Jack Nicklaus might be a better designer than he was a player!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
The headquarters for my golf school operations is located at Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. (see featured image) I rate it as one of the toughest golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area. For that reason, I have always been partial to Nicklaus courses because, you know, walking onto the first tee that you have a challenge on your hands! Jack has designed some gems, and Muirfield Village is definitely one of the courses I hope to play in my lifetime!
Jack Nicklaus and his design team are responsible for upwards of 400 golf courses in 41 countries around the world. His tracks have hosted about 900 championships and 142 tour stops. Celebrating his 76th birthday on Jan. 21, we honor the Golden Bear by highlighting his five best designs:
A 7,073-yard, par-72 layout, this gorgeous course offers players some of the most dramatic golf scenery in the Southeast, with nine holes coming into play along the shores of Lake Oconee. The greens and bunkering underwent a restoration program in 2009 to restore them to the shapes and sizes of Nicklaus’ original specifications. Modifications have enhanced shot value and preserved the integrity of the original design.
Shoal Creek would go on to host a number of historical events, including the 1984 PGA Championship, won by a determined and focused Lee Trevino. In 1990, the PGA Championship returned, and this time Wayne Grady was able to stave off runner-up Fred Couples for the win. Shoal Creek has hosted a number of other important events as well, including the 1986 U.S. Amateur Championship. In 1994, a young golfer named Tiger Woods helped Stanford win Jerry Pate’s National Intercollegiate with a tournament-best individual score of 206.
Timeless Tips from the Greatest Player who ever Lived!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
What better way to learn the game than from the person regarded as the greatest player who ever lived. I recently read that even the unflappable Ben Hogan was in awe of Jack! These are golf tips that have stood the test of time, and if they come from Jack, they also certainly helped his game. Read and take note! Thanks to Matthew Rudy and Golf Digest for sharing such valuable material!
Jack Nicklaus has been offering his insights to Golf Digest readers since the 1960’s. To celebrate his birthday we’ve compiled some of the 18-time major champion’s best tips from over the years – on everything from fundamentals to driving strategy.
When conditions deteriorate, the tendency is to rush your routine and your swing. That gets you out of sequence. Don’t rush, and make sure all of the elements of your swing have time to happen.
Instead of consciously trying to turn your shoulders, let the club flow back as far as your body will allow. If you force it, you’ll tend to lose your grip at the top.
With big-headed drivers, the tendency is to tee it high to launch it. But don’t be afraid to tee it lower to produce a more penetrating shot with more roll.
Golf’s Greatest Rivalries of all time – I didn’t know about #3!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
I grew up in the era of Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and then eventually Jack Nicklaus. These were known as the “Big 3.” They were good friends outside the ropes, but on the course, the gloves were off. They were fierce competitors, and each wanted to beat the other two every time they teed it up together! Joel Beall of Golf Digest has put together a great list of 14 of the greatest rivalries that could match a Clemson-South Carolina game anytime!
The final week of the college football regular season is renowned for its rivalries. Alabama-Auburn, Ohio State-Michigan, USC-UCLA. Clashes where the record means nothing, and the game’s outcome everything. Which got us thinking: What are some of the best rivalries in the history of golf?
1. USA vs. Europe
The Ryder Cup at first wasn’t much of a rivalry, as the U.S. boasted an 18-3-1 record through 22 matches against Great Britain and Ireland. However, once the Ryder Cup committe decided to change the event’s format to America versus Europe, the latter owns a 10-7-1 mark. Always competitive — and at times, contentious — the biennial event is one of the best Hatfield-McCoy stories in all of sports.
2. Arnold Palmer vs. Jack Nicklaus
Arnie was — and still is — the King. But when a boy from Ohio challenged his rule over golf, Palmer’s reign became a divided kingdom. For nearly a decade, Palmer and Nicklaus battled each other for the game’s crown. While Nicklaus eventually usurped Arnie’s sovereignty, their dual helped shape, and spur, the sport’s popularity.
(Original Caption) Dot Germain, of Philadelphia; Phyllis Otto, of Atlantic, Iowa; Mrs. George Zaharias, the former Babe Didrikson, of Los Angeles; and Louise Suggs, of Lithia Springs, Georgia (left to right). Examine their trusty putters after they won their second round matches and entered the quarter-finals of the 45th Annual Amateur Tournament of the Women’s Western Golf Association.
3. Louise Suggs vs. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Suggs was jealous of Babe’s dominance and popularity, calling her “not a golfer; she’s a showman.” Suggs once said she would refuse to sign Zaharias’ scorecard. Disputing a drop the Babe got in 1953. Even in death, the rivalry was still there: Suggs did not visit Babe in the hospital when the latter was dying of cancer, telling friends, “I decided I’m not going to be a hypocrite about this thing.”
Is Bobby Jones’ 1930 Grand Slam Victories Overrated?
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
When Bobby Jones won the 1930 Grand Slam, a ticker-tape parade was held in his honor on Wall Street!
It was a feat no one else had accomplished at that time! With the advent of the modern Grand Slam in 1960 (said to be attributed to Arnold Palmer with a metaphor about a Grand Slam in baseball, which drove in 4 runs), this has been the goal of every professional golfer ever since! Tiger Woods won 4 Majors with 3 in 2000 and the Masters in 2001 to complete the Tiger Slam.
All things being equal, does Bobby Jones’ feat still compare to the modern equivalent?
As Jordan Spieth was making his run at a third consecutive major last week at St. Andrews, the comparisons to Bobby Jones’ 1930 single-season “Grand Slam” inevitably commenced.
For those who enjoy romanticizing history, this comparison may have seemed warranted.
But by delving into Jones’ 1930 wins a little deeper, one will quickly realize that any comparison between a modern-day professional Grand Slam and the four tournaments Jones won in 1930 is almost laughable.
By 1930, golf had already evolved into a professional game.
Amateurs won three out of the four U.S. Opens played between 1913 and 1916.
But between 1919 (the event was not held in 1917 or 1918 due to World War I) and 1930, Jones was the only amateur to win the U.S. Open.
In fact, only four other amateurs even cracked the top 10 at a U.S. Open during that time frame. After Jones’ 1930 U.S. Open victory, only one other amateur—Johnny Goodman—would ever win a U.S. Open.
Jones was also the only amateur to win the British Open between 1920 and 1930, although Roger Wethered came close in 1921 when he tied for the 72-hole lead and lost to Jock Hutchison in a playoff.
Aside from Jones and Wethered, only three other amateurs cracked the top 10 at the British Open in the decade leading up to Jones’ Grand Slam run in 1930.
Any way you slice it, the era’s top golfers, other than Jones, were almost exclusively professionals.
With Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen clearly leading the way.
Jones’ 1930 Grand Slam consisted of wins at the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, British Open and British Amateur.
The Masters had not yet been formed, and Jones was not eligible to compete in the PGA Championship, as this event was only open to professionals.
This meant that Jones only needed to compete against a superior field of professional golfers at two out of those four Grand Slam events. In addition, Hagen and Sarazendidn’t even make the trip over to England for the 1930 British Open at Royal Liverpool.
So, essentially, Jones only competed against the other two top players of that generation at one of his four Grand Slam events, the 1930 U.S. Open, which he won at Interlachen Country Club.
As an amateur, events such as the U.S. Amateur and British Amateur would have been extremely important to Jones, but these would not have been even remotely close to the toughest fields Jones could have competed in during the 1930 season.
It would have been far more difficult for Jones to win the U.S. Open, the British Open and events such as the Western Open (which many considered to be another major during that era) and the North and South Open (another event attended by virtually every top professional of that era).
Wins at those four events would have come against professional fields that were significantly stronger than those he faced off against at the U.S. and British Amateurs.
While the general public of the time may have still held more respect for gentlemen amateur golfers than the so-called traveling gamblers that made up the professional ranks, there is no question that the professional golfers were far superior to the amateurs throughout most of the 1920s and certainly by 1930.
As such, Jones’ 1930 Grand Slam cannot even really be compared to a modern-day professional Grand Slam, as any modern-day Grand Slam would involve beating all of the top golfers on the planet at four straight majors.
Jack Nicklaus’s Farewell to the Open at St Andrew’s!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
10 years after the emotional farewell to the Open at St. Andrews by Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus walked down the 18th fairway of the Old Course along with Tom Watson to say goodbye to a tournament he loved so much. Thanks for the memories, Jack!
Jack Nicklaus playing his last competitive golf round at the 2005 British Open. 18th hole at St. Andrews playing with Tom Watson and Luke Donald with historic photo at the Swilken Bridge. Makes birdie putt to conclude his competitive golf career.
#11 in our series “My Best Shot Ever” by James Nicholas – not Nicklaus!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
This series has previously showcased great shots from Tour players only.
Today I’m posting a story on the best shot from a high school golfer.
James Nicholas was competing in the New York State High School Championship, and his heart must have sunk when he saw where his ball lay short of the green on hole #17.
What happened next is awesome! He played a shot that would have made Jack Nicklaus proud!
Thanks to Alex Myers, writing for The Loop at golfdigest.com for this story and video showing a miraculous shot by a kid with a huge heart!
On Monday, James Nicholas won the biggest golf tournament of his career.
On Sunday, he hit the best shot of his life.The Scarsdale (N.Y.) senior found himself struggling in the opening round of the New York State High School Championship and found his ball in a pond short of the 17th green at Cornell University’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. He proceeded to do this:
Nicholas couldn’t convert the putt, but the brilliant recovery still helped him save bogey and proved to be the difference when he won the 36 hole event by one shit the following day. Had he gone to the drop zone 125 yards away, he would have been almost guaranteed to make double bogey.
Who are the best putters who ever lived – #1 is no Surprise!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
It comes as no surprise that Tiger Woods is the best putter EVER!
What does come as a surprise to me is that Bobby Locke, long thought of as the best putter in the world in the ’40s, the ’50s, and even into the ’60s, is so far behind Tiger Jack. (Do you think Golf Digest has a bias towards Americans?)
The one common denominator with all of these players is that they did not become great putters by chance. All of them put long, backbreaking hours on the putting green to get to where they are today in the standings. Putting does not require strength or flexibility, so go to the putting green tomorrow and start yourself on the road to becoming an excellent putter!
Thanks so much to Golf Digest for putting this fascinating set of statistics together!
We Spoke to more than 100 players on the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours to name the best putters among them and the best overall since 1950 (five for each). They came back with a question of their own. Do you mean who putts the best day in and day out? and Is it the most clutch putter? and The one who never three-putts? The answer is all of the above. The player who cleans up five-footers on Sunday has to get a nod, as should the most consistent putter over the full season. Here’s who the players chose.
Who is the next Jordan Spieth – Five Players catch the eye!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Picking who the next “Great” will be on the world stage is like trying to pick the Triple Crown winner before the Kentucky Derby.
Almost impossible! Tiger Woods had greatness written all over him when he came to the PGA Tour and Jack Nicklaus because both of them had had outstanding amateur careers and already dominated their peers. But no one could have predicted the meteoric rise of Jordan Spieth.
Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods came onto the PGA Tour with glowing credentials. Who is going to follow?
Are there any other golfers on the horizon who are ready to break out and have stellar careers? Ben Alberstadt of bleacherreport.com has his eye on 5 candidates. Here they are.
Following Jordan Spieth’s breakthrough success, which included his first PGA Tour win at 19 and his first major at 21 (his second major at 21 as well), it seems natural to ask, “Who will be the next to break through?”
The tour has seen a rash of first-time winners in recent years. This season alone has given us Ben Martin, Robert Streb, Nick Taylor, Brooks Koepka, James Hahn, Alex Cejka and Fabian Gomez.
No golfer is likely to match Spieth’s prodigious success in his brief tour career, and indeed, all the golfers on this list are older than the 21-year-old Texan. Still, several exciting players are on the cusp of raising a trophy on tour, and we’ll likely see a name added to the list above.
Five candidates stand out. Who are they? Read on to find out.
Nicklaus toughens up Muirfield Village by removing bunkers?
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Jack Nicklaus is the consummate Golf Professional.
The best player who has ever lived was always meticulous in his preparation for every event he ever participated in, particularly the Majors. So why would it be any different when he built a golf course? Muirfield Village has become one of the premier golf courses in the USA. In his pursuit for perfection, Nicklaus continues to tweak the course long after it was originally opened in 1973. Alex Miceli of Golf Week gives us an interesting story on Jack’s remodel.
Nicklaus’ bunker-removal project at Muirfield won’t make 18th any easier.
DUBLIN, Ohio – When PGA Tour players make their annual pilgrimage to the Columbus area for this week’s Memorial Tournament, they will notice a change to Muirfield Village Golf Club. Six bunkers have been eliminated at the 18th hole.
Jack Nicklaus, the course designer and tournament host who grew up in nearby Upper Arlington, has unveiled many changes since opening Muirfield Village in 1974. Mainly because of improved equipment, Nicklaus has redesigned or dramatically changed every hole in the ensuing four decades.
Thus, eliminating four bunkers on the right side of the closing hole’s fairway this spring were part of the lengthening process that predates the 2013 Presidents Cup here.
The Jack Nicklaus Room at the USGA Museum is Amazing!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Jack Nicklaus has achieved everything that a golfer could dream of. 18 Majors, 73 PGA Tour Victories, great family life, and a successful business.
So it is only fitting that a room is dedicated to him at the USGA Museum. No small thanks also go to his longtime coach Jack Grout and his wife Barbara, who was by his side throughout his career.
Wednesday was the official opening and dedication of the Jack Nicklaus Room at the USGA Museum in Far Hills, NJ.
For the people who go to these sorts of things, the experience is always the same: You can’t walk 10 feet without bumping into someone you know, or are supposed to know, wearing a blue blazer. If you know the face but not the name, you buy some time by asking if they’ve been playing much golf lately. And if it’s 85 and humid, like it was yesterday, brace yourself for the answer.
Regrettably, I spent only 15 minutes in the new room, which at 1,200 square feet is surprisingly intimate and houses just 82 artifacts. It’s a lean version of the sprawling Jack Nicklaus Museum in Columbus, Ohio, which gave some meorabelia on loan for the exhibit and will continue to rotate more. Several short videos and an interactive course-design feature pack additional layers of depth, but the impression is that the main concern of the curators was accessibility. The placards for each object are succinct and written in the first-person voice of Jack.
“[The USGA] did such an efficient job of not being overbearing with a big room,” Nicklaus said.
“They’ve put it tastefully in a place where it’s not going to get lost, where you can see it very quickly. There are three people that come to these rooms — streakers, strollers and scholars. Streakers spend about a half an hour and they’re through seeing everything. Strollers spend a couple hours and get a lot of information. A scholar could spend all day, or more…I think that’s what they’ve tried to accomplish.”
Someday soon, I’d like to return on at least the level of a stroller. But to offer at least a taste from my manic visit…
BEN SAYERS PUTTER USED BY JACK NICKLAUS
“I bought this putter in North Berwick, Scotland, shortly before the 1959 Walker Cup. It helped me to more than a dozen amateur titles, including both my U.S. Amateur wins.”
Easy to forget that Jack Nicklaus actually used a hickory shafted putter. With it, he sank what he’s said is the most important putt of his career; the final putt in the final match to defeat Charlie Coe in the 1959 U.S. Amateur.
