Jack Nicklaus, or the "Golden Bear" as he is called, was born in 1940 in Columbus, Ohio. His life and career has been acclaimed as on of the most successful golfing careers in the history of the game. Not many people could match Jack for the accomplishments he had on the golf course. Jack's golfing career started in the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington and Upper Arlington High School. After this Jack earned the privilege of competing on the golf team at Ohio State University however he did not stay for his entire term of eligibility and turned pro in 1961 at the age of 21.
Upon turning pro Jack's career really took off. After seventy-three wins on the PGA tour including 18 major championship titles (still the current record being chased by Tiger Woods) and forty other wins on different tours, Jack retired leaving behind his golf career but excelling in another one of his passions, golf course design.Jack first got into the design business by working with famed golf course designer Pete Dye. Through Jack's keen eye and with the help of people like Mr. Dye, Jack was able to design the cornerstone of his design career, Muirfield Village Golf Club, in 1973. Muirfield Village Golf Club is considered one of the crowning achievements in golf course design in the 1970s and still hosts the Jack's own tournament, The Memorial Tournament, every year.
In Jack's early design career he did works with both Pete Dye and Desmond Muirhead including: Harbour Town Golf Links, Grand Geneva Resort, Mayacoo Lakes Country Club, and
Muirfield Village Golf Club just to name a few. Since these early days Jack has at least contributed to over 240 courses all over the fifty United States as well as Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, South Africa, and elsewhere. Because of this Jack is considered one of the most prolific course designers of late 20th and early 21st centuries. In fact, this year alone, Jack has contributed to 10 courses that just recently opened in 2007.Jack's legacy has changed over the years in the game of golf. Starting in a simple suburb of Columbus, OH, stretching to great success at the top level of golf performance, and stemming finally to form and art in nature through the design of golf courses. As Jack ages, now 67 years old, he's passing on the torch to another generation of Nicklaus blood. His sons are now finding themselves deeply entrenched in the business of the family and ready and willing to continue their father's great legacy well into the future.
Information in this post derived from Wikipedia.org and www.nicklaus.com
No comments:
Post a Comment