Have You Played This Hole?⛳

Jack Nicklaus Major Preparation

When Jack Nicklaus turned pro at the age of 21 he was enlisted by Sports Illustrated to contribute articles on golf instruction and other happenings in the golf world. Some of these articles included a pre-tournament trip to a major championship venue to assess the course. His eye could see the subtle qualities of a course, and how he might take advantage of it, better than any other pro of his era.

The night before he was to play Baltusrol to scout it out prior to the 1967 U.S. Open, he attended a party in Greenwich Village for the acclaimed writer Gwilym S. Brown, an Associate Editor at Sports Illustrated. Brown was going to accompany Nicklaus on his tour of Baltusrol.

Brown asked Nicklaus if he remembered the course which he had not played in three years. Nicklaus whipped out a battered scorecard and began reading: "First hole, 205 yards from second bunker on left to front of . . . ."

The next day, while playing the course, Nicklaus pointed to where a lone tree stood. He then asked Brown, "Shouldn't there be another tree there?" before sending him over to look for a stump.

In future years, he honed his major championship preparation to include a full week of preparation at the venues and is one of the reasons that he dominated majors during his career.

Read the Nicklaus article about Baltusrol at Sports Illustrate HERE.
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Watch Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead square off on Shell's Wonderful World of Golf from Pebble Beach in 1963 courtesy of the PGA TOUR.

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