Friggin’ Nicklaus

I was reading an interview that Jack Nicklaus gave recently, and he was asked various questions regarding Tiger (of course), state of the game, Finchem (PGA comish), and other assorted and sundry topics. Whether Tiger will eclipse his major wins record? He said, “Oh, I think he probably will [break it], he probably should. He’s got that in his mind and as a goal. I think he’s as talented a player as I’ve ever seen. I think he’s absolutely fantastic. Will he? Who knows, but I would say he has a lot of years to win not many more tournaments. If he wins one a year for the next, what, seven years that’s not that big a feat.”

If he was appointed Golf Czar, what would he change? Equipment,” he said. “That would be one thing I would do. I would fix the friggin’ equipment.” The problem is this: The difference between what a pro can do with the latest club technology compared to what an amateur can do with it continues to grow wider. Unless golf’s two ruling bodies can figure out a way to even things up (a standardized golf ball?), the pros will continue to make courses obsolete and create a bigger disconnect with the amateur players.

“The whole idea of the R&A and the USGA is to try to play the same equipment for the average golfer and the pro, and they couldn’t be friggin’ further apart,”

Nicklaus was in his prime when I became hooked on golf and he’s still my favorite all-time golfer. I think that Jack’s peers respected him far more than Tiger’s peers respect Tiger. Yes, Woods has that ability to intimidate golfers and win when he really shouldn’t, and Nicklaus could do the same thing in his prime. But there was something about Nicklaus making a charge that sent shivers up your spine. When Tiger makes a charge, it’s more like a battalion of tanks rolling across the landscape. Woods grinds every shot, even when the win is in the bag, while Nicklaus had that ability to show a little more emotion, and flash that Cheshire cat smile when he had you in his sights.