A biography for Jack Nicklaushasn’t been written yet.
“He had a lot of talent, but didn't have much dedication, wasn't organized, didn't know how to learn, didn't know how to comprehend what he was doing, didn't try to learn how to get better.”
“When I want a long ball, I spin my hips faster.”
“When I fly in a helicopter, I insist there be two sets of controls, one for me in case something happens to the pilot. I'm no expert, but I know enough to at least get the thing on the ground. Nothing scares me like the thought of not being in control.”
“Naturally it is nice to be widely known for worthwhile achievements, but it forces you to do many things which you don't like to do and these things take up time you want for other things.”
“I can barely turn on my computer!”
“Crises are part of life. Everybody has to face them, and it doesn't make any difference what the crisis is.”
“People don't want to go to the dump and have a picnic, they want to go out to a beautiful place and enjoy their day. And so I think our job is to try to take the environment, take what the good Lord has given us, and expand upon it or enhance it, without destroying it.”
“I never worried about money, except that I knew that all I had to worry about was golf. As long as I could play, I was going to make money.”
“Golf is game of respect and sportsmanship; we have to respect its traditions and its rules.”
“Golf is a better game played downhill.”
“Resolve never to quit, never to give up, no matter what the situation.”
“I'd rather be two strokes ahead going into the last day than two strokes behind. Having said that, it's probably easier to win coming from behind. There is no fear in chasing. There is fear in being chased.”
“The biggest rival I had in my career was me. I couldn't control Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson or Lee Trevino. The only person I could control was me.”
“I learned early in my career, where you get so wrapped up and so excited, that all of a sudden you don't think. So I worked very hard to keep myself suppressed. And that's one of the reasons I wasn't gregarious with the gallery.”
“Focus on remedies, not faults.”
“Confidence is the most important single factor in this game, and no matter how great your natural talent, there is only one way to obtain and sustain it: work.”
“If I have a weakness, it's probably ice cream. That's where I get lax, sloppy. I'll sneak into the refrigerator at night and take two or three bites and put it back. Butter pecan. Only two or three bites, but it shows.”
“He has the finest, fundamentally sound golf swing I've ever seen.”
“Well, the biggest rival I had in my career was me.”
“The way I pack is I look at how long I'll be gone and I pack day for day. If I'm going on a three-day fishing trip, I plot each day. I put most of that in a little bag. If I'm going from there to work on golf courses for a few days, I plot that trip.”