Oller: You don't know Jack ... but we do. Who is Jack Nicklaus away from the course?
I don’t run in the same circles as Jack Nicklaus. Shocker, I know. Any connection between me and the Bear comes mostly through covering the Memorial Tournament for more than a quarter century, reading books written by and about the Upper Arlington native and knowing people who know him.
Given such limited interaction, my view of golf’s greatest champion amounts to a small facet on the gemstone of a sports legend who has been gracious, even when the occasional unfavorable story, among the dozens of flattering ones, makes the Bear bristle.
On that topic, the Jack I know makes his point and moves on. He may not agree with alternate points of view or totally understand why an illuminating fact had to be included in an otherwise positive story, but he holds no grudge against the author who wrote it.
That is not to suggest Nicklaus spares the needle when an opportunity arises, but ask almost anyone who has felt the sting of his wit and they say his verbal jabs land harmlessly when understanding that he teases those he likes.
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But don’t take my word for it. Instead listen to those who know Nicklaus better than I, not only as a golfer but as a friend, father and 83-year-old humanitarian who has helped raise hundreds of millions for children’s hospitals in Columbus and Florida, where he lives.
What follows is a collection of anecdotes, insights and personal stories supplied by close friends and acquaintances who know Nicklaus better than most. And in one case, better than anyone. Comments have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Barbara Nicklaus
Barbara Bash met her future husband the first week of college, when both were freshmen at Ohio State.
“He was just another college student, and I didn’t even know how to spell golf, probably," she said. "By the time we had dated through winter quarter, I thought maybe I better learn a little bit about this game, so I took golf in college. At the end of the quarter, they let us play five holes and I made something ridiculous, like three pars and two bogeys, and he comes to pick me up and I said, ‘Why do you practice so much? This game isn’t so hard.’ Of course, I haven’t broken 80 for nine holes since, but he was just a college student who I started dating, and it kind of feels like we grew up together."
Which of her husband’s attributes most endears itself to her?
“Probably his honesty. Sometimes it can really get you, but in the end you know that you’ve been treated fairly.”
Much has been said about Jack the family man. Barbara insisted it is not just talk.
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“He has always put family first. And that’s a fact, not just something he talks about. My daughter (Nan) said to me once, ‘You know, dad came to more of our athletic events than people whose parents had a job in town.’ He’d fly across the country to watch Steve and Jackie in football games. The kids just thought that’s what dads do. Now that they’re married and have children they’ll say, ‘Mom, I can’t believe dad did that.’ And I’ll say, ‘You kids came first.’”
Rory McIlroy
A four-time major championship winner, McIlroy and Nicklaus have bonded over their discussions of what it takes to win at the highest level.
"The guy that I know is … not afraid to voice his opinion," McIlroy said. "I’ll go in the lunchroom at the Bear’s Club (Jack’s home course in Florida) and if I’m coming off an average week on tour and I see Jack, I’m like, ‘Oh, no, what’s he going to say to me?’ But having the opinion of someone that has been so successful in our game is a great thing for the people that spend a little bit of time around him. He’s a wonderful human being. He does a ton for charity. He’s a very helpful person and hopefully everyone sees that.”
David Shedloski
Shedloski, the Memorial Tournament magazine editor who has written one book about Nicklaus and co-authored another, was in the midst of writing “Golden Twilight” in 2000 when he and the Golden Bear had a misunderstanding over a story Shedloski wrote for Golf.com
“Jack made some comments about changes at Augusta National and thought anything we might be talking about might be for the book," he said. "He was not happy, but Barbara intervened a little bit and the next thing I know he finishes his round on Sunday (at The Tradition, a PGA Tour Champions major) and we have a conversation. ‘You want to come back with us to Florida? Why don’t you come down and fly with us to Palm Beach?’ He basically was already moving on, but wanted me to know that whatever misunderstanding, it was OK. He just proved he is a bigger man than anybody you know. He’s kind and forgiving. When you see that kind of gesture directed toward you, the kindness and generosity, you get a better understanding of who he is in that way, too. There’s a softer side."
The other side sometimes comes off more like flint. Shedloski relayed a conversation he had with a friend of Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer that demonstrates how Jack can be viewed upon first impression.
“The guy said, ‘When you see them again for the first time, like you’re re-uniting, Arnold makes you feel at ease and Jack puts you on edge.’ He wasn’t being critical of Jack when he said it, wasn’t saying that Jack isn’t nice. He just knew Jack well enough that he was bracing for what needle was going to come out right away.
“Jack has this kind of sense of humor in his personality. It’s teasing, but it’s not mean in spirit. It’s good-natured. Some of that comes back to his competitive nature. He wants to stir it up. It’s his way of having fun with you.”
Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay, a two-time Memorial winner (2019, 2021) like McIlroy knows Nicklaus better than most current tour players.
“He’s a very kind man," he said. "He’s always open to sharing advice if you ask him, and he’s very approachable. He’s been great to me over the years. I met him for the first time when I won the Jack Nicklaus award in 2011 and he was super kind to me then, and is still that way when I saw him yesterday.
Andy North
North, whose playing career overlapped with Nicklaus’, got to really know the Bear only after becoming a member of the Memorial Tournament Captains Club
“What’s been so cool for me is he was my hero, one of my heroes growing up, then you got to compete against him, and now we’ve gotten to be great friends," he said. "There’s nothing better than that. Very cool. The Jack who was the greatest player in the world is not the guy that you can sit around and tease and give crap to all the time. The best part is once you found that out it’s become an amazing relationship. He’s got the greatest sense of humor and is always trying to pull pranks on people. The kind of things we all like to do.”
Paul Azinger
Also a member of the Captains Club, Zinger is moved by how Nicklaus has transitioned so successfully from champion to humanitarian.
"Jack is just the example of how we go through different stages of life, and he has ended up right where you would hope he could end up, which is in full service of others," he said. "And that’s what has happened to Jack.
"First you’re a kid and you’re growing up and you become a professional at something and you provide for your family. That’s a whole other phase, to be a champion. The next phase for Jack is, ‘Did he want to continue to stay and play the Senior Tour?’ which he did. He became a champion out there.
"And with Barbara’s influence, the two of them together have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to help children, and it’s just awesome. You have to be self-serving and self-centered and kind of self-absorbed to get to the place where you get to, and as you wind away from that and hit the next stage … I think Jack exemplifies how we should all end our final run. He’s in a great run, probably the greatest run of his life, and it’s toward the end, because he’s giving all that money to charity. I’m so happy for him. He exemplifies how you want to live your life. I love him.”
Azinger also shared what made Nicklaus such an elite golfer, namely, refusing to settle for short of mastering your craft.
“His knowledge of fishing trumped mine," he said. "I remember one time talking about trying to catch tarpon on fly, before I realized you could do it, and he had already caught a bunch. It was just one of those things, he was so matter of fact, ‘Oh, yes.’ I thought about that and concluded, ‘He’s got it mastered. He’s going to master whatever it is. Even about fly casting and tarpon, that’s the upper echelon of what tarpon fishing is. He mastered that. I learned that early on, he was cocky about his fishing right out of the gate.”
Jack Nicklaus
Finally, the man himself. The Bear was brief when asked to describe who he is off the golf course, but even in only a few words it becomes clear that “18 major championship winner Jack” and “Chill-at-home Jack” are not opposites. Drill into the Nicklaus personality and you strike perfection – or at least the pursuit of it.
“I’m pretty relaxed about what I do," he said. "I like to work. And I’m pretty much of a perfectionist. I like to do things the right way. I don’t like to do things the wrong way.”
Eighty-three years after entering the world, this Olden Bear has done most things more right than wrong.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: jack nicklaus golf champion practical joker, needler and nice guy
