Golf Club). I shot that score using 6 clubs — Adams Tight Lies knockoff woods 5, 7, and 9, a 38* chipper (that I could hit almost 150 yds with a full swing), sand wedge and putter. I shot another 81 a couple years later (2003), but mostly shot scores in the high 80’s to mid 90’s up til 2005.

I finally decided that I had to become a “real” golfer and got a new set of King Cobra irons that I really liked. I worked on learning how to hit iron shots and be more precise with distances. In the summer of 2005, I shot a couple of 81’s and an 82. My handicap got down to 13 or so for the first time. I took 3 1-hour lessons with Scott Fossum from Charlotte Golf Links and he helped me with my grip and full swing. Late in 2007, I broke 80 for the first time with a 79 at Emerald Lake and my handicap hit a then career-best 10.9. I had a good summer in 2008 and hit 79 again at a course in NY (Peek’n’Peak Resort in Findley Lake). I also took a 1-day Dave Pelz Short Game clinic. That helped tremendously with my pitching, chipping and putting. I went out and bought a 60* lob wedge after the clinic and loved the new dimension it brought to my short game.
Hole in One plaque

In the summer of 2009, I played a ton, about 25-30 rounds in May, June and July. I bought a new TaylorMade Burner driver in July and then went out and shot a career-best 76 at Edgewater Golf Club in Lancaster, SC. The next summer I finally took the plunge and signed up for a 1 year membership at Emerald Lake. The course was only about 5 minutes from my house, I had gotten to know the head pro and manager pretty well, and it was a great deal ($1995 for everything, including carts). So I played as much as I could in that first month and hit my stride, consistently shooting in the low 80’s, including an 82 in my first club championship round.

In 2011, I decided I was due for some new irons and so I upgraded to a set of Cobra S3 Max irons. I also bought the new Tayormade R11 driver that June. I had decent success with those clubs and played with them up through 2018. In July 2015, I took a free lesson with Jay Reid (PGA instructor at Birkdale) and he helped me shake some occasional shanks and improve my wedge game. Due to a shoulder injury playing softball in summer 2016 (and a re-injury in January 2017 thanks to football), I couldn’t practice or play consistently for about a year and a half. I came back with a vengeance in 2018 though with over 10 sub-80 rounds. The highlight was my career best score of 73 (+1) at Monroe Country Club in September where I just missed a putt for a 72 on the 18th green (doh!). My handicap hit a career low 7.9 to end the year.
B-Man with another trophy

In January 2019, I decided to finally get custom fit for new clubs at Club Champion with Rob Gallagher. Using their TrackMan, I chose Mizuno’s JPX 919 Hot Metal Irons along with the TaylorMade M4 Driver, a Callaway Rogue 3-Wood, a Tour Edge Exotics Hybrid and Titleist Vokey SM7 Wedges. After a few months, I swapped the hybrid for a Callaway Rogue 5-Wood to match the 3-Wood and that has worked well for me. The driver revolutionized my tee game and became the most dangerous club (in a good way!) in my bag.

With the new clubs, I signed up for the Charlotte chapter of the GolfWeek Amateur Tour, which lets you compete in stroke play events (flighted for handicap) at some of the best Charlotte clubs (including some private) and win prize$. I cashed for the first time in August and then in September 2019 I played the rounds of my life, shooting 76 at Irish Creek and 84 at Northstone to capture the B Flight Local Finals trophy (photo above) with a walk-off birdie on the 36th hole! That earned me a trip to the National Finals in Hilton Head and the victory is undoubtedly my career highlight (so far).

Going into 2020, I signed up with the BAG Tour to compete in sponsored matches and take my competitive golf to the next level. It worked! I recorded my first ever hole in one (March 2020 at The Golf Club at Ballantyne’s 155 yard 13th hole) and won two more GolfWeek Amateur Tour one day tournaments with 78’s at Pine Island Country Club and Irish Creek.

The highlight of 2020 for me was getting to play several bucket-list courses with TripCaddie where I now manage the web site, social media and our schedule of “Ready-Made Golf Trips”. I played Whistling Straits, Erin Hills, Blackwolf Run, The Pete Dye Course at French Lick and all 3 courses at Streamsong Resort. Wow! In 2021, we hit Pinehurst Resort, Big Cedar Lodge, and the new Jack Nicklaus design and Folds of Honor branded American Dunes course in Grand Haven, MI. We’ll be taking more bucket list trips in 2022. Send me a note to find out more!

In July 2022, I realized a dream 16 years in the making: I joined The Club at Longview. My handicap dropped 3 strokes within a month of joining and playing the Jack Nicklaus Signature course several times a week. If you’re a member at a Charlotte club, send me a note and we can play a home and home!

What’s in My Bag

Driver: TaylorMade M4 8.5* – Fujikura 2.0 Stiff shaft
Fairway Metals: Callaway Rogue Sub Zero 3 Wood 15* and 5 Wood 18* – Mitsubishi Diamana Thump Fairway Stiff shaft
Irons: Mizuno JPX-919 Hot Metal Irons 4i-PW –
Nippon Pro 1050GH Regular shaft
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 Wedges 50*/54*/60*
Putter: Bettinardi Queen B #5
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Shoes: Ecco Biom H4 Boa