Jack Nicklaus is famous for giving true advice, those who don’t sleep at night, to great golfers. First of all, in addition to having a PGA tour professional status, we must also “gravitate” to his area. “I watch them constantly,” he says of the thirty or so pros who play and train at the Bear’s Club in South Florida, where Nicklaus has made his home for decades.
“He can feel it. If you’re looking for a word of support, he’ll come with his advice, “added Jordan Spieth, always looking for a word of wisdom from the Golden Bear. Nicklaus, host of this week’s Memorial Tournament, has been retired for years, but his presence is still being felt on the PGA TOUR.
How could it be otherwise? He has won 73 tournaments and a record 18 major titles: his words land with a certain weight when today’s best players ask him for his opinion.
Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods and others have repeatedly mentioned Nicklaus as “the best” in golf and have leaned on his advice whenever and wherever possible, both on and off the course.
Sometimes on the crystal trophy of the Memorial Nicklaus’ fingerprints are “glimpsed” while the winner raises it to the sky … “I will never forget Masters 2014,” said Spieth. “On the Wednesday night before the start of what was to be my first Masters, I remember being with him talking at the back of the clubhouse.
The tips on how to play Augusta National I kept in my heart that week and it really helped me. Spieth drew for second place on that occasion and won the Masters the following year. Maybe he would have won it anyway, but he always remembered that conversation with the Golden Bear.
Like Spieth, many other well-known names have treasured Nicklaus’ proximity. Patrick Cantlay, Keegan Bradley, Luke Donald, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy to name a few. The latter said: “I had lunch with him a handful of times in the last few weeks, by pure chance, seeing him in the Bear’s Club locker room.
The thing I love about Jack is the simplicity with which he talks about the game. He never complicates it too much. I think that’s what made him a great player. Whenever I talk about golf with him, he makes you feel like you can go out and win any golf tournament in the world. ”
Source: Tennis World USA