On 85th birthday, Jack Nicklaus weighs in on how the game has changed | Golf Central | Golf Channel

22 comments

1. Happy birthday Mr Nicklaus

2. Wouldn't it be something to see Scotty, Jack Tiger, and Arnie play in a tournament, in their prime of course.

3. Happy 85th Jack. I have a bit of history to share with you. On May 14th 1960 we played a college match "The match of the Pharmacists" at Wildwood Country Club in Pittsburgh Pa
   when Pitt met Ohio State. You broke my course record that day. I finished Pharmacy school and spent 5 years in the Navy and 30 years in Pharmacy while following your stellar carrier.
   We do have another connection through my son Mark Treese, who, was the head pro at Bear Lakes CC in West Palm Beach in the 90's and Ty Grove who was an employee of Nicklaus Golf in the same time period. In the 1980's Mark, David, his older brother, and Ty were on the high school golf team I coached to record 35 wins and 0 losses.
   I hope you get yo see this? Enjoy your 85th…. My 87th is next month.
   Tom Treese

4. jack looks like he cut back on the ice cream…..he looks good…… great, lots of folks would like him around for another 10 years.

5. Golf and tennis have changed 90% for one reason – EQUIPMENT. Golf – clubs and balls. Tennis – racket and strings. In both cases the sweet spots are 4-6 times bigger. So you can swing almost wildly and not pay the price for mediocre contact. Bigger guys, shorter approach shots. At least in golf, a player has to have a short game too. In tennis, we are in the verge of serving gorillas that have little other game.

6. It used to value honor and integrity but now is a collection of MAGA morons.

7. Happy birthday, you old goat. You are the GOAT!

8. I genuinely love Mr Nicklaus. I get Mr Palmer was the peoples champ but he kept things simple….in my lifetime it has been jack who has been so engaging with all sorts of in depth info. And just been such an example of class and family and all of that. We love you Mr Nicklaus. Thanks for everything you have done and continue to do.

9. He's been advocating for changes to the golf ball to rein it in for years! Today's equipment lets players hit the ball too far – and even 500 yard par-4s usually don't require more than an 7 or 8-iron for a second shot – ruining all the shot values from Nicklaus' generation! He would have had to hit a 2-iron!

10. My favorite Jack win was the '86 Masters. My childhood hero, who most thought was too old to win another major, had other ideas. For me, his come from behind win is at the top of the most iconic sports wins of all time. Jim Nanz made that memorable call…"YES SIR" as Jack buried that infamous birdie on 16. But what set that up, and shows why Jack won, was at the par 5 on 15. He bogeyed the par 3 12th after making 3 birdies in a row. Jack later recalled how he started getting nervous and just wanted to put the tee shot in play, but he pulled the tee shot left, chipped on, and 2 putted. That pissed him off, so on the 13th (a par 5) he pulls a 3 wood around the corner, make short approach shot, and 2 putts for birdie. Now 2 back again he parred the 14th, but Seve eagled 13 to go two up on Tom Kite with Jack now four behind. Here's where the legend of The Golden Bear came back with a roar.

    Jack remembered remember saying to Jackie, "How far do you think a 3 will go here? And I don't mean a 3-iron (an eagle)." Jackie says "Let's see it", and what followed next was magical. If you weren't a gof fan back in Jack's heyday you just don't know how this rather soft spoken man could intimidated golfers. So many who knew what Jack was capable of would start shrinking as his name rose up the leader board (just like Tiger's prime). The old man turned back the clock that day and after Seve hear the crowd roar following that eagle, he being on the 15th, hit a really poor 4 iron into the water. Jack heard the crowd groan and already knew what happened. Jack took the bull by the horns to win that day. It was an emotional thing to witness and Jack calls it his favorite win because Jackie was a part of it.

11. The greatest, and by some distance, his majors record is not just better, it's comfortably better.

12. Happy Birthday Jack! I hope you have many more in good health. Thank you for all you and Barbara have given to not only the game of golf but many, many others outside of the game.

13. Happy Birthday Jack…….. always been my idol

14. You’ve had the honor of listening to the GOAT. Be well, Mr. Nicklaus.

15. Class act for sure, was a Palmer fan growing up, so was hard to be a Jack fan ….but Jack’s record speaks for itself

16. It is all about what is inside. Watson, who Jack chose not to remember here, and Jack had the greatest attitudes the game has seen. No matter what happened, their cool determination and composure was rock solid. No other golfers have ever had that, including Trevino and Player.

17. To me, Rory who is a lovely guy, won't win any more majors. He may contend. He has been to the alter way too many times and come up short. The best players were great putters. This is the one most important ingredient Rory doesn't have. He may be one of the best ball strikers to ever play the game. He misses way too many putts and it has been in his head for years. If he could putt, he would have 5 more majors by now. All the greats could putt. Rory will go down as a very good player who can't putt.
    If Rory could putt like Jack or Tiger or even Scottie, or Trevino and a slew of other great putters, he would have much closer to a Tiger career.
    PS. There are others on the same list as Rory, some of whom will go down as better players:
    Ben Hogan: Tremendous ball-striker, but his putter often let him down.
    Tommy Armour: Known as the “Silver Scot,” his struggles on the greens overshadowed his otherwise excellent game.
    Sam Snead: Despite his record 82 PGA Tour victories, his putting woes were well-documented.
    Johnny Miller: Known for his incredible iron play, he frequently grappled with inconsistency on the green.
    Nick Faldo: Six-time major winner whose putting sometimes came under scrutiny.

18. Watched 1st round highlights of the San Diego tournament, l recognized maybe 2 guys out of the couple dozen they showed. Time flies when we age but I appreciate watching the new breed. You gotta appreciate the fact that Jack gauges players by what type of person they are moreso than the talent they have

19. Happy Birthday Jack

20. The GOAT. Data tells that story. Sorry Tiger fans

21. Happy Health Birthday to a great gentleman family man human being having your priorities in order God Bless !!!!

22. Happy Birthday Mr. Nicklaus. I always love to listen to your opinions on all things golf!