Left: The Golden Bear revisits some old
friends. Below: Nicklaus won 18 majors,
eight USGA championships and played in
a record 44 consecutive U.S. Opens.
USGA PHOTO ARCHIVES; COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION
Nicklaus’ exhibit consists of 1,200 square
feet, or roughly 13 percent of the building,
with more than 82 artifacts that span his
illustrious career.
When he saw how technology and
interactivity merged to tell his story, he was
ecstatic, later calling it “tastefully done.”
“It’s pretty humbling and meaningful,”
said Nicklaus, who won eight USGA
championships and played in a record 44
consecutive U.S. Opens. “I was trying to be
the best person I could be. And try to do it
in the fashion done properly. The USGA has
honored that and I appreciate that very much.
It’s something very special.”
Some of the best exhibits featured cover
his 18 majors and his clubs. He had made a
deal with Barbara that he’d take care of the
clubs and she and her mother could take care
of everything else. He joked that he’s happy
now they were pack rats and were able to
contribute, such as the caddie overalls his son,
Jackie, wore in the 1986 Masters. There is his
first check earned as a professional at the 1962
Los Angeles Open and wedding paraphernalia
from long ago.
Nicklaus was able to supply the MacGregor
Tommy Armour 3-wood he used for 38 years.
The same one he won all 18 majors, including
both U.S. Amateurs.
His MacGregor VIP 1-iron is there, too.
Some will recall two pivotal shots he hit with
the club, the first in 1967 on his approach
to the 72nd hole at the U.S. Open, and the
second on the 71st hole at Pebble Beach at
w w w. v s g a . o r g
the 1972 Open when his tee shot bounced off
the flagstick. Both helped him win two of his
four Open titles.
The MacGregor 5-iron he used in
the 1986 Masters, his final major victory,
appears. Coming off an eagle on No. 15,
Nicklaus used the club at the 170-yard
16th, hitting the ball within 3 feet that led
to a birdie.
“The only golf clubs from my major
championship wins I don’t have is my putter
that I won the Masters with in 1986. Where
it is, I have no clue,” said Nicklaus.
The beauty of Nicklaus has always been
that he can be so matter-of-fact. Clairvoyant,
yes. Cloying, no. To this day, when he
holds court, it still resembles something
like the old E.F. Hutton commercials:
when Nicklaus speaks, everyone listens.
Nicklaus became an icon on the course
but also a power player off it. Cerebral
and filled with institutional knowledge,
he has always articulated concerns with
aplomb. His profundity on the game has
been unmatched, and still is. He still fills
reporters’ notebooks, continues to make
people think about issues in the game.
What people may not know, or simply
have forgotten, is that before Woods,
Palmer and Nicklaus were the two who
connected to the everyman in a time when
the sport was predominantly affluent. Golf
flourished because of them.
Nicklaus has always been pricklier than
a porcupine has quills on some subjects. Or
maybe just for the heck of it, as this reporter
found out in our first time meeting at the 2003
U.S. Senior Open. It was held at the Inverness
Club, site of the first time he played the U.S.
Open in 1957. Nicklaus respectfully disdained
a rather harmless question.
The next day, during a delay on the sixth
hole, Nicklaus sauntered over, put his arm
around the scribe’s shoulder, smiled and said all
was well. It was his way of saying this reporter
had passed his test, of not being scared away.
Scotty Bowman was a master of this art,
challenging reporters to think outside the
box even if the box was a rectangle. The point
being: the larger picture mattered, but so did
the small stuff.
What made Nicklaus arguably superior
than anyone else who has ever hit a club is that
everything mattered. To be the best, clichéd
or not, a fire in the belly burned brighter
than others.
It was only apropos that Nicklaus should be
honored, and the USGA should be venerated
for doing so.
Ken Klavon is an award-winning writer who
resides in Morganville, N.J.
J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
21