When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Jack Nicklaus was invited to the Live@Wimbledon booth by friend Mats Wilander to talk for nearly 15 minutes about a range of topics including Rory McIlroy, majors, the state of American tennis, etc...
Nicklaus was a guest in the Royal box the day before. Thanks to reader Michael for the tip.
More from the Nicklaus Museum. Parts 1 and 2 are here.
Part 3 is the famed one-iron from 1972 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and 1967 U.S. Open at Baltusol with insights from curator Steve Auch.
My favorite segment is part 4, the "White Fang" putter painted by Barbara, gripped by Deane Beman (with a now illegal golf pencil insert), then it disappeared, and then it was recovered after someone brought it to a birthday party for one of the Nicklaus children.
Part 5 looks into the museum's Masters display, including his 1975 shirt and the story behind the 1986 putter.
Okay, now that Jack Nicklaus has said what we all know to be the case, the 18th at Muirfield Village doesn't look as good as it used to look. But it's not Mr. Nicklaus' fault that players were taking a short cut thanks to modern equipment, so he liberally sprinkled bunkers to maintain relevancy for the finishing hole at the Memorial. A lot of bunkers.
And now he acknowledges in this Rusty Miller note, too many.
"Every time I look on television, I look down and see all those bunkers along 18 and I don't think it's a pretty look," Nicklaus said, referring to right side of the landing area beyond a walnut tree. "It looks like something I had to do to protect the hole. All the other holes on the golf course are basically played the way they were designed. Eighteen is the only hole where they are able to circumvent the design. They take it over the corner and get it out there.
"To me, the finishing hole needs to be stronger."
Monday after the Memorial, Nicklaus will meet with superintendent Paul Latshaw to evaluate the tourament and the club will proceed accordingly. Nicklaus told the press Wednesday that a new tee could extend the hole by 30 yards to return the driver to relevancy on the finishing hole.
Though Latshaw did tell me the timing could be anywhere from ASAP to a few years from now depending on what Mr. Nicklaus says. With the Presidents Cup looming this fall, I won't be surprised if the new 18th tee is built sooner than later. The added bunkers? That may take a bit longer to deal with.
To kick off the Memorial this week I interviewed Bill Haas in the Nationwide Digital House about the course and what he's doing to improve his record here.
Later on we have videos coming from the course, including the 16th hole spot where Tiger chipped-in from in 2012, a talk with Paul Vermuelen of the PGA Tour about a wild-looking green firmness reader and a visit to the incredible Nicklaus Museum.
Live first round Memorial coverage begins on Golf Channel runs from 2:30-6:30 p.m. with a replay from 7-11 p.m.
Jack Nicklaus launched his team learning leagues "powered by SNAG" at today's Memorial Tournament, with a roll-out planned in parks in Columbus, New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles.
For Immediate Release:
Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues, powered by SNAG® Kick-off in Five Major Cities
Golf Icon Takes Bold Step to Energize Youth Participation in Golf
North Palm Beach, FL (May 29, 2013) — To coincide with the 2013 Memorial Tournament, the new Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues, powered by SNAG, will be introduced at select local park and recreation facilities in the Golden Bear’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio, as well as in New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues (JNLL) marks the first time that golf will be made available to youngsters as a team sport through local parks and recreation facilities. The innovative concept, combined with SNAG’s well-established, first-touch development program, will provide a golf learning experience for children, ages 5 through 12, in a safe, affordable and accessible environment.
Nicklaus has been an important advocate for growing the game and he envisions that with SNAG’s modified equipment and support, and the active participation of local park and recreation agencies through the National Recreation and Park Association, golf can have a competitive footing with such team sports as soccer, basketball and football. In an effort to supplement other growth-of-the-game initiatives, JNLL has sought the input and support of organizations such as the PGA of America and The First Tee.
“There are so many sports—team sports—played in the park system today,” Nicklaus said. “Kids start playing athletics when they are as young as 4 or 5 years old, and by the time they are just 7, 8 or 9 years old, many of them have picked the two or three sports that they might want to play in the different seasons. If golf is not part of the sports introduced and available to them at their local park and recreation facilities, they will play other sports and not golf. So we need to get golf in their local parks and have them play our sport, and I think the team concept is the way to do it.”
“The idea is to bring kids into the game, keep them in the game, have them learn, let them have fun, have fun with their friends, and then they can advance to the next level where they get on a golf course and develop. I just hope these leagues create the same enthusiasm for golf that I discovered at their age.”
Some 100 Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues are planned for 2013 and an estimated 300 are projected to launch in 2014.
Terry Anton, founder and CEO of SNAG Golf, is enthusiastic about the leadership position of Jack Nicklaus in the establishment of the Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues.
“Jack Nicklaus’ vision to bring golf to the same venues where other organized sports thrive will make it easier to develop our future golfers,” Anton said. “These leagues will introduce millions of new players to the sport and will help nurture children developing their motor skills and do it in a fun way. SNAG is honored to have been selected to participate with history’s greatest golfer and the NRPA in the Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues. Our task is to make his vision a reality by implementing SNAG’s programming in the parks and directing this feeder system into all on-course golf programs. This is an important stepping stone for the industry to capture interest in golf early so that youngsters will transition with confidence to play with actual golf equipment on a traditional course. The more fun we make golf for children, the more chance they have to play the game for a lifetime.”
The use of parent-coaches and turning soccer and other playing fields into venues for this golf competition will be pivotal to the implementation of the Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues, through the auspices of the National Recreation and Park Association.
“Local parks and recreation are the go-to places where children can learn to play sports and develop a connection to healthy activities,” says Barbara Tulipane, president and CEO of the National Recreation and Park Association. “We are so proud to be bringing the Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues and SNAG to park and recreation agencies across the country, because not only is it a great program but it means more children will have the chance to participate in the sport of golf in a fun and unique way and develop a connection to a healthy activity that will last them a lifetime.”
The NRPA will administer grants to park and recreation facilities across the U.S. to underwrite the costs associated with providing Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues equipment, coaching and programming. A 501©3 entity, G.O.L.F. (the Global Outreach for Learning Foundation), is being established to raise the necessary funds. G.O.L.F.’s mission is to help people develop golf skills and have fun through developmentally appropriate programs. The goal is to ensure retention and provide a sustainable model for transition to other programs at golf facilities, in order to increase participation for current and future generations. (For information on G.O.L.F. visit www.thegolffoundation.org.)
The Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues are separated by age groups: 5-6 and 7-8-year-olds with the intention of expanding to 9-10 and 11-12 in the near future. Each league will have a set number of children per team and incorporate a specialized, age-appropriate format and learning curriculum.
Nicklaus talked about the leagues in his annual state of Jack press conference at Muirfield Village.
**A couple of key comments from Nicklaus today:
From my standpoint, it's 100 percent nonprofit from anything that I do, so everybody knows that.
Secondly, trying to figure out how this thing got started. We're trying to figure out how do we get the kids? And the kids today are all going to the parks. Matter of fact, a lot of the parents are not playing golf anymore, that's part of the issue we talked a lot about earlier. They're taking their kids to the park to play football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, whatever the sport might be. I said guys, we've got to get to the parks in talking with the PGA of America, and they talked to Terry about it, because they're familiar with SNAG, and the success he's had with kids in the approach to starting the game of golf for kids.
And...
So we're trying to get where golf becomes one of those sports, whether it's getting kids started, learning the basics, getting a way they can have fun. And this is a team sport. You're going to go out and have ‑‑ coaches will draft the kids like they do with every other park sport. And it's a very simple thing. It's basically a plastic club with a tennis type ball and a Velcro‑type hole, which is not a hole, it sticks to the Velcro. And it's actually kind of fun to play. If I have fun playing it ‑‑ that's the only thing I can play anymore (laughter). If I have fun playing it, I know the kids are going to have fun playing it. We had some kids the other day playing it with Gary and me, and we had a good time.
Ryan Lavner, on Jack Nicklaus' comments from today's Honda Classic telecast appearance.
Not music to Tim Finchem's ears:
“It may be to some of the fellas’ detriment, one way or the other, but what I think the ultimate decision should be is the ruling bodies of golf and not the Tour.”
He also spoke at length about Rory McIlroy, as quoted in this unbylined story at ESPN.com.
Back in January at the PGA Show, Jack Nicklaus floated some ideas about golf in parks, youth leagues and some other peculiar sound ideas.
But after reading John Paul Newport's story on the Golden Bear's endorsement of SNAG Golf, the ideas become crystallized and make a lot of sense. Throw in the nagging issue of injuries in football (something not touched on here), and there seems to be a genuine opportunity to start kids in golf at a young age thanks to the concept.
Although SNAG golf can be played in any large open area, like a park or a beach, the Nicklaus Learning Leagues will use municipal soccer fields. A six-hole course takes less than 30 minutes to set up. Each player carries a rubber tee pad, to elevate the ball before hitting, and two clubs. One is the "launcher," which kids can use to knock a ball 40 to 50 yards. The other is the "roller," a putter equivalent, for the delicate shorter shots that finally "snag" the ball to an aboveground cylinder at the base of the flag. This so-called Flagsticky is covered in adhesive material.
The Nicklaus Leagues will build on a two-year pilot program in 15 cities run by the National Recreation and Park Association. For 5- and 6-year-olds in the Nicklaus Leagues, the emphasis will be on whacking the ball around and having fun, with snacks essential. Seven- and 8-year-olds will get more instruction and compete with partners in best-ball format against other teams. Nine- and 10-year-olds will use slightly smaller, Super SNAG clubs and balls and compete as a team with stroke-play scoring. Plans are afoot for leagues involving older kids and even adults.
There is also this supplemental video feature with the story.
I saw the headline to Robin Abcarian's story and thought, when did Jack Nicklaus ever lose to Doug Ford?
“He asked me to get involved and I didn’t,” Nicklaus said. “I said, ‘Mr. President, I’ve always stayed away from politics. I deal with people on both sides.’ And he respected that and he never had an issue with that, and we played a lot of golf after that. But I didn’t help him and he lost Ohio by several thousand votes. Had he won Ohio, he would have won the election. I’ve always had big regrets about that.
“In spite of me not doing that, he paid me a great honor: I was a pallbearer at his funeral. He was such a good friend, such a nice man. That’s why I’ve gotten involved.”
**golf.com crunched the numbers and concludes that even if Nicklaus had campaigned for Gerald Ford and made Ohioans swoon, the election still would have been lost to Jimmy Carter.
Nicklaus said his company, golf course design firm Nicklaus Design, has lost more than 50 percent of its employees during the past four years — a clear condemnation of the economy under President Barack Obama.
“It’s why we got involved. It’s why we want to help get Mitt elected. ... Let’s get this thing on the road and in a few days, let’s get ourselves a new president,” he said to cheers.
Art Stricklin reports that Jack and Barbara Nicklaus will make more appearances in Ohio for Mitt Romney leading up to the November 6, 2012 election.
Nicklaus told those gathered at the opening of his new Summit Rock course in Horseshoe Bay, Texas that the future of the golf course construction industry is dependent on the presidential election results.
"It all depends on who is elected next Tuesday," Nicklaus said Tuesday during the opening of Summit Rock, his new course in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, just west of Austin. "It will take longer if the wrong guy is elected."
The New York Daily News's Greg Smith reports that Ferry Point, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course to be managed by Donald Trump, has been put on notice by New York city controller John Liu due to staggering cost overruns.
On Thursday, Liu informed Parks that the audit “will determine whether the Parks Department carried out or implemented recommendations” from that prior audit.
The recommendations included tracking progress of the project against its start and completion dates, preparing an “itemized breakdown of all required activities” at the project and carefully monitoring all “invoices, canceled checks and other related documentation.”
Parks spokeswoman Vickie Carr did not respond to requests for comment about whether the agency had implemented the 2007 recommendations.
The Parks Department says the project is expected to cost the taxpayers $97 million, although The News found contracts assigned to the Ferry Point golf course totaling $120 million.
As a result, commentaries (here and here) are questioning the wisdom of spending so much while other city services are falling apart.
In a speech last week endorsing Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Nicklaus bemoaned the number of Americans on government funded food stamps and lamented excessive government spending.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
