Jack Nicklaus Quotes

Confidence is when you stand over a shot and know you're going to make it because you've done it time and time again.

I knew that if I kept the pressure on and didn't do anything stupid I would probably win.

If you'd asked me at 30 where I'd be during the Masters when I was 46, I'd have pictured myself on a boat fishing, smoking a cigar, drinking a mint julep and watching it on television.

The golf course is always in good shape. Paul Latshaw does a reasonable job.

That's sort of overkill. We've had 70 years of the Ryder Cup, and it's gotten along just fine. The pendulum will swing back without making a monumental thing about it.

When the British Open is in Scotland, there's something special about it. And when it's at St. Andrews, it's even greater.

I don't think you ever will yourself to win. I think you prepare yourself the best you can, get yourself in the best mindset you can get in, and go after it.

One of the worst mistakes you can make in golf is trying to force the game.

Grand Haven will challenge the skilled player yet, because of some width to the holes, it also will be a fun course that the average player can enjoy.

The fact is, I diet every day of my life. I have to work at it. But I diet so I can pig out.

If I had one golf course, from a design standpoint, one that I really love, it would probably be Pinehurst. There's a totally tree-lined golf course where trees are not a part of the strategy.

I don't really have a problem saying good-bye to things. All things come to an end.

The long irons are the nemesis of the average golfer. I'm convinced that the underlying reason for this is that he keeps hearing how hard they are to handle. They're not that difficult, truly.

Golf really excites me only when the course is difficult and challenging. I love competing. The pressure of competition against fine holes and fine players makes me feel very much alive.

The US Open flag eliminates a lot of players. Some players just weren't meant to win the US Open. Quite often, they know it.

To sink a six-foot putt with thirty million people looking over your shoulder, convince yourself that, if you miss it, you will be embarrassed and poor.

I don't care how old your children get, you're always a dad.

Reflection is a scene that I will cherish forever.

I can barely turn on my computer!

As long as I'm prepared, I always expect to win.

You have to watch your handicap. My son Steve says, "Never make a putt you don't have to."

Golf was my vehicle to competition and I can't play if I can't compete.

All I ever wanted to do was play competitive golf against the best players in the world.

Over the first three rounds you're playing the course. In the final round, if you're in contention, you're playing the man.

But if I played well and prepared myself properly, then all I had to do was control myself and put myself in a position to win.

If you're going to be a player people will remember, you have to win the Open at St. Andrews.

Any golfer worth his salt has to cross the sea and try to win the British Open.

I think my boys handled it pretty much the same way with their children, but my grandsons all ended up playing football or lacrosse.

I like to catch fish and release them. I probably haven't killed a fish that I've caught in sport fishing for 20 years. No reason to kill it. You know, just take it and release it.

And, of course, I'm constantly energized by designing courses around the world.

Nick O'Leary loves to compete. His work ethic is fantastic, and that's what I like about him. He works, and works, and works; and if he has to get better, he gets better.

What's interesting about golf is that most athletes end up gravitating toward golf because it is such a difficult sport.

You get the kids today into the sport, and then they can't get to the "next level." I mean, come on, that's a bunch of junk.

My boys don't play as much as they used to, but when we do go out and play, it gets competitive, that's for sure - there's no question about it.

I suppose I get a lot of questions about Tiger. But Tiger Woods is a tremendous talent. He plays well. He has a great work ethic. He's probably as talented of a golfer as anyone who's ever played.

My kids all do love to hunt and fish. When they get together, I think that's what they get together more for than anything else.

I think Tiger Woods is a determined young man who really wants to play.

None of the guys did anything. We never did anything. I never really got into the workout room until I was about 40 years old. I was pretty strong and I didn't think I needed that much.

[My son] Michael came along and he played a little bit of everything. He went to Georgia Tech on a golf scholarship.

When I look back on when I grew up, not even football players lifted weights. That was back 50 years ago.

We also play a Father/Son at home and I play with Steve, too. I try to mix it up. We play two or three times a year, but that's about it.

I played in a basketball league until I was 40 years old. I played every Monday night and the guys would say, "You take him out, and you'll see us afterwards."

I didn't push any of my kids into golf, and they played golf because they wanted to.

I thoroughly enjoy working with kids, whether it's The First Tee or the lesson tee with my grandkids.

Arnold's place in history will be as the man who took golf from being a game for the few to a sport for the masses. He was the catalyst who made that happen.

I'm deadly serious even when I play tennis against my kids. I want to beat their brains out.

It's a great sense of accomplishment when you can take something and really think it's really tough, and then all of a sudden you conquer it. That makes you feel pretty good.

I would never deny that Jack Nicklaus is the greatest player who ever lived.

I always look to see what Arnold [Palmer] shot; it's a habit. We will always compete against each other.

...said Nicklaus, 'was a brotherhood, I suppose'.