Nicklaus Quotes & Sayings

The biggest rival I had in my career was me. I couldn't control Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson or Lee Trevino. The only person I could control was me. — Jack Nicklaus

It's difficult to excel at something you don't truly enjoy. — Jack Nicklaus

I thoroughly enjoy working with kids, whether it's The First Tee or the lesson tee with my grandkids. — Jack Nicklaus

Grand Haven will challenge the skilled player yet, because of some width to the holes, it also will be a fun course that the average player can enjoy. — Jack Nicklaus

The real key to Jack's [Nicklaus] success was his fantastic ability to score. His drives sometimes went into the rough, but he could plow 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

Oakmont is probably the premier - Oakmont and Augusta National are probably the top two set of greens in the country. — Jack Nicklaus

If you've ever driven across Texas, you know how different one area of the state can be from another. Take El Paso. It looks as much like Dallas as I look like Jack Nicklaus — Lee Trevino

There are no maladies in my golf game. My golf game stinks. — Jack Nicklaus

I'm tired of giving my best and not having it be good enough. — Jack Nicklaus

The best way to cope with trouble is to stay out of it as much as possible. — Jack Nicklaus

When I fly in a helicopter, I insist there be two sets of controls, one for me in case something happens to the pilot. I'm no expert, but I know enough to at least get the thing on the ground. Nothing scares me like the thought of not being in control. — Jack Nicklaus

I can barely turn on my computer! — Jack Nicklaus

I learned early in my career, where you get so wrapped up and so excited, that all of a sudden you don't think. So I worked very hard to keep myself suppressed. And that's one of the reasons I wasn't gregarious with the gallery. — Jack Nicklaus

He had a lot of talent, but didn't have much dedication, wasn't organized, didn't know how to learn, didn't know how to comprehend what he was doing, didn't try to learn how to get better. — Jack Nicklaus

Golf is you against yourself. — Jack Nicklaus

I don't look so much for tips. But when they interview a Nicklaus or a Palmer, I'm all ears. I listen to guys who have done it, been successful for years. — Pete Sampras

Well, I think that Augusta is not the same golf course that I grew up on. Bobby Jones' philosophy was giving you space off the tee; if you put it in the right side of the fairway, you ended up getting the right angle to the green. — Jack Nicklaus

If I had only one more round to play, I would choose to play it at Pebble Beach. I've loved this course from the first time I saw it. It's possibly the best in the world. — Jack Nicklaus

Golf is a nice game, but that's all. It's never going to be an exciting game to watch on TV. It's not a circus and never will be one. The audience for golf is not going to change significantly. It's always going to be people who play it, understand it, and love it. — Jack Nicklaus

Pursue what you love, what you are passionate about. Don't let somebody else dictate your life's path. — Jack Nicklaus

I think we have more good players today [2016] than we've ever had in the game of golf. And I think that's saying a lot because we had a lot of good players when I played. I think you had a bit of a lag in there for a while, that Tiger was just so much better than everybody else that he really didn't put anybody in with him. — Jack Nicklaus

I couldn't control Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson or Lee Trevino. The only person I could control was me. The only person I could prepare for events was me. And if I didn't play well, I didn't play well, and I wasn't going to compete. — Jack Nicklaus

I don't think about winning the Masters as part of the slam. You want to win the Masters because of what it means to the game. — Jack Nicklaus

I understand golf is a game, and I've never treated it as anything else. Family is something that's very special, and so they all contributed to the room. They all contributed to what my life was, my career was. — Jack Nicklaus

If you want to put golf back on the front pages again, and you don't have a Bobby Jones or a Francis Ouimet handy, here's what you do: You send an aging Jack Nicklaus out in the last round of the Masters and let him kill more foreigners than a general named Eisenhower. — Dan Jenkins

If somebody says they don't watch the leaderboard, I don't buy that, I'm sorry. Because you've got to know where you are to know how to play. — Jack Nicklaus

There isn't a flaw in his golf or his makeup. He will win more majors than Arnold Palmer and me combined. Somebody is going to dust my records. It might as well be Tiger, because he's such a great kid. — Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus is playing an entirely different game, and one which I'm not even familiar with. — Bobby Jones

The only equivalent plunge from genius I could think of was Ernest Hemmingway's tragic loss of ability to write. Hemmingway got up one morning and shot himself. Nicklaus got up the next morning and shot 66. — Ian Wooldridge

I never used golf as a job. I used it as a game. I always thought if I played the game well, my financial rewards would be there, but it came from, because I played well. But I had to play well to get the financial rewards. — Jack Nicklaus

I know it sounds selfish, wanting to do something no one else has done. But that's what you're out here for - to separate yourself from everyone else. — Jack Nicklaus

I like to catch fish and release them. I probably haven't killed a fish that I've caught in sport fishing for 20 years. No reason to kill it. You know, just take it and release it. — Jack Nicklaus

Scoring comes from being able to preserve what you've got and play your smart shots when you need to play them and not do stupid things and take advantage of things when have you them. — Jack Nicklaus

[Jack Nicklaus] was the first to bring in course management. He could go to a course and tell you within one stroke what was going to win. He used to set his sights on that because he could shoot it. He was the only player I know who, if he decided he wanted to win a tournament, could go out and do it. No one will ever be as popular as Arnold Palmer and no one will ever come close to Jack as a player. — Lee Trevino

He has the finest, fundamentally sound golf swing I've ever seen. — Jack Nicklaus

Resolve never to quit, never to give up, no matter what the situation. — Jack Nicklaus

I'm more proud of the good rounds I've played while hitting the ball badly than of the great rounds while hitting the ball well. I understand my swing well enough to get myself through a tournament and win it. I've made it work. — Jack Nicklaus

You can win tournaments when you're mechanical, but golf is a game of emotion and adjustment. If you're not aware of what's happening to your mind and your body when you're playing, you'll never be able to be the very best you can be. — Jack Nicklaus

See, as much as I love the game, golf was my vehicle to competition. And I love to compete. — Jack Nicklaus

If you're going to be a player people will remember, you have to win the Open at St. Andrews. — Jack Nicklaus

Sometimes the biggest problem is in your head. You've got to believe you can play a shot instead of wondering where your next bad shot is coming from. — Jack Nicklaus

I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity. — Jack Nicklaus

Johnny Miller is a very honest guy. That may have been to his detriment sometimes. On television, he's too honest. We talk about it a lot. Do you really need to be that honest? You know what I mean? But he's a good man. He's a good family man. He's got good values, and we're delighted to have him as our honoree. — Jack Nicklaus

I'm probably the only bottom-heavy golfer in the country. — Jack Nicklaus

He's going to be around a long, long time, if his body holds up. That's always a concern with a lot of players because of how much they play. A lot of guys can't handle it. But it looks like he can. — Jack Nicklaus

You have to love something and have a passion for it to be disciplined. My commitment was purely to golf — Jack Nicklaus

God said to Faldo, as He once said to Nicklaus, "You will have the skills like no other." Then he whispered to Ballesteros, as he whispered to Palmer, "But they will love you more." — Tom Callahan

I first saw Arnold Palmer when I was just a kid and he came to Columbus to play in a tournament. I watched him on the driving range hit balls that day. We went on to become great friends. — Jack Nicklaus

The fact is, I diet every day of my life. I have to work at it. But I diet so I can pig out. — Jack Nicklaus

There is no room in your mind for negative thoughts. The busier you keep yourself with the particulars of shot assessment and execution, the less chance your mind has to dwell on the emotional. This is sheer intensity. — Jack Nicklaus

There's more to be learned here [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. — Jack Nicklaus

If there is one thing golf demands above all else, it is honesty. — Jack Nicklaus

Mostly I built golf courses the way I played golf, which was left-to-right. But I learned very rapidly that people wanted to see more than just the way I played golf and that I had to balance up what I was doing, right-to-left, left-to-right, etc. — Jack Nicklaus

I don't play much golf anymore. I can't - if I break 80, I'm doing pretty well. — Jack Nicklaus

I never worried about money, except that I knew that all I had to worry about was golf. As long as I could play, I was going to make money. — Jack Nicklaus

The first time I ever saw Arnold Palmer, I said, There's a star. The first time I saw Jack Nicklaus, I said, Superstar. I feel the same way about Tiger Woods. — Gary Player

I think in my case winning fans came as a result of winning tournaments. Certainly, I didn't have too many supporters when I came on Tour. I didn't look like an athlete, I was overweight, had a crew cut, baggy clothes and on top of that I didn't smile much. I was very serious about my game, literally and figuratively the heavy. — Jack Nicklaus

As long as I'm prepared, I always expect to win. — Jack Nicklaus

The golf course is always in good shape. Paul Latshaw does a reasonable job. — Jack Nicklaus

I'm not as far along as Jack Nicklaus was at this age, but I'm trying. — Tiger Woods

The successful people seem to have blinders on. Everything is straight ahead. They go forward and know exactly what they're going to do once they've made up their mind to do it, and by God they don't look sideways. — Jack Nicklaus

I always practice as I intend to play. — Jack Nicklaus

But if I played well and prepared myself properly, then all I had to do was control myself and put myself in a position to win. — Jack Nicklaus

My ability to concentrate and work toward that goal has been my greatest asset. — Jack Nicklaus

The holes are numbered. — Jack Nicklaus

Nicklaus plays a kind of golf with which I am not familiar. — Bobby Jones

If Jack Nicklaus had to play my tee shots, he couldn't break 80. He'd be a pharmacist with a string of drugstores in Ohio. — Lee Trevino

Confidence is believing in your own ability, knowing what you have to do to win. My confidence was developed through preparation. — Jack Nicklaus

You have to trust your kids. They have to experience life, and you just hope you've provided them a foundation for what's right and what isn't. — Jack Nicklaus

I don't really have a problem saying good-bye to things. All things come to an end. — Jack Nicklaus

I never went into a tournament or round of golf thinking I had to beat a certain player. I had to beat the golf course. If I prepared myself for a major, went in focused, and then beat the golf course, the rest took care of itself. — Jack Nicklaus

I don't believe in philosophies. I believe in fundamentals. — Jack Nicklaus

I love the golf courses because it brought the best out of me. It made me prepare, made me work at it, made me do the things I needed to do to be better, and that's what I loved about USGA events. If you couldn't handle it, then you got beat, and that's OK. — Jack Nicklaus

I never thought about being No. 1. I just kept trying to be No. 1. — Jack Nicklaus

When you lip out several putts in a row, you should never think that means that you're putting well. When you're putting well, the only question is what part of the hole it's going to fall in, not if it's going in. — Jack Nicklaus

There are always new places to go fishing. For any fisherman, there's always a new place, always a new horizon. — Jack Nicklaus

Pete Dye introduced me to golf course design back in the 1960's. He came to my hometown Columbus, Ohio to work on The Golf Club. — Jack Nicklaus

I'm a firm believer that in the theory that people only do their best at things they truly enjoy. It is difficult to excel at something you don't enjoy. — Jack Nicklaus

I always look to see what Arnold [Palmer] shot; it's a habit. We will always compete against each other. — Jack Nicklaus

I guess that's why they call it Hell. — Jack Nicklaus

A Nicklaus Design golf course is done by the guys in my company that I work with, that have been trained in my vision, and they do what they think I might do. They might come in the office and ask me questions and I'd certainly answer their questions, but I'm not involved in the site visits or anything else. — Jack Nicklaus

I love design in general, the creativity. Whether it is golf courses, my apparel line, ads we do or our business with AriZona, design is fun. — Jack Nicklaus

That "I don't give a darn" attitude is probably why I've shot so many good final rounds over the years when I started the day a few shots behind with nothing to lose ... and maybe that's why I've shot so many bad last rounds when I was ahead and knew I couldn't afford a mistake. — Jack Nicklaus

If there is one thing I have learned during my years as a professional, it is that the only thing constant about golf is its inconstancy. — Jack Nicklaus

1960, I was 20 years old, and I was leading the U.S. Open. Now, I wasn't leading by several strokes, but I was leading the U.S. Open and playing with Ben Hogan, had a very good chance to win, nine holes to go, I was leading. I was still leading with six holes to play. — Jack Nicklaus

Some things cannont possibly happen, because they are both too improbable and too perfect. The U.S. hockey team cannot beat the Russians in the 1980 Olympics. Jack Nicklaus cannot shoot 65 to win the Masters at age forty-six. Nothing else comes immediately to mind. — Thomas Boswell

I came back and in '63, I was at the British Open, trying to win my first British Open. And I had what I thought was a two-shot lead with two holes to play at Lytham. I remember it like it was yesterday. Anybody with a proper brain would have played the ball short of the hole. I didn't have a proper brain at the time. But you have to make that mistake to learn it. — Jack Nicklaus

Golfers have a tendency to be very masochistic. They like to punish themselves for some reason. A lot of them like tough courses. — Jack Nicklaus

Temper is the one thing you can't get rid of by losing it. — Jack Nicklaus

One of the worst mistakes you can make in golf is trying to force the game. — Jack Nicklaus

I think that Pebble Beach is my favorite golf course to go to. I think Augusta is my favorite place to go play golf. — Jack Nicklaus

This is a tournament. The others are all championships. — Jack Nicklaus

I've been fortunate over my career to make a little history on the 16th hole at Augusta National. — Jack Nicklaus

A perfectly straight shot with a big club is a fluke. — Jack Nicklaus

If I have a weakness, it's probably ice cream. That's where I get lax, sloppy. I'll sneak into the refrigerator at night and take two or three bites and put it back. Butter pecan. Only two or three bites, but it shows. — Jack Nicklaus

It's a great sense of accomplishment when you can take something and really think it's really tough, and then all of a sudden you conquer it. That makes you feel pretty good. — Jack Nicklaus

Pete Egoscue has totally changed my life. Never have I experienced such complete pain relief as I have by following the Egoscue Method. — Jack Nicklaus

Oakmont, you've got to be playing slope. — Jack Nicklaus

All I ever wanted to do was play competitive golf against the best players in the world. — Jack Nicklaus

Augusta National is a young man's golf course, and you really need a young man's nerves to play on it. — Jack Nicklaus