Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus, nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is a retired American professional golfer. He is widely regarded as the greatest golfer of all time, winning a total of 18 career major championships, while producing 19 second-place and 9 third-place finishes in them, over a span of 25 years. Nicklaus focused on the major championships, and played a selective schedule of regular PGA Tour events, yet still finished with 73 victories, third on the all-time list behind Sam Sneadand Tiger Woods...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionGolfer
Date of Birth21 January 1940
CityUpper Arlington, OH
CountryUnited States of America
I have said many times that most people work all their life to retire to play golf, while I played golf all my life to retire to work. I enjoy working. It has kept me young and on the move, and I have had a good time with it.
If a guy is a good athlete, he'll end up being a pretty decent golfer if he just takes it up. But you never master it; even the best players in the world never master the game.
It allows somebody like myself, who is really not playing a whole lot of golf, to have some fun, play with some of my old friends, and have a little competition which I always yearn for.
I played competitive golf all my life. Then all of a sudden, when I quit playing the game, I've got all this spare time and this energy. And certainly I wasn't ready to pack up my bags and go sit in front of the television with a shawl on.
When I look back on when I grew up, not even football players lifted weights. That was back 50 years ago.
I know what they're trying to do; they're trying to make it the same golf clubs that players traditionally should play into the greens. Whether they've gone overboard, I don't know. I just know they eliminated a lot of guys who don't have the ability to do that.
I've said numerous occasions, I think that the potential of the Presidents Cup to be greater than the Ryder Cup is there, simply because the scope is larger. I think there are probably more good players, as it relates to world rankings, than probably if you played the Ryder Cup. I think the Presidents Cup has come of age.
As I sat down, Norman started making birdies. I got nervous, so I got up and started walking around. They didn't make as many birdies when I walked around, so I walked around the rest of the time.
It's the only TV show when I see it come on, I stop and watch a little of it. It seems like yesterday.
Nick O'Leary loves to compete. His work ethic is fantastic, and that's what I like about him. He works, and works, and works; and if he has to get better, he gets better.
It was great for me because it felt like I actually had done something well and I hadn't prepared for it. I hadn't prepared for it like I did 10 years earlier when I would just be consumed by it.
I have a couple [of grandsons] that are in college playing lacrosse. It's great and it's fun. But they all also play golf a little bit.
We called [my son] Gary "Little Herschel" when he was in middle school - but then he didn't grow any taller. He ended up playing golf and being a really nice golfer.
It was like I could still summon what I had and still could use it coming down the stretch.