Nicklaus was fazed. The ‘some guy’ who
gave him a stern warning was Joe Dey, the
legendary USGA executive director (193468) who was also the Nicklaus of course
setups. Nicklaus took that to mean to never
show up for a starting time 30 seconds
beforehand even if it was technically early.
He added that Dey became a second father,
adding that his profound ways of doing things
the “right way” made an impact.
“That was my introduction to USGA
Golf. I promise you, I was never late for a
starting time.”
Two years later Nicklaus played his first
U.S. Amateur on the James River Course at
the Country Club of Virginia and, although
he didn’t win, he became inextricably rooted
thanks to another memorable encounter.
“The night before the tournament,”
marveled Nicklaus, “I played the last practice
20
round, hit my shot into the eighth green and
there was a gentleman in a golf cart off the
18th green [who] said, ‘Come here, young
man, I’d like to say hello.’”
The man said he had been sitting there
watching players hit into the green for two
hours. Only three had done it, Nicklaus being
one of them. The man was Bobby Jones.
Little did either know then Nicklaus would
demolish Jones’ 13 majors, a record that had
stood 40 years.
It wasn’t until 1972, after he had won 10
majors, that the thought of catching Jones
entered his mind. A reporter asked him how
he felt about chasing it. It only stokes the
flames of competitiveness.
THE NICKLAUS STATURE
On the sprawling USGA campus, nestled in
the Far Hills, N.J., countryside, the museum
can first be spotted coming up the quartermile driveway. Before the Palmer addition,
the museum held bucolic charm in the
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 5
original building designed in 1919 by John
Russell Pope. Even w