When it comes to conversations about which golfer is the “greatest of all time” there are only two names that get bandied around with any great frequency. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
Despite Tiger’s achievements, and the fact that he is yet to put the finishing touches on his career, the majority of golfing aficionados would back Jack in that particular scrap and when you consider his record, especially in the major championships, it’s hard to argue against him.
18 major championship wins were backed up by an astonishing 19 seconds and a total of 73 PGA Tour victories, not to mention countless other awards, records and accolades and in honour of Jack’s 74th birthday, we thought we’d take a look at what others have said of Nicklaus over the years, as well as some of best quotes from Jack himself …these little pearls of wisdom might even help us mere mortal golfers with our struggles on the course!
What others have said about The Golden Bear…
“The great Jack Nicklaus summed things up neatly during a charity match on the Old Course at St. Andrews where he and I were playing against Ben Crenshaw and Glen Campbell. I asked him what he considered to be the most important factor to overcome in the game of golf. His reply, ‘It’s an unfair game.’”
– Sean Connery
We could all do with learning how to roll with the punches on the golf course. Getting angry is not the way to go when things start to go wrong!
“If I had to have someone putt a 20-footer for everything I own – my house, my cars, my family – I’d want Nicklaus to putt for me.”
– Dave Hill
Nicklaus’ uncanny ability to hole putts right on cue served him well, especially in major championships. Who can forget his back nine charge on Sunday at the 1986 Masters where the must-make putts all went in?
“So how did Nicklaus win so much? Because he could finish a hole better than anyone else. As a player he’s the greatest of all time but as a golfer I can’t even put him in the first fifty.”
– Wild Bill Mehlhorn
Ok so this is probably a slight exaggeration but Nicklaus’ mental strength, like Tiger’s pre 2009, is certainly a huge factor in what made him so great.
“The real key to Jack’s success was his fantastic ability to score. His drives sometimes went into the rough, but he could plough the ball out of the tallest grass and get it on the green; bad lies simply didn’t affect him as they did the others. Jack also got tremendous height with his one-iron and two-iron, which meant that he could stop them better than his rivals.”
– Gardner Dickinson
Nicklaus is undoubtedly one of the most influential power players to have played golf.
And what The Golden Bear has said about golf…
“Professional golf is the only sport where, if you win 20 percent of the time, you’re the best.”
A great quote…but not strictly true! Jack had a career win percentage around the 12% mark which, when compared to all other modern day golfers (apart from you know who), is truly amazing.
“It takes hundreds of good golf shots to gain confidence, but only one bad one to lose it.”
Jack understood the fickle nature of golf better than anyone.
“The older you get the stronger the wind gets…and it’s always in your face.”
Age affected The Golden Bear less so than others. Already a major winner at age 46, Jack made another valiant run at the 1998 Masters where, at the age of 58, he tied for 6th, finishing just four shots off the winning score!
“When the British Open is in Scotland, there’s something special about it. And when it’s at St. Andrews, it’s even greater.”
A glowing endorsement for the home of golf from its greatest ever exponent.
“I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head. It’s like a color movie. First I ‘see’ where I want it to finish, nice and white and sitting up high on the bright green grass. Then the scene quickly changes and I ‘see’ the ball going there: its path, trajectory, and shape, even its behaviour on landing. Then there is this sort of fadeout, and the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous images to reality.”
Always remember to practice with a purpose!
“Augusta National is a young man’s golf course, and you really need a young man’s nerves to play on it.”
Jack kind of contradicted himself with his performances in 1986 and 1998!
“If you want to hit it farther, hit it better.”
Slow and smooth everyone…slow and smooth!
“I think I fail a bit less than everyone else.”
Going on Ben Hogan’s assertion that golf is a game of misses rather than good shots, Jack explains how he won so often.
“I couldn’t care less who I’m paired with. There’s nobody I’ve ever played better or worse with, thank goodness. You don’t want any factor to be outside your control. What if Arnie’s Army had bothered me? What if I’d said, “Oh geez, I’m paired with Palmer,” I’d never had beaten him.”
But I’ll bet Jack never had to play with any of these lot…click here!
“There’s more to be learned at St. Andrews about course design than anywhere. Collection bunkers, false fronts, bump shots. The fundamentals of design became fundamental because of what’s here. And it happened accidentally…or maybe accidentally on purpose.”