HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-06-01 Jack Nicklaus Story A Golden Age (Palm Beach Post)Pac-f
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09100144
usiness of golf was financial
necessity for Nicklaus
By Craig Dolch
Staff Writer
What if Jack Nicklaus never became a
professional golfer? Don't laugh. For a
long time heexpected to follow the lead of
his boyhood idol, Bobby Jones, ancI remain
an amateur.
"I think that was always in Jack's
mind," said Nicklaus' wife, Barbara. "He
always liked the idea of following the
same path as Bobby Jones."
Reality'soon overcame philosophy, how-
ever, and Nicklaus announced on Nov. 8,
1961 that he would play for pay.
He really had no choice. Nicklaus'
schedule had started to overload by his
senior year. Considerthat at the same
time., he was selling insurance, attempting
to finish up school at Ohio State and, some-.
how, trying to find time to concentrate on
golf.
Most importantly, wife Barbara had
given birth to Jackie three months earlier.
Family considerations had taken a prece-
dent over personal considerations.
"I had more things than I could do,"
Nicklaus said. "Even though I was making
a pretty good living selling insurance, try-
ing to play amateur golf was stretching it.
Besides, the golf wasn't much fun any
more. Since I had already won most of the
amateur tournaments (including the 1959
and '61 U,S. Amateur), I was expected to
win just about every tournament I played
in."
Still, Nicklaus wasn' t convinced he
could earn more money playing golf than
the $24,000 he was making from insurance
sales and promotional work for a slacks
company. "In 1961, that was a lot of mon
ey," he said.
A careful check
So Nicklaus started to put out feelers
about what his financial prospects would
be if he turned pro. He had to be careful,
because in those days, saying he was going
to turn pro on such -and -such date would
automatically end his amateur career.
After much discussion with his father,
Charlie Nicklaus, and wife, Nicklaus set up
a meeting with sports agent Mark McCor-
mick, who was handling the careers of
Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. McCor-
mick told Nicklaus he could make at least
$100,000 through endorsements and other
promotional work in his first year as a pro,
not to mention his earnings on the golf
course.
That took care of the financial part of
the decision, hot Nicklaus still wasn't con-
vinced pro was the way to go. About a
month later, realizing his love for amateur
play bad to take a back seat to financial
obligations, he finally decided to turn pro.
"I figured if I wanted to be the best. then
I would have to play against the best,"
Nicklaus said. "That's why I turned pro."
It's a decision he never regretted. But it
did cause at least one problem when Nick,
taus returned to Ohio State the fail after
his first year on the tour. Needing about
two more quarters to finish up his work for
a business degree (he originally was in pre
pharmacy, like his father) the dean of the
Commerce College, Jim McCoy, told him
he had to drop out.
"He said he didn't want a registered
student at OSU being publicized as playing
all over the world," Nicklaus said. "It was
a decision that 1 disagreed with and fought
bitterly„"
Never received degree
So Nicklaus left school, and to this day
has never received his college degree.
That's something: he regrets.
"It's stuck in my craw ever since," Nick-
laus said. "It's the oniy thing in my life that
I ever started and didn't finish. I always,
figured in the back of my mind that I
would go back."
He never has. Ohio State gave him an
honorary degree, a Doctor of Athletic Arts,
iI972. But it wasn't the real thing.
Administrators at Ohio State ap-
proached Nicklaus recently about finish-:
mg up his degree without attending class-.
es. Nicklaus, who tuns a million -dollar
business, said he's given it some thought,
but doubts he ever will complete the work;
for his business degree.
"I doubt it very seriously," Nicklaus:
said, "Arnold (Palmer) and I have done
pretty well as college. dropouts."
Pack
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH
HISTORIAN
The Early
Years
Jack Nicklaus
Nicklaus
From 1C
spectable 91 for 18 holes. The following year, the 11-
year-old shot 81. The next summer he had three
consecutive 80s before finally cracking the 70s with
a 74. Next up, the 60s.
With some coaxing from his parents, he accom-
plished that goal in 1953.
"Dad and I went out late one afternoon to play
nine holes, but after I shot 34 on the front nine I
pleaded to continue. Dad said that Mom had dinner
waiting on us, so we went home and ate real quick."
They returned to Scioto to play the back nine, and
Nicklaus reached the magic number of 69 with an
eagle on the final hole, long after darkness had
fallen.
Even then, .Nicklaus knew how to make a putt
when it counted.
Opportunity and temperament
The two most important men in Nicklaus' early
life were his father and Robert Tyre Jones Jr. It was
Jones who had won the 1926 U.S. Open at Scioto, and
it was Charlie Nicklaus who relayed most of Jones'
stories to his wide-eyed son. Charlie did much more
than that before his death in 1970. He gave his son
the opportunity to be successful in whatever sport he
desired, and the temperament to handle those rare
times when he was not successful.
Jack recalls an incident when he was 11 and
playing with his dad at Scioto. Nicklaus had an 8-
iron to the 15th green, but his approach shot landed
in the bunker. The 8-iron followed. Charlie looked at
his son and said, "Young man, that will be the last
clubever see you throw or hear of you throwing,
or you're not going to be playing this game." Nick-
laus is still playing the game.
The elder Nicklaus played most sports and in-
stilled the same competitive spirit in his son —
sometimes through unusual methods.
"Dad was a great needier," Jack said. "I can
remember when we used to race each other to the
theater and, even with a bad ankle, he would beat
me. He would say things like, 'You must be the
slowest kid in town. How do you expect to be an
athlete?'
it was simply Charlie's way of goading his son
into improving. "It worked, because the next year I
joined the track team," Jack said. "He didn't have to
push me far because I wanted to do those things,
anyway." •
Jack demonstrated at an early age his ability to
tackle any challenge. Sometimes that wasn't so
good. Just ask a maid that used to work for the
Nicklauses.lack's mother, Helen, picks up the story:
"Jack must have been about 5 or 6 at the time, and
for some reason he tackled our maid, Annie. I don't
know why, I guess he just felt like tackling her. I can
remember Annie telling me, 'Mrs. Nicklaus, I don't
think I can work for you. I just can't get along with
Jack.' But we had no problems with him after that
incident. Jack was always a perfect angel."
Jack Nicklaus accepts U.S. Juhior trophy
the 1957 tournament marked his first national title
Matured early
Jack was rapidly becoming a demon in sports
circles, however. At an early age, Nicklaus rnatumd
physically as well as mentally. By age 13, he
weighed 165 pounds and stood 5-foot-10 — just a
fraction under today's measurements (5-11, 185).
Nicklaus took full advantage of his physical
tools, becoming an all-around star for his junior high
school in Upper Arlington. He was the quarterback,
punter and place kicker on the football team, the.
center on the basketball team, the catcher on the
baseball team, and, yes, a sprinter on the track
team, capable of running the 100-yard dash in 11
seconds.
Nicklaus .always excelled in the individual as-
pects of a sport. In basketball, for instance, he was
an excellent free-throw shooter but only mediocre in
a zone defense. The reason was Nicklaus' incessant
training practices. Anything he could perfect alone,
. he would.
Nicklaus' versatility led to a problem. He would
have to choose which sport to concentrate on. Char-
lie, who played some semi -pro football during his
day, wanted his son to follow his lead. That's when
Woody Hayes, the former Ohio State football coach
and a close friend of the family, had an indirect hand
in Nicklaus ultimately choosing golf.
'Forget about football'
"It was obvious that he was going to have a
great career in golf, so I just told Charlie to forget
about his son playing football," Hayes said recently.
"He could have been a heckuva fullback if he stayed
with football, but he could have also hurt a shoulder
or a knee in the process. The talent he had playing
golf, he would have been crazy to take a chance
playing football,"
Said Jack: "I'm sure quitting football broke'
Dad's heart, but he never said a word about it."
Nicklaus remained with basketball at Upper Arliug-
ton High School and was all -league his senior year.
Amazingly, Upper Arlington's nickname was, and is,
the Golden Bears.
Golf, obviously, had become his dominant sport
by 1.956. That was evident when he won the Ohio
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Practice with Jack Grout (left)helped Nicklaus hone his skills at Scioto Country Club
•
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM 8ACH
HISTORIAN
State Open, using a third -round 64 to defeat a field
that included several top professionals. That victory
impressed two of his closest followers: his father and
Grout.
"When he won the '56 Ohio Open, that's when
realized how good he could become," Grout said,
"He hit, some of the greatest shots in that tourna-
ment that I've ever seen him hit. And he was only
16." That victory also left a mark on Charlie Nick-
laus. "I can shill remember his dad calling me from
the tournament," Helen Nicklaus said. "He said, `Sis,
I think our son has great potential.'
Nicklaus continued to realize his potential by
winning the 1.957 U.S. Jaycees Junior Championship,
a victory that was significant for two reasons. First,
it was his first national title; second, it rewarded
him with a $1,000 scholarship that made it possible
for him to attend Ohio State his father's school.
An inauspicious beginning
Later that summer, Nicklaus made an inauspi-
cious start in his first major, shooting 80-80-160 in
the '(J.S. Open to miss the cut by 10 strokes. Nicklaus
didn't stay down long. He continued his domination
of the amateur ranks, winning most of the tourna-
ments he entered for the next two years, including
the, 1959 U.S. Amateur. He was named to the 1959
Walker Cup team. Then, for the first time, he consid-
ered a future in golf.
'I figured, 'Hmmm, I must be one of the best 10
amateurs in the country,' " Nicklaus said. "That was
the first time I ever considered my abilities."
Despite his phenomenal success, close friends
said Nicklaus never got the big head.
"Jack was always very popular, but he was
never a prima donna or aloof," said Robin Obetz, a
childhood friend who would later be the best man in
Nicklaus'swedding. "He was always just one of the
boys in the Whi Gamma Delta) fraternity, He loved
to play cards and he loved to have fun."
Most of his fun involved a blonde he met in front
of the Mendenhall Lab during his first week 00 the
Ohio State campus. Her name was Barbara Bash.
She was the Pledge Princess as a freshman, but by
the end of the sophomore year she was clearly in
Nicklaus' court.
"When I first rnet him, I didn't even know golf
existed," Barbara said. "But I learned very fast."
She had to. By the time they were becoming a
hot item off the course, he was an even hotter item
on the course. In the 1960 Open, in fact, Nicklaus led
Arnold Palmer with six holes, to play before finish-
ing second. The following year he won his second
U.S. Amateur,
A single gesture
jack and Barbara. were married before their
senior year. The day before the ceremony, Nicklaus
made one final golfing gesture as a single man,
Standing on the 1.8th.tee at Scioto, Nicklaus vowed to
make his final drive as a bachelor one to remembera
Muscles bulging and eyes popping, he took a mighty:
swing -- but the mighty Nicklaus almost struckbut,
He barely nicked the top of the ball ,and watched it,
trickle into a creek barely 20 -yards in front of the
tee. About the time the .ball rolled into the water, his
friends were rolling on the ground, •
That was one of the last times- a Nicklaus -swing
evoked such laughter„ The following year he turned
professional; not many pro golfers were smiling.
then.
The best was yet to come.
Monday: The Glory Years,
Highlights of the early years
1950 age 10
Started golf and shot 51 for first nine holes ever played.
1952 age 12
Won the 15-and-under division of Ohio Junior, his first victory.
1953 age 13
Ohio State Junior Champion (13-15-year-olds).
Columbus Junior Match -Play Champion.
Won three matches in first national championship, the USGA Ju-
niors.
Lost in quarterfinals of Columbus District Amateur.
1954 age 14
Scioto Junior. Club Champion ('l3-15-year-oids).
Coiembus junior Match -Play Champion.
i Ili Columbus Junior Stroke -Play Champion.
II)
Medalist in Tri-State (Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky) High School Cham-
pionship.
Lost in second round of USGA Juniors.
Finalist in Columbus District Amateur.
Lost in first round of Ohio State Amateur (won by Arnold Palmer).
Played on Upper Arlington High School team.
1955 age 15
Columbus Junior Match -Play Champion.
• Columbus Junior Stroke -Play Champion.
Ohio Jaycees winner.
• Tied for medalist in National Jaycees.
Lost in quarterfinals of USGA Juniors.
Columbus District Amateur champion.
Medalist in Ohio State Amateur.
Qualified for U.S. Amateur for first time, losing in first round.
1956 age 16
Ohio State Junior Champion.
Medalist in Tri-State High School Championship.
Ohio Jaycees winner.
Lost playoff in National Jaycees.
Lost in semifinals of USGA Juniors.
Lost in quarterfinals of Ohio State Amateur.
Ohio State Open Champion.
Fifth in Sunnehanna Amateur invitatlonal.
Lost in third round of U.S. Amate?.3;-.
1957 age 17
Central Ohio High School District Champion.
Ohio High Schools State Champion.
Ohio Jaycees winner.
National Jaycees winner.
Lost in third round of USGA Juni.ors.
Qualified for U.S. Open for first time: missing cut by.10 shois with
160..
Lost in fourth round of U.S. Amateur,
1958 age 18
Trans -Mississippi champion.
Shot 67-66-76-68 for 12th place in first pro tour tournament, the Rub-
ber City Open,
Finished in U.S. Open for first time, in 41st place.
Lost in second round of U.S Amateur to Harvie W rd, one-up.
1959 age 19
North -South Amateur champion.
Played in first Masters, missing cut by one shot with 150..
Played in first Walker Cup Match, winning foursomes and singles
matches.
Won Royal Sti George's Challenge Vase (England).
Lost in quarterfinals of British Amateur.
Trans -Mississippi champion.
Qualified for U.S. Open, missing cut with 154.
U.S. Amateur champion.
1960 age 20
International Four -Bali winner (with Deane Beman),
Tied for low amateur and 13th place overall in Master:,,,..
Runner-up in Big 10 Championship.
Runner-up to Arnold Palmer k U.S, Open by two strDkes afer lead-
ing with six holes to play.
Lost in second round of NCAA Championship.,
Won both singles and both foursomes matches in first Americas
Cup appearance.
Lost in fourth roynd of U.S, Amateur.,
Medalist in World Amateur Team Charnpionship with 66-67-68-68-
269 at Merlon, leading U.S. team victory.
1961 age 21
Western Amateur champion.
Low amateur and tied for seventh in Masters.
Tied for 38th in Colonial National Invitation (PGA event).
Tied for fourth in U.S. Open.
NCAA champion.
Tied for 23rd in Buick Open (PGA event).
Tied for 55th in American Golf Classic (PGA event).
Won Walker Cup foursomes and singles matches.
U.S. Amateur champion for second time.
Won both foursomes and halved both singles in Americas Cup
matches.
Turned professional Nov. 8.
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH
HISTORIAN
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Nicklaus' parents kept his mind, his golf game on target at home in Columbus, Ohio
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH
HISTORIAN
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