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
My workout was playing other sports and I always played tennis, football, basketball, threw a baseball - I was always doing something to keep me active. That's how I kept my body going.
You're not going to tell me that you're going to find a person who's not a very good athlete and he or she is going to be a great player. But anyone can play the game. That's the nice thing about the game. You don't really have to be a world-class athlete to play the sport [golf] and have fun because of handicap systems.
You get the kids today into the sport, and then they can't get to the "next level." I mean, come on, that's a bunch of junk.
What's interesting about golf is that most athletes end up gravitating toward golf because it is such a difficult sport.
Age doesn't make a difference either. Whether you're 20 or 70, you can still play together. There are so many different things you can do with golf that you can't do in other sports.
Athletes today get into a single-minded, one sport routine. I can't stand it.
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.
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.
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.