Jack Nicklaus is a well-known retired American professional golfer nicknamed “The Golden Bear.” He is also regarded as one of the all-time great golfers. He has won a total of 172 professional tournaments in his career.
Similarly, he set a record by winning 18 major championships, three more than Tiger Woods. He has lofty goals and is always focused on major championships such as the Master’s Tournament, the Open Championship, the US Open, and the PGA Championship.
He had also played selectively based on his preferences and interests. His calm demeanor always inspires and draws the majority of his fans to golf. Here is some Jack Nicklaus quotes that will inspire you as well.
“There are always new spots to fish.
There is always a new area, a new horizon for any fisherman.”“People don’t want to go to the dump for a picnic; they want to go somewhere nice and enjoy their day.”
So I believe our mission is to attempt to expand on or enrich the environment that the good Lord has given us without destroying it.”“Confidence is the most crucial single factor in this game, and there is only one method to achieve and sustain it, no matter how great your natural talent.”
“I pack by looking at how long I’ll be gone and packing day by day.”
If I’m going fishing for three days, I plot each day.
I put the majority of it in a little bag.
I plan my trips if I’m going to work on golf courses for a few days.”“Success is almost entirely determined by your ability to manage the game’s two ultimate adversaries: the course and yourself.”
“Professional golf is the only sport where winning 20% of the time makes you the greatest.”
“I’m an ogre at times.”
I can be brief.
Some days, I’ll stroll into the office and realize I’ve gotten out of bed on the wrong side, and everyone notices.
I’m a stickler for detail.
I like to stay organized and get everything done today.”
8th of 82 Quotes by Jack Nicklaus
“You must have faith in your children.
They have to go through life, and you just hope you’ve given them a basis for what’s right and wrong.”“I can’t tolerate it when my kids beat me at pool or Ping Pong.”
Ping Pong in particular!
They simply needle the crap out of me when they hit me.
That’s all right.
That would be preferable to allowing them to gain a slender victory.”“I was 13 when I was diagnosed with polio.”
I started feeling stiff, my joints ached, and I lost my coordination and 20 pounds in two weeks.”“On the golf field, a kid grows up much faster.”
Golf teaches you how to be a gentleman.”“No matter what the scenario, resolve never to quit, never to give up.”
“Why are we constructing golf courses?”
Because we enjoy being outside, bringing man and nature together.”“Managing your swing on the course is an important part of managing a golf course.”
Many men can hit a golf ball, but they have no understanding how to handle what they do with the ball.
I’ve won as many golf tournaments when I hit the ball poorly as when I hit it beautifully.”“My biggest rival in my career was myself.”
I couldn’t keep Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson, or Lee Trevino under control.
“The only person I had influence over was myself.”“A good remedy to anxiety is concentration.”
“Golf is a game of respect and sportsmanship; we must uphold its traditions and standards.”
“How people continue to correct us when we are young!”
There is always some bad habit or another that they tell us we should get rid of.
However, most undesirable behaviors serve as tools to assist us get through life.”“Sometimes the biggest issue is inside your head.
You have to think you can play a shot rather than wondering where your next terrible shot will come from.”“Public appearances are a pain.”
“I keep mine to a bare minimum.”“The game is supposed to be enjoyable.”
“Pay attention to solutions rather than flaws.”
“I couldn’t keep Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson, or Lee Trevino under control.”
The only person I had control over was myself.
I was the only one who could prepare for events.
And if I didn’t play well, that meant I wasn’t going to compete.”“I learnt early in my work that you can get so caught up and delighted that you don’t think.”
So I worked very hard to keep myself under control.
That’s one of the reasons I wasn’t overly friendly with the gallery.”
25th of 82 Quotes by Jack Nicklaus
“I’m a firm believer in the premise that people only accomplish their best when they’re doing something they truly enjoy.”
It’s tough to excel in something you’re not interested in.”“My ability to focus and strive toward that objective has been my most valuable asset.”
“Ice cream is most likely my weakness.”
That’s where I become sloppy and lax.
I’ll sneak into the fridge at night and take two or three nibbles before putting it back.
Pecan butter
Only two or three bites, but it’s noticeable.”“I don’t believe in chance.”
Not in golf, at any rate.
Sure, there are excellent and bad bounces, but the ball and the hole are both round.
If you find yourself in a situation where you have to rely on chance to get by, you’re in big danger.”“I enjoy catching and releasing fish.”
I haven’t killed a fish caught in sport fishing in perhaps 20 years.
There’s no need to kill it.
You know, just take it and let it go.”“The greatest method to deal with adversity is to remain as far away from it as possible.”
“All I ever wanted to do was play competitive golf against the world’s greatest players.”
“When you’re Jack Nicklaus, it’s difficult not to play golf up to his standards.”
“He had a lot of potential, but lacked devotion, wasn’t organized, didn’t know how to learn, didn’t understand what he was doing, and didn’t strive to learn how to improve.”
“Don’t be too proud to learn.
I’m not.”“I have no ailments in my golf game.”
My golf game is abysmal.”“Over the years, I’ve discovered that air provides less resistance than dirt.”
“Crisis is a natural part of existence.”
Everyone must confront them, regardless of the nature of the situation.”“I’ve always played competitive golf.
Then, when I stop playing the game, I suddenly have all this free time and energy.
And I certainly wasn’t prepared to pack my belongings and sit in front of the television wearing a shawl.”“He has no flaws in his golf or his makeup.”
He will win more major championships than Arnold Palmer and myself combined.
Someone is going to vacuum my records.
Tiger is a lovely kid, so it might as well be him.”“He possesses the most beautiful and fundamentally sound golf swing I’ve ever seen.”
“If his body keeps up, he’ll be around for a long, long time.”
Because of how much they play, this is always a concern for many athletes.
Many men are unable to cope.
But it appears that he can.”“I believe I fail less than everyone else.”
“A flawlessly straight stroke with a heavy club is an aberration.”
“Downhill golf is a better game.”
“I rotate my hips faster when I want a long ball.”
“This is just a game.”
That’s all there is to it.
It isn’t a war.”“I enjoy competing.
That is the essence of golf.”“The longer you play, the better the player’s chances of winning.”
“As you get older, the wind gets stronger, and it’s always in your face.”
50th of 82 Quotes by Jack Nicklaus
“Well, my biggest opponent in my profession was myself.”
“However, if I played well and properly prepared myself, all I had to do was control myself and put myself in a position to win.”
“Well, I don’t think Augusta is the same golf course I grew up on.”
Bobby Jones’ philosophy was to give you room off the tee; if you hit it in the right side of the fairway, you’d end up with the right angle to the green.”“I first saw Arnold Palmer when he came to Columbus to participate in a tournament when I was a child.”
That day, I watched him whack balls on the driving range.
We ended up being great buddies.”“In the 1960s, Pete Dye introduced me to golf course design.”
He traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to work on The Golf Club.”“I can hardly get my PC to turn on!”
“See, as much as I enjoy the game, golf was my means of competing.
And I enjoy competing.”“I’ve had the good fortune in my career to make some history on the 16th hole at Augusta National.”
“I love dealing with children, whether it’s The First Tee or the lesson tee with my grandchildren.”
“Of course, designing courses all over the world keeps me energized.”
“I had such a miserable year in 1979, when I was 39, that I felt it was all over.”
Fortunately, it wasn’t.”“I’d rather be two strokes ahead than two strokes behind heading into the last day.”
Having said that, it’s usually simpler to win when you’re down.
Chasing is not frightening.
Being hunted causes terror.”“When I fly in a helicopter, I insist on having two sets of controls, one for me and one for the pilot in case something goes wrong.”
I’m no expert, but I know enough to get this thing started.
Nothing frightens me more than the prospect of losing control.”“I’m arguably the country’s only bottom-heavy golfer.”
“Writers have often told me that I’m a better interviewer in defeat than in success, which is a praise I cherish.”
“The average golfer’s adversary is long irons.”
I’m confident that the underlying cause is that he constantly hearing how difficult they are to deal with.
They really aren’t that difficult.”“I’ve always wanted to construct golf courses since I was a kid.”
I guess it’s because of how I’ve played the game.
To figure out how to play each hole, I always start by asking myself what the architect tried to do with it.”
67th of 82 Quotes by Jack Nicklaus
“Golfers have a masochistic personality.”
For some reason, they enjoy punishing themselves.
Many of them prefer difficult courses.”“I believe Pebble Beach is my favorite golf course to visit.”
“Augusta is perhaps my favorite place to play golf.”“I typically created golf courses in the same direction I played golf, which was left to right.”
But I quickly realized that people wanted to see more than just how I played golf, and that I needed to balance what I was doing, right-to-left, left-to-right, and so on.”“It’s good to be widely known for worthwhile achievements, but it requires you to do a lot of things you don’t want to do, and these things take up time you’d rather spend on other things.”
“Did you realize that Iceland probably has more golfers than most other countries?”
In the summer, they play 24 hours a day, and the northern section is warmer than the southern part.”“A Nicklaus Design golf course is built by the individuals in my company who have been taught in my vision and do what they think I may do.”
They may come into the office and ask me questions, which I will gladly answer, but I am not involved with site visits or anything else.”“I cook on occasion, but I’m not a good cook.”
That’s not my thing.”“I enjoy design in general, especially the inventiveness.”
Design is enjoyable, whether it is for golf courses, my clothing line, advertisements, or our work with Arizona.”
75th of 82 quotations by Jack Nicklaus
“The Senior Tour is a terrific idea, but I’m not surprised by its continuous success.”
It allows a lot of guys to advance in their careers.”“The truth is that I diet every day of my life.”
I’ll have to work on it.
But I diet so I can binge.”“From a design sense, if I had to pick one golf course, it would definitely be Pinehurst.”
There is a completely tree-lined golf course where trees are not used as a strategy.”“If I look back on my efforts, I believe I did roughly 70 to 75 percent of what I could have.”
Perhaps 60 percent.
Somewhere in that range; two-thirds of what I could have done.
I believe I could have accomplished more if I had been more dedicated and worked harder.”“I never worried about money because I knew I only had to worry about golf.”
I was going to make money as long as I could play.”“Golf was my competition vehicle, and I can’t play if I can’t compete.”
“I’ve never built a golf course that favored anyone.”
I aim to make it the polar opposite of what we did at Valhalla when we upgraded it to accommodate the lengths players are hitting it now.”“I’ve remarked many times that most people work their entire lives in order to retire and play golf, whereas I worked my entire life in order to retire and play golf.”
I enjoy my job.
It’s kept me youthful and moving, and I’ve had a fantastic time with it.”
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