1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: This is the best of Newsworld. Coming up my interview 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:11,959 Speaker 1: with Jack Nicholas in this episode of Newtsworld. I'm particularly 3 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: excited because my guest is one of the most admired athletes, 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: champion golfer, philanthropists, and by the way, somebody who's helped 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: a lot of Republicans. The Golden Bear. Jack Nicholas the 6 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: winner of one hundred and twenty professional tournaments worldwide, including 7 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: seventy three PGA Tour events and a record eighteen major 8 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: championships over a twenty five year span. Those majors include 9 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: six Masters, five PGA Championships, four US Open Championships, three 10 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: British Opens, and amazingly, he won at least two PGA 11 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:53,239 Speaker 1: Tour events in seventeen consecutive seasons from nineteen sixty two 12 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: to nineteen seventy eight. In nineteen sixty two, his first 13 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: Tour win, was also his first US Open title, and 14 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: he put on his last green jacket in nineteen eighty six. 15 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,840 Speaker 1: As a historian, I'm always interested in how people be 16 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: in their journey to greatness, and I've listened to Jack 17 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: talk to one of those fascinating evenings. We had two 18 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: Republican golfers of Summer renown in Speaker John Bayner and 19 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,679 Speaker 1: the Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, who is always 20 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: golfing with Trump and Jack Nicholas, and the three of 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,559 Speaker 1: them talked and it was amazing to listen to the conversation. 22 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: So I promptly begged Jack to join us and talk 23 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: with us about what's going on. It's a great privilege 24 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: for any of us who've ever tried to golf to 25 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: have a chance. So Jack, thank you for joining me. 26 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: And I really want to just start with talking about 27 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: your luck, but I want to start with a quote 28 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: from you. You said quote, golf was my vehicle to competition, 29 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 1: and competition is what I like. And I'm just curious 30 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:12,639 Speaker 1: what taught you to love competition. 31 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 2: I don't know. 32 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 3: I think from an early age my dad was a 33 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 3: good athlete. He played four sports at high school, started 34 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 3: the golf team at South Hide in Columbus, and he 35 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 3: played football, basketball baseball, played football, basketball baseball. 36 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 2: At high State. 37 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 3: On the weekends, he went down to Portsmouth and played 38 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 3: under an assumed name for the Portsmouth Spartans, which are 39 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 3: now the Detroit Lions. So he was competitive, and I 40 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 3: think that Churchary went over to me, and everything that 41 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,639 Speaker 3: we did, we competed. He'd say, oh, come on a 42 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 3: ratio of the movie theater. Oh, I bet I could 43 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 3: kick the ball further than you can, or I could 44 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 3: throw that ball farther than you can. You know, he 45 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 3: constantly ate me on for competition, and you know, as 46 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 3: a result, I enjoyed that. 47 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 2: I loved it. 48 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 3: My dad was I don't want my father, but he 49 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 3: was my best friend and we spent a lot of 50 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 3: time together. He introduced me to all sports. You introduce 51 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,399 Speaker 3: me to everything, actually more than sports, and I guess 52 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,239 Speaker 3: that competitive nature just came from there and continued. 53 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: You said one time, my real competition was me. What 54 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: did you mean by that? 55 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 3: Well, in the game of golf, you really can't control 56 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 3: what your opponent was doing. I mean, I don't care 57 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 3: what it was, Arnold Palmer or Gary Player or Tom Watson, 58 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 3: whoever it was. I couldn't control their game. The only 59 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaker 3: game I could control was myself. So I had to 60 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 3: play it and compete against myself to make sure that 61 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 3: I played my best. If I screwed up, then I 62 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 3: wasn't going to be in contention. So I had to 63 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 3: compete against myself to make sure I was giving up 64 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 3: my best shot. 65 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: Do you think in that sense golf is particularly focused 66 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: on sort of self control and self awareness. 67 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 3: It has to be you've got to be aware of 68 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 3: what you're doing all the time, and you have to 69 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 3: get self control. 70 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 2: You don't have it, you know, it's my bye down 71 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 2: the road? Any good? 72 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: You know? As a Georgian, I was intrigued with the 73 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: fact that you referenced Bobby Jones as an influence on 74 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: both you and your father. How did Bobby Jones influence you? 75 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 3: Well, he was my dad's eye on My dad watched 76 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 3: him when the US opened at Siota and Columbus when 77 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 3: he was a kid, and he'd always been in my 78 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 3: dad's vision. 79 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 2: And when I qualified for the National. 80 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 3: Amateur for the first time I was fifteen years old, 81 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 3: I was played in Richmond, Virginia, and Bob Jones came 82 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:32,720 Speaker 3: out to that match and was a speaker that night, 83 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 3: and he introduced himself on the eighteenth green. I did 84 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 3: a ball into the eighteenth green and he called me 85 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 3: over and I didn't met in what Bob Jones looked 86 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:41,160 Speaker 3: like anything else? 87 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 2: He says, young man, I've been here for you know, three. 88 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,039 Speaker 3: Hours and he says, I'm only see three people reach 89 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 3: the screen to two and you're one of them. And 90 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 3: so he says, I'm Bob Jones says, oh, mister Jones. 91 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:54,839 Speaker 3: So anyway, he spoke that night at the banquet after 92 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 3: the bank was over. He was walking with two canes 93 00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 3: at the time, and he came. 94 00:04:59,120 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: Up to me. 95 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 3: He since he said, you don't come out and watch 96 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,719 Speaker 3: you play a little bit tomorrow Bob Jones is going 97 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 3: to come out and watch me. Fifteen year old kid 98 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 3: and my first Nash Labnor. Well, I kept looking for 99 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 3: him all day and on the tenth hole, all of 100 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 3: a sudden, down the fairway comes Bob Jones. At the 101 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 3: end of ten holes, I was one up on a 102 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 3: phone named Bob Gardner, who was later a walker cup 103 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,360 Speaker 3: in Eisenhower Trophy. Good player, And anyway, Bob Jones came 104 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 3: and immediately went bogey bogie, double bogie. He turned to 105 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 3: my dad and he says, Charlie, I don't think I'm 106 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 3: doing jackety good. So he got out of there. I 107 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:33,159 Speaker 3: got back to even but ended up losing the match. 108 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 3: But anyway, that sort of developed the start of a relationship, 109 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 3: and then Jones came a couple other times to events 110 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 3: I was at, and then when I first qualified for 111 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 3: the Master's when I was nineteen, there was a little 112 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 3: note in my locker inviting my father and Nay down 113 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 3: to his cottage to talk, and that little note was 114 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,840 Speaker 3: there every year we went down. Every year. I got 115 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 3: a lot of wisdom from him. Taught me a lot 116 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 3: of things about life and what I needed to do, 117 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 3: and how I needed to prepare myself and how to 118 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 3: be responsible for my own game and not keep running 119 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 3: back to my teacher and all those kind of things, 120 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 3: and so you know, he was a great influence on 121 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 3: my life and my father's. 122 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:14,159 Speaker 1: When you look back on his record, I realized he 123 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 1: played before you would have watched him. But what's your 124 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 1: sense of how relatively good he was, because at least 125 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: from his Georgia perspective, of course, he's a legend. Do 126 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 1: you think that his p key would have been competitive 127 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:26,919 Speaker 1: in the modern PGA? 128 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:27,599 Speaker 2: Oh? 129 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 3: Absolutely, it had a gorgeous golf swing. He obviously had 130 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 3: a great attitude and competitive attitude. He had a set 131 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 3: of golf clubs that they all played them all very 132 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 3: well except for one club is four iron, And after 133 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 3: he got done playing, they started measuring swing weights and 134 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 3: things with clubs. He had one club in his bag 135 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 3: that was out of kilter. All the others were a 136 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 3: perfect symmetry except for his four iron. That's what he 137 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 3: found that out. So you know, he had a. 138 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 2: Great feel for what to do and how to do it. 139 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 3: And he would have been a champion today the same 140 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 3: as he was in the twenties and thirties. 141 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 2: Twenty won. He's a pretty special man. 142 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: Well, he's of course a huge impact in Georgia, and 143 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: I think and that Augusta there's a certain kind of 144 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: spirit of Bobby Jones which permeates Augusta National. Now, when 145 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 1: did you actually take up golf? 146 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 3: I was ten years old and my father broke his ankle. 147 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 3: Thought he sprained it when I was about seven. He 148 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 3: ended up having three operations on it. They interfused his ankle. 149 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 3: Doctor told me, says, Charlie says, you better take up 150 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 3: something that you can walk, otherwise you're going to be 151 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 3: in a wheelchair. And he said, he said, why I 152 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 3: played golf as a kid. He says, well, maybe you 153 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 3: ought to take up golf. So he couldn't make a 154 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 3: game with anybody because he couldn't walk very far, so 155 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 3: it took me along. I carried the bag. He would 156 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 3: go play a hole, he'd sit down and rest, but 157 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,559 Speaker 3: playing another hole, we'd sit down rest. While he was rested, 158 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 3: I would go chip and butt and fool around and 159 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 3: so forth. That was the same year, in nineteen fifty 160 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 3: that Jack Grout came to Sciota. Jack Grout was my 161 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 3: lifelong teacher. Well, anyway, he says, would you like to 162 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 3: learn how to play? And I said, of course, And 163 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 3: so he turned me over to Jack Grout, and Jack 164 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 3: Krout got me started. And it was my dad breaking 165 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 3: his ankles how I started playing golf. 166 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: Do you think having the right teacher who got you 167 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: from the very beginning into the right habits was the 168 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: key to your ability to be such a dominant player. 169 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 3: Well, I don't think that it's so important that a 170 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:32,199 Speaker 3: teacher be a great player or be a great teacher. 171 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 3: I think what he has to have is a great 172 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 3: feeling of having to care about his pupil. And Jack 173 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 3: Grout cared about me as I started hitting shots as 174 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 3: golf clinics, he'd say, Jackie boy, he says, come out 175 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 3: here and show these kids how to hit a hook. 176 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 3: Show him how to hit a slice, show him have 177 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 3: to hit the ball up in the air. It used 178 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,080 Speaker 3: me as an example, and I don't even playing in 179 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 3: a couple of weeks, and so it made me feel good. 180 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 2: And he kept doing that. 181 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,319 Speaker 3: I remember my dad was concerned about how many balls 182 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 3: I was hitting because the bill from Sciota came home 183 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 3: with pretty high for golf balls. Well, that stopped less 184 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 3: than charge. Jack grount be Odd the time I was 185 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 3: ten years old, never charged me a penny for anything. 186 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,320 Speaker 3: He knew that I had a talent and he wanted 187 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 3: to be part of helping me develop it. And he 188 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 3: was a great guy. But he taught me how to 189 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 3: be responsible for my own game. He taught me how 190 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 3: to control myself the kind of attitude I should have. 191 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 3: And he grew up as an assistant pro in fort 192 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 3: Worth of Glen Garden. We're Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson 193 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 3: were both juniors, and so he knew what was going on. 194 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:37,719 Speaker 3: He'd been around it before, he played the tour for 195 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 3: a while and he was just a nice man. I 196 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,679 Speaker 3: remember when he got into his late seventies, before he 197 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 3: passed away, he called me and he said, Jackie boy, 198 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,839 Speaker 3: he says, you're coming out here today. I said, well, 199 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 3: if you want me to j grout, you want me 200 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:53,120 Speaker 3: to come out? And he says, yeah, why don't you 201 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:55,319 Speaker 3: come out and we'll have lunch, we'll get some balls. 202 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 3: I said, okay, we could do that, so we'd go out, 203 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 3: have lunch. We go out and have balls. You may 204 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 3: never say a word to me about my golf game. 205 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 3: We talked about everything. He just wanted to be part 206 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 3: of what I was doing, and I wanted to be 207 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 3: part what he did. He was like a second father 208 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 3: to me, and he was just great. 209 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,559 Speaker 1: I don't care how good you are. There are periods 210 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: in golf when you get frustrated when something either isn't 211 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: working or whatever. When you were younger, I mean, you're 212 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: starting out at a very early age. How did you 213 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: deal with the frustration when it just wasn't quite working? 214 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 2: Well? My father helped me with that too. 215 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 3: Remember when I was eleven years old, we were playing 216 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 3: at side out of the fifteenth old and I had 217 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 3: a really good drive. I had an eight airn into 218 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 3: the green and I hit the eight airn in the 219 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 3: bunker and I threw the club and the club almost 220 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 3: reached the bunker. Two, and he looked at me and he. 221 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:51,200 Speaker 4: Says, we'll go pick the club up, We'll go pick 222 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 4: the golf ball up, and we'll. 223 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 3: Go back to the clubhouse because you're done playing today. 224 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:57,559 Speaker 3: As a matter of facturer done period, unless you could 225 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 3: learn not to do that again. Oh okay, that's a 226 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 3: pretty good lesson. First of all, control your temper, control 227 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 3: your own actions. And I did the same thing with 228 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:13,720 Speaker 3: my oldest boy, which ACKI was eleven when I won 229 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 3: the US Open at Caelebation. We went to spyglass and 230 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 3: he hit it down the first hold, hit a few 231 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,559 Speaker 3: bad shots through a club man. So forth I said, okay, 232 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 3: go pick him up, let's walk back to the clubhouse. 233 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 3: We left done playing. It worked magically. My dad was 234 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 3: not stupid. He knew exactly what to do to get 235 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 3: me to do the right thing, So that was part 236 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 3: of it. Then I learned as I went along that 237 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 3: I saw how these other guys did stupid things, and 238 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 3: I just tried, you know, model myself after not being stupid. 239 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: It's a great line, try not to be stupid while 240 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: you're doing this. So I'm curious. There must have ben 241 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:57,199 Speaker 1: moments when something that had been working started to not work, 242 00:11:57,640 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: and you had to sort of think your way through 243 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:02,160 Speaker 1: it and adjust. I mean, did you have those kind 244 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: of occasions during your career? 245 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 3: Everybody has them, and you just go back to fundamentals. 246 00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 3: I would quite often in a tournament, if I start 247 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 3: hitting the ball poorly, I'd say, okay, let's check my stance, 248 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 3: let's check my head position, let's check my ball position. 249 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:20,840 Speaker 3: I can check that fairly easily without any golf ball. 250 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 3: I'd get to a hole that didn't have a lot 251 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 3: of trouble on it, say okay, now, let's check a 252 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,240 Speaker 3: couple of other things in the swing, and I'd play 253 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 3: a couple of shots in that hole, even though it 254 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 3: was in the tournament, to make sure that I knew 255 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 3: what I was doing. Ah, I got it, and I 256 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:38,880 Speaker 3: MA go and finish my round. But if you can't 257 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 3: do that on the golf course, you know, pretty soon 258 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,560 Speaker 3: a lot of guys will start making mistakes, and then 259 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 3: pretty soon you've seen it in Congress, they make a mistaken, 260 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 3: then they multiply their mistakes. 261 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:50,959 Speaker 2: You don't need to do that. 262 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,560 Speaker 3: So I learned control myself, learned how to manage myself, 263 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 3: learn how to teach myself on the golf course. And 264 00:12:58,200 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 3: you know, as Bob Jones said to me, he said, 265 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:02,959 Speaker 3: I used to run back to Stuart Maiden, who was 266 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,840 Speaker 3: his teacher, and he said, I had my seven lean years. 267 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,800 Speaker 3: So he said, until I learned to control myself, manage myself, 268 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,680 Speaker 3: and be responsible for my own game. And this is 269 00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 3: when I did that, then I became a golfer. And 270 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:19,800 Speaker 3: I think Jack Rout and obviously heard that somewhere, and 271 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 3: I'd heard from Bob Jones, so we went ahead and 272 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 3: we followed that model, and I thought. 273 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:24,400 Speaker 2: It was a good model. 274 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,720 Speaker 1: That's interesting. You know, when I think about the pressure 275 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,960 Speaker 1: you must have been under in some of these major events, 276 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,880 Speaker 1: you would be very easy to suddenly have something start 277 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:38,280 Speaker 1: to go wrong and not be able to recover. And 278 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,880 Speaker 1: you've got to be able to recover literally between two strokes. 279 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:43,560 Speaker 3: Well you try to, it might take you two or 280 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:45,440 Speaker 3: three to get it back. But I was always able 281 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,480 Speaker 3: to figure it out get it back because I was responsible. 282 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 3: And some of these guys, you know, it's a day 283 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 3: they have teachers that are out of the practice team 284 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 3: with them before they play, and they watched it every 285 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 3: shot and they talk about us. I would drive be 286 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:02,680 Speaker 3: crazy and so I didn't want that figured out myself. 287 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:05,440 Speaker 3: Jae Crout he was there a lot of tournaments, but 288 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 3: he never wants hat a foot on the practice team. 289 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 3: And I appreciate that because he knew that I had 290 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 3: to figure it out. If I had a question or 291 00:14:12,559 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 3: something and I want to say, I'd walk back to 292 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 3: Jack check and said Jake Crout, I said, I can't 293 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 3: figure this out. He said, check your head position. He 294 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 3: wouldn't tell me what to do, say check that or 295 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 3: check your left foot. He'd say something and I'd go 296 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 3: back check. It Usually was the right thing, and then 297 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 3: I would be able to move on. And that didn't 298 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 3: happen very often, but every once in a while I did. Then, 299 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 3: of course, to the next time something like that happened, 300 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 3: I remembered what he'd said, and I didn't. 301 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:38,760 Speaker 2: Have to go back. 302 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 1: Hi. This is newt and my new book, March the Majority, 303 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: The Real Story of the Republican Revolution. I offer strategies 304 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 1: and insights for everyday citizens and for season politicians. It's 305 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 1: both a guide for political success and for winning back 306 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 1: the Majority. 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I 315 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 1: was a little surprised in getting ready to talk with 316 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 1: you and looking at your life's experiences. You know, some people, 317 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 1: like a Tiger Woods, from a very early age, are 318 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: totally focused on golf, and that's really I think the 319 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: only track that they're on. Had a period though, when 320 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 1: you were young, where you were a very successful insurance 321 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: agent and you'd actually been named Junior Agent of the 322 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: month for the agency. You were making a bunch of money, 323 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: so you had a real break point where you had 324 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 1: to sort of give up what could have been a 325 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: pretty darn good financial career in order to pursue golf. 326 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: Was that a difficult decision? 327 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 3: Well, not really, I guess was nineteen sixty one and 328 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 3: I was making a little over thirty thousand a year 329 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 3: selling insurance. That's a lot of money that that translates 330 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 3: into probably close to three hundred thousand dollars today, And 331 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 3: as a twenty one year old, I think that's pretty good. 332 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 3: But I really wanted to be the best I could 333 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:46,360 Speaker 3: be at playing golf, and the only way I could 334 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 3: be the best I could be was to play against 335 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:52,040 Speaker 3: the best. And so I talked to my wife in 336 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 3: a first job in nineteen sixty one. She says, go 337 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 3: for what you want to do in your life. 338 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:57,400 Speaker 2: And I said, okay. 339 00:16:57,480 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 3: So I turned pro because I wanted to compete against 340 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 3: the best because that's the only way I could get there, 341 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 3: and it was obviously the right choice for me, now 342 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 3: I was. I remember after about three tournaments there was 343 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 3: an article written in San Francisco about this young kid's 344 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 3: coming out on the tour and they asked me how 345 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:16,560 Speaker 3: much I thought I could make. I said, oh, if 346 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 3: I did thirty thousand dollars, I thought I'd probably do 347 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 3: pretty well. And they said, the older guys look at 348 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 3: this cocky young kid coming down. Thinks he could come 349 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 3: out here and just make thirty thousand dollars like it 350 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 3: was falling off a log. Well, I did a little 351 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:32,480 Speaker 3: better that I ended up making about one hundred and 352 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 3: seventeen my first year, so you know, I surpassed what 353 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:36,879 Speaker 3: I wanted. 354 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:38,159 Speaker 2: But I can't. 355 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 3: Always try to climb a mountain. I did that all 356 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 3: my life. I always felt like, if I got this far, 357 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:44,760 Speaker 3: I ought to be able to get this far. I 358 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 3: get this far, I ought to be able to go 359 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 3: go this far, and you keep working up that mountain. 360 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:49,840 Speaker 3: I kept climbing that. 361 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 2: Mountain until I was probably, oh, I don't know, my 362 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 2: mid forties. 363 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:55,639 Speaker 3: I supposed it all of a sudden, you know, I 364 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 3: sort of fell off the other side. 365 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:57,880 Speaker 2: But that's all right. 366 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting that you have this constant self 367 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 1: awareness of improving, that you apparently spent a large part 368 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:11,760 Speaker 1: of your life consciously thinking about how can I do better? 369 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:15,400 Speaker 1: How can I get this thing to work? And yet 370 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,879 Speaker 1: I remember you mentioned at the dinner event I was 371 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: at that you'd won a major as an amateur, which 372 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:25,040 Speaker 1: they don't count among your majors, or you'd have had nineteen. 373 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:26,720 Speaker 1: Can you briefly share. 374 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,960 Speaker 3: That I want two national amorags, which would have given 375 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 3: me twenty, and so they took those away. Maybe after 376 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:35,399 Speaker 3: I've been a pro for maybe ten fifteen years, all 377 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:37,600 Speaker 3: of a sudden decided the National Lamber was the major 378 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:40,200 Speaker 3: championship anymore. Well, it was all right with because Tiger 379 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 3: won three of them. 380 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: So. 381 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,160 Speaker 3: It didn't bother me that much. Yeah, we lost those, 382 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,440 Speaker 3: but then I went the big deal. It was all 383 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,639 Speaker 3: part of growing up and being part of it. And 384 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 3: I guess the professional majors today is what people count. 385 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 1: Well, you know, it's interesting and I did not know 386 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:02,120 Speaker 1: this story that you actually compete with. Bob Jones's son 387 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,119 Speaker 1: in an amateur and the story is that he called 388 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: his dad and said, once you come watch, and when 389 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 1: his dad learned who he was going to play against, 390 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: he said, in effect, well that'd be a really short match. 391 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:16,159 Speaker 1: Now I'm told that you have a better way of 392 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:17,400 Speaker 1: telling that story. 393 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,640 Speaker 3: Bob Jones. The third he called his dad and say, Dad, 394 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 3: I qualified for the National Ever can you come out 395 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,639 Speaker 3: and watch me? And he says, well, who are you playing? 396 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:27,680 Speaker 3: In the first round? He says, I'm playing something young 397 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,680 Speaker 3: kid named Nicholas. He said, well, he says, I've seen 398 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 3: mister Nicholas play. He says, I'm not going to come 399 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:37,120 Speaker 3: out and watch you play thirteen holes. That's what we played. 400 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:38,200 Speaker 3: I beat him six and five. 401 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:39,760 Speaker 1: That's wild, but that's it. 402 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 2: I enjoyed being said. 403 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 1: He was a nice man when you were first introduced 404 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:47,120 Speaker 1: to coach Route. As I understand it, he has six 405 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: fundamentals that he coached you on, and I think that 406 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:54,240 Speaker 1: probably led to one of your first books on how 407 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:55,199 Speaker 1: you play golf. 408 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,200 Speaker 3: Jack was very much on fundamentals, being able to understand 409 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:03,200 Speaker 3: your stay. It's your posture, your head position, your balance, 410 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 3: your rhythm, playing from the ground up. 411 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:09,440 Speaker 2: I mean, those are probably basic things that he taught. 412 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,640 Speaker 1: I had the opportunity tonight when we were with you, 413 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 1: to also meet Barbara for the first time, and I'm curious. 414 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:19,159 Speaker 1: She obviously is hugely important part of your life, and 415 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 1: she was just a great hostess the other evening. When 416 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 1: did you first meet her? 417 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,920 Speaker 3: Well, I better her first week in college, the girl 418 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 3: I was dating introduced us. 419 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 2: I walked Barbara off to a class and we don't decide. 420 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,159 Speaker 3: We're going to date a round. I walked Barbara off 421 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 3: the class ask her for a date. She worked me 422 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:41,439 Speaker 3: in in a couple of weeks and we were autun 423 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 3: dated and we got pinned after our sophomore year, got 424 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:48,680 Speaker 3: engaged Christmas of our junior year and got married after 425 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:52,200 Speaker 3: our junior year that summer, and she picked the week 426 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 3: of the PGA Championship to get married because she knew 427 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:57,360 Speaker 3: that I couldn't play in the PGA Championship as an amateur, 428 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,400 Speaker 3: and so we did that. But Barber's been unbelieve the book. 429 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 3: Barbara is a very smart gal. She was very athletic. 430 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 3: She knew that I needed to support and she's really 431 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 3: good about making sure that happened, and so she did 432 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 3: that for about forty years. About seventeen years ago, the 433 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,360 Speaker 3: Honda Tournament moved to the Palm Beach area and they 434 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:23,640 Speaker 3: came to me and asked her for a children's charities 435 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 3: in Paul Beach they can support. And I looked at 436 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 3: Barbara and I said, do you want to go for it? 437 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,640 Speaker 3: She says absolutely, So that's when we formed our foundation. 438 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,200 Speaker 3: So we formed our foundation. We've been the main recipient 439 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 3: of benefits from the Honda and then we have a 440 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:36,360 Speaker 3: lot of other. 441 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 2: Events that we use. We raised a lot of money 442 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 2: for kids. 443 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:43,240 Speaker 3: Then we made a relationship with Miami Children's Hospital, which 444 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,920 Speaker 3: is now Nicholas Children's Hospital in Miami and the Nicholas 445 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 3: Children's Healthcare system, and we have one main hospital in Miami, 446 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 3: and we have twenty outpatient clinics up and down the 447 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,680 Speaker 3: east and west coast of Florida. And last year, I 448 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,560 Speaker 3: believe we saw kids from every state in the Union 449 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:04,199 Speaker 3: and nineteen countries. We're pretty global. And I want to 450 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,480 Speaker 3: tell you it changed my life totally. After I got 451 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 3: done basically playing golf, I was looking for things to do, 452 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 3: and Barbara started doing this and I got interested in it, 453 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 3: and that says my turn to support her. And so 454 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:21,480 Speaker 3: for the last seventeen years, I've had an absolute blast. 455 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:23,680 Speaker 3: I don't want to run a hospital, but I don't 456 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 3: mind going out and walking into somebody's office and asking 457 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:28,879 Speaker 3: them for a lot of money because I know what 458 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:29,439 Speaker 3: it does. 459 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:31,879 Speaker 2: It really helps a lot of kids. 460 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: That's really tremendous. You and Barbara have been married sixty 461 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,880 Speaker 1: one years, and for a fair amount of that time 462 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 1: you were out competing in golf. What's your advice on 463 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:43,800 Speaker 1: maintaining a long successful marriage. 464 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 3: First of all, we always looked at the marriage as 465 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 3: being about ninety five percent kid and five percent take 466 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:53,840 Speaker 3: on both sides. Barbara and I've always taken that philosophy, 467 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:58,400 Speaker 3: and you know, I've always looked at my career as 468 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:02,840 Speaker 3: being secondary to my family. How I spent family first, golf, second, 469 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 3: business related things. Third, we have five kids, twenty two grandkids. 470 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,400 Speaker 3: We now have two great grandchildren and a third one 471 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,560 Speaker 3: on the way, and so we got a big family 472 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:16,439 Speaker 3: and we love it. I made a vow to Barber 473 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 3: when I turned pro that I'd never be away for 474 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:20,720 Speaker 3: more than two weeks, and I never was. 475 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 2: I never broke that. 476 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 3: But if I was away for two weeks, I would 477 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 3: tell you over the weekend in the first tournament, she'd 478 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:29,440 Speaker 3: usually show up with maybe two in diapers, travel on 479 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 3: a commercial airplane, fly across the country to spend the 480 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:35,880 Speaker 3: weekend with me. She made a huge effort to make 481 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:40,240 Speaker 3: sure that her kids knew their father, and I know 482 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:44,000 Speaker 3: my kids. My kids all know me. Four of the 483 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 3: five live here in the Palm Beach area. One lives 484 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 3: in Atlanta, but his business is here at Palm Beach. 485 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 3: So I see all our grandkids a lot. Over Christmas holidays, 486 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:57,199 Speaker 3: we had five different Christmases, one for each family on 487 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 3: a different day or night. 488 00:23:58,920 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 2: We have a great. 489 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:01,879 Speaker 3: Times of I mean, that's always been by far the 490 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,040 Speaker 3: most important thing to me. Golf is a game. It's 491 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:08,160 Speaker 3: a game that's given me everything, and you know, the 492 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:12,160 Speaker 3: foundation and the things I do would never have happened 493 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 3: if I hadn't made a few four foot putts. I 494 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 3: understand that we got in a position to be able 495 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 3: to help others, and you know, it's really fun to 496 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 3: be able to do so. 497 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:22,719 Speaker 1: When you talk about getting a position to help others, 498 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: it strikes me that you have been as consistent as 499 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:31,200 Speaker 1: you were. Must have required a level of perseverance that's 500 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:32,480 Speaker 1: really remarkable. 501 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:34,639 Speaker 3: Well, I think you have to have it, you know 502 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:36,960 Speaker 3: what you have to do. But I never did it 503 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,359 Speaker 3: at an expense of my family, and I think that 504 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,439 Speaker 3: was important. Maybe I was one of the lucky ones. 505 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,200 Speaker 3: I mean, you got some guys who will hit balls 506 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 3: twenty four to seven and that's all they do is 507 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 3: play golf, and I feel sorry for him. Frankly, they're 508 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 3: missing out so much in life. Could I have won 509 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 3: more tournaments. I think I could have won a lot 510 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,399 Speaker 3: more tournaments, but I think it would have been the 511 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,439 Speaker 3: expense of my family and the expensive balanced life. And 512 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 3: I really enjoyed living the balance life. It's been something 513 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,760 Speaker 3: that I don't consider myself and I don't think my 514 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:09,800 Speaker 3: friends considered me to be anything other than Jack Nicholas 515 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:13,080 Speaker 3: was five kids and joint two grandkids. And we go 516 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:14,960 Speaker 3: out and play tennis on the weekend, or we'll go 517 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:18,160 Speaker 3: boating or go fishing or whatever we do. And I'm 518 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 3: just another guy, and I like it that way. I 519 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 3: don't want to ever be a special cat. 520 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:25,399 Speaker 1: Well you sort of by your achievements or special, but 521 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:26,879 Speaker 1: you're pretty normal. 522 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:28,639 Speaker 2: Special I tried to be. 523 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,000 Speaker 1: You said to me many years ago that you could 524 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:35,879 Speaker 1: learn things in one round of golf with somebody about 525 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:37,920 Speaker 1: sort of how to measure who they really were. 526 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 3: Oh, golf is unbelievable. You can go spend a lot 527 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,080 Speaker 3: of time a guy every place. You take them out 528 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,480 Speaker 3: on the golf course, You'll go to find out their temperament. 529 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,680 Speaker 3: You're going to find out how you could approach them. 530 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,080 Speaker 3: You find out so many think about from their mannerisms 531 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 3: on the golf course that you know, when you get 532 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 3: back to the office and sit down and talk about business, 533 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:00,680 Speaker 3: it then becomes a piece of cake. 534 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,960 Speaker 1: Well, and you've emphasized a lot the importance of integrity. 535 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 3: Oh boy, if you don't have any integrity, you got nothing. 536 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,440 Speaker 3: That's sort of the way I feel I'm sure you've 537 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:12,639 Speaker 3: always felt the same way. 538 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:14,840 Speaker 1: I think that's exactly right. It's one of the things 539 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:18,040 Speaker 1: we tragically don't have enough of in the current culture. 540 00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:19,199 Speaker 2: We have very little of it. 541 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 1: I think it's a huge problem. 542 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 4: It's a huge problem we have today. 543 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,479 Speaker 1: At your peak, when you were really out there, there 544 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 1: was sort of a band of brothers with you and 545 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,720 Speaker 1: Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. You must have gotten to 546 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,360 Speaker 1: know each other very well because you were consistently competing 547 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 1: with each other. Somehow, there must have been an interesting 548 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:05,360 Speaker 1: interplay of the three of you as personalities. 549 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,640 Speaker 3: It really was interesting, because you know, Arnold would rather 550 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,679 Speaker 3: be at a party with three hundred people he didn't 551 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:16,000 Speaker 3: know than with four friends to dinner. I would rather 552 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,119 Speaker 3: be with four friends at dinner than a party with 553 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 3: three hundred. Gary Player, He'd like both. Gary's the most 554 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 3: energetic guy I've ever met. They're both great guys. They 555 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,800 Speaker 3: are both two close friends I've ever had. Arnold was 556 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,040 Speaker 3: very kind and very generous, But did he like to 557 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 3: compete who he loved to competing him? I always called 558 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,119 Speaker 3: him on his birthday, and I called him two weeks 559 00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:41,960 Speaker 3: before he passed, which was his birthday. On September tenth. 560 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:45,920 Speaker 3: He called him every year and I knew or I 561 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,520 Speaker 3: wasn't doing very well. He says, how you doing their ap? 562 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,680 Speaker 3: He says, I'm doing fantastic. He said, you can't believe 563 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 3: how good I feel. I said, I think I'm going 564 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:56,719 Speaker 3: out start playing support golf. And I said, I can 565 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,280 Speaker 3: get back to golf again. Now he was lying to 566 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:02,480 Speaker 3: me something awful, but he wasn't going to give in 567 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 3: to me. You know, that's the way he was. It 568 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,200 Speaker 3: was competitive, and I love that Gary Player plays golf 569 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,840 Speaker 3: six days a week. Now, if they did handicaps, Gary 570 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:15,200 Speaker 3: Player averages about seventies. Gary Player plus two or three handicap. 571 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 3: I mean, he's unbelievable. Eighty six years old. I played 572 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:23,920 Speaker 3: golf twice last year. I have no interest whatsoever playing golf. 573 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:27,880 Speaker 3: I'm terrible, but that's okay. I played my golf. But 574 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:30,920 Speaker 3: you know, we've all had different personalities. But our wives 575 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 3: became very close friends. Winnie Palmer and Vivian Player and 576 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:38,280 Speaker 3: Barbara became like three amigos. So they just spent a 577 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,080 Speaker 3: lot of time together. They got to know each other. 578 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,680 Speaker 3: They traded off thoughts. I mean Barbara would ask winning 579 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,080 Speaker 3: she said, how did you handle Arnold when you got 580 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 3: mad at him? She said, Old boy says he. 581 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:50,760 Speaker 2: Was tough, but I got it. 582 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 3: Sometimes he come home from a tournament and I want 583 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 3: to just beat him over the head of something. But 584 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 3: I wouldn't say anything because maybe it was like Tuesday 585 00:28:57,600 --> 00:28:59,600 Speaker 3: or Wednesday, and I didn't want to bother his game 586 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 3: for the weekend. 587 00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 2: And she said, but then. 588 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 3: When the weekend came along, the turnam was over, I 589 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:08,560 Speaker 3: forgot what I was mad about. So she handled that way. 590 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:11,240 Speaker 3: So Barbara, that'll be a little bit that way. Vivid 591 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 3: was very soft spoken. I remember one time Gary had 592 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:16,560 Speaker 3: kids around a lot and he found a driver that 593 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 3: he really liked, and he. 594 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 2: Said, boy, I tell you one thing. 595 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,000 Speaker 3: He says, if I had to choose between this and 596 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,720 Speaker 3: my wife, I said, you know, I sure, miss Vivian. Well, anyway, 597 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 3: Gary got home in South Africa. He got there first night, 598 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 3: he went to bed, and there was a golf club 599 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:35,880 Speaker 3: wrapped up in an eglogade, Vivia nowhere to be found. 600 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,200 Speaker 2: We all passed those stories around. We all had fun. 601 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,680 Speaker 3: If one of us shot a bad round, we couldn't 602 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 3: wait to get to the locker room to sit next 603 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:47,160 Speaker 3: to the other guy's locker. It was saying, seventy five 604 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:49,120 Speaker 3: the day are and huh, where did you get all 605 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 3: your birdies? You know, we start kidding him and we 606 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 3: start laughing because Gary, I probably got sixty eight or nine. 607 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:57,560 Speaker 3: But then what we do would shake hands. He finished 608 00:29:57,600 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 3: around and says, let's go have dinner. Where are we 609 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:02,080 Speaker 3: going tonight? We spent a lot of time together and joined, 610 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:05,160 Speaker 3: we traveled together, we did all kinds of things together, 611 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 3: and we all became great friends that you know. Unfortunately, 612 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 3: Arnold's pass but Gary and I good gracious, we see 613 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:14,720 Speaker 3: each other. You know, he's in South Africa right now, 614 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,280 Speaker 3: but we see each other three or four times a week. 615 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,720 Speaker 1: That's great. Well, I'm curious. You know, Palmer preceded you 616 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:26,120 Speaker 1: a little bit, and fame was already emerging. And Palmer 617 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:28,760 Speaker 1: had this knack of surging at the very end. It 618 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,840 Speaker 1: sort of charge, and that was his moat. I've always 619 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:33,360 Speaker 1: been curaged by it because I also see it with 620 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,080 Speaker 1: some football teams that you know, they go along and 621 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:37,560 Speaker 1: they go along, and they go along, and then all 622 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,440 Speaker 1: of a sudden there'll be this burst. And Palmer sort 623 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: of had this knack of coming along at the very end, 624 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:45,080 Speaker 1: when it looked like he was almost out of it, 625 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,360 Speaker 1: and then suddenly he just began eating up the rest 626 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:50,920 Speaker 1: of the field. My sense was that you had a 627 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:52,960 Speaker 1: much steadier style. 628 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:57,320 Speaker 3: Arnold played to the crowd, and he loved being around 629 00:30:57,320 --> 00:30:59,600 Speaker 3: the crowd. And when he hit it off in the 630 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:01,840 Speaker 3: trees and then he hit a shot out of the trees, 631 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:04,080 Speaker 3: hit a little low slice and run it up on 632 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:05,960 Speaker 3: the green and the people would go wild. 633 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:07,600 Speaker 2: That just charged him up. 634 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 3: So when he got near the end of a tournament, 635 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 3: if he made a birdie, all of a sudden, the 636 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,840 Speaker 3: people got very excited, and he just went with the crowd. 637 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:17,400 Speaker 3: I couldn't do that. If I did that, I'd lose 638 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:19,280 Speaker 3: my focus and couldn't get back to it. So I 639 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,120 Speaker 3: had to keep a little bit more of an even keel. 640 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 3: I think Gary player would be acted like he was 641 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,440 Speaker 3: getting charged. But I think Gary needed to pull himself 642 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,680 Speaker 3: back a little bit, because Gary sometimes got too excited 643 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 3: and couldn't play. We were all different, and that's what 644 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:36,280 Speaker 3: life's all about, but we all loved being able to compete. 645 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,200 Speaker 3: Arnold was ten years older than I am. Gary's four 646 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,040 Speaker 3: and a half years older than I am. Arnold came first, 647 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:44,960 Speaker 3: and Gary and Arnold competed together and then I joined 648 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:46,920 Speaker 3: them and I was a third one of the crowd. 649 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:49,840 Speaker 1: It's interesting because each of you are successful, but each 650 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:53,160 Speaker 1: of you is very different, very different. I'm curious where 651 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:55,640 Speaker 1: did the Golden Bear come from as a nickname. 652 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 3: Well, just before I turned pro, mart McCormick, who represented 653 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:04,120 Speaker 3: me to start with from IMG, went to Australia and 654 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:06,960 Speaker 3: I fell named Don Lawrence with a Melbourne age wrote 655 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:08,040 Speaker 3: an article about me. 656 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 2: He called me a cuddly golden Bear in the article. 657 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,880 Speaker 3: Now, I was big and blonde at the time, and 658 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,080 Speaker 3: I was a pretty big guy, but not by today's 659 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:22,800 Speaker 3: standards obviously, but I was there. But anyway, so the 660 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:26,480 Speaker 3: first contract I had was a shirt contract, and we're 661 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 3: looking for an emblem, and we looked through all kinds 662 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:33,560 Speaker 3: of things. College nicknames is that And high school I 663 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:37,080 Speaker 3: went to was the Upper Orientine Golden Bears. And the 664 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,760 Speaker 3: article called the Golden Beer. I said, you know, I've 665 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:41,600 Speaker 3: been a golden Bear all my life, why not just 666 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:44,240 Speaker 3: stay one? And so I just picked up the Golden 667 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,600 Speaker 3: Bear and that's what I used and it serviced me 668 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 3: very well. 669 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:51,640 Speaker 1: Well, I did. It's a great definer. I'm also curious. 670 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:55,520 Speaker 1: You're not only a great athlete, obviously, but you also 671 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:58,120 Speaker 1: studied it. I mean, my impression was, as often as 672 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:01,720 Speaker 1: you played Augusta, you would You'll go back a week 673 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:05,840 Speaker 1: early and just sort of renew your acquaintance with the course. 674 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 2: There's no excuse for not being properly prepared. 675 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 3: I always felt that even though I played Augusta, the 676 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:15,280 Speaker 3: course is different every year. The fairway grass a little 677 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,760 Speaker 3: bit different, greens a little bit different, the bugger sands 678 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 3: a little bit different. 679 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:19,720 Speaker 2: They make a few. 680 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:22,440 Speaker 3: Odd changes here and there. And I always wanted to 681 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 3: make sure that when the tournament started I had all 682 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 3: those changes, all those little quirks out of the way, 683 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:33,000 Speaker 3: and say it was a US Open. Every how deep 684 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:35,360 Speaker 3: is a rough, how hard are the greens, how fast 685 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:38,360 Speaker 3: are the greens, how narrow are the fairways? Went ahead 686 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,880 Speaker 3: of time and made sure I got all that all 687 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 3: the way. Now, most of the guys would come in 688 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:46,600 Speaker 3: on Monday, a Tuesday the tournament, and when Thursday rolled around, 689 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:48,400 Speaker 3: they were still trying to figure out how to play 690 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:50,880 Speaker 3: the golf course. Well, I did all that the week 691 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:52,960 Speaker 3: ahead of time, and once I got it out of 692 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:54,800 Speaker 3: the way, the week ahead of time. When I got 693 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:56,240 Speaker 3: to the Trivet, all I had to do was play 694 00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:59,000 Speaker 3: golf because the other part was solid in my head 695 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,080 Speaker 3: and I wasn't going to forget it, and so I 696 00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:04,800 Speaker 3: think that helped me tremendously in the major championships. 697 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:09,080 Speaker 1: Obviously it was amazing. Now in some ways, I think 698 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 1: your most remarkable win was the eighty six Masters. You 699 00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:15,279 Speaker 1: were forty six years old. I think a lot of 700 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,200 Speaker 1: people thought it was nice you were playing, but you 701 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:20,600 Speaker 1: really weren't going to compete, and you were actually like 702 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:22,799 Speaker 1: one over par and six shots out of the lead. 703 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:24,799 Speaker 1: This is a little bit like Arnold Palmer. I mean 704 00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:28,600 Speaker 1: you suddenly went from a tie for ninth place in 705 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:32,040 Speaker 1: boom you shot a thirty on the back nine. What 706 00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:34,200 Speaker 1: came together? How did that happen? 707 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,280 Speaker 3: Well, it sort of started earlier in the year and McGregor, 708 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,080 Speaker 3: which I owned at the time, made this big putter. 709 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:43,560 Speaker 3: It was about, oh, I don't know. It was six 710 00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:46,720 Speaker 3: or seven inches long, maybe eight inches and the ugliest 711 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,160 Speaker 3: scond thing you've ever seen. And I struggled with a 712 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:51,279 Speaker 3: start with but they kept telling me how well the 713 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,360 Speaker 3: ball would But finally, by the time I got to 714 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:56,360 Speaker 3: the Masters. I started putting the ball pretty well. I 715 00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:58,600 Speaker 3: wasn't hitting the ball that great, but by the week 716 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:00,719 Speaker 3: I had a time. I started out a shot seventy four, 717 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:03,680 Speaker 3: which wasn't much, and then I shot seventy one. Then 718 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,120 Speaker 3: I shot sixty nine, and I started hitting the ball 719 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:08,440 Speaker 3: pretty well, but I wasn't funny. Then I sat sixty nine, 720 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:11,080 Speaker 3: started butting. Then I got to the last round that 721 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:12,920 Speaker 3: I had eight guys in front of me. I was 722 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:15,960 Speaker 3: in ninth place and I was only four shots behind. 723 00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:18,799 Speaker 3: And I didn't think that was a big deal. I've 724 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:22,839 Speaker 3: overcome that before. And my son Steve called me. He 725 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:27,120 Speaker 3: was working the Hattiesburg tournament for a company, and he says, 726 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:30,200 Speaker 3: what do you think, Pops, And I says stever, I said, 727 00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:32,719 Speaker 3: I think sixty six a time, sixty five will win. 728 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,680 Speaker 3: He says, exact number I got in mind, Go shoot it, 729 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:40,040 Speaker 3: says okay, And my son was on the bank. Jackie, 730 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:44,399 Speaker 3: my mother and my sisters came to the Masters, first 731 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:47,319 Speaker 3: time they come to the Masterress since nineteen fifty nine, 732 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:51,800 Speaker 3: twenty seven years in between, and a lot of things happened, 733 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:55,160 Speaker 3: and I so I got excited about being in contention. 734 00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:58,439 Speaker 3: I got up on Sunday morning, I start running through 735 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:03,200 Speaker 3: my wardrobe and I ran across the yellow shirt and 736 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:05,680 Speaker 3: I looked at the yellow shirt and I said, Barbara, 737 00:36:05,719 --> 00:36:07,920 Speaker 3: I said, what do you think Craig would think of this? 738 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:11,400 Speaker 3: She says, I Craig would like it. Greg Smith was 739 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:15,480 Speaker 3: a young boy who I developed a relationship with that 740 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:18,080 Speaker 3: he was the son of our minister at home, and 741 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:21,840 Speaker 3: he developed uing sarcoma and passed away in nineteen seventy 742 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,840 Speaker 3: one at the age of thirteen. I called him one 743 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:27,239 Speaker 3: day and he says, you know why you won today, 744 00:36:27,239 --> 00:36:29,600 Speaker 3: don't you. I said, well, how's that, Craig? And he says, 745 00:36:29,719 --> 00:36:32,480 Speaker 3: I wore my lucky yellow shirt so he could wear 746 00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:34,439 Speaker 3: a yellow shirt for me. I could wear a yellow 747 00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:37,400 Speaker 3: shirt for him. So I never said much about that story, 748 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:39,840 Speaker 3: but I wore a yellow shirt quite often on Sunday 749 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:45,040 Speaker 3: for him. And so fifteen years had passed and I 750 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,560 Speaker 3: pulled the yellow shirt out. So that was another thing 751 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:50,000 Speaker 3: that I got there, and Barb said, go for it. 752 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:52,399 Speaker 3: So I wore the yellow shirt. I had a lot 753 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:54,759 Speaker 3: of things happening that day, and I started out and 754 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:58,680 Speaker 3: I really played the front nine, sort of not very good. 755 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:00,920 Speaker 3: I was even part going to the ninth and I 756 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:03,640 Speaker 3: had about a twelve footer of the ninth hole, and 757 00:37:04,239 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 3: I got up over the ball and a big roar 758 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:09,120 Speaker 3: went up at the eighth hole and bias Terais had 759 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:11,239 Speaker 3: hold a wine shot for eagle and he was leading 760 00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:14,320 Speaker 3: the tournament. And then before I could get back over again, 761 00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:16,719 Speaker 3: Tom Kite hit a shot and he hold a wine too. 762 00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:20,319 Speaker 3: It also big roar, another eagle, and so it sort 763 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:23,480 Speaker 3: of relaxed me, and I turned to the gallery around me. 764 00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 3: I says, well, if they can make that kya noise 765 00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:27,600 Speaker 3: up there, Let's see if we can make some noise here. 766 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:31,279 Speaker 3: I knocked the putt in the crowd erupted, and then 767 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:33,160 Speaker 3: I just started I hold a twenty five footer, a 768 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,600 Speaker 3: twenty five footer, and I just kept making buries and 769 00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:39,239 Speaker 3: shot that thirty on the back nine and so and 770 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 3: the funny thing was, it wasn't that I was ready 771 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,439 Speaker 3: to do that. I wasn't that far out of being 772 00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:49,400 Speaker 3: competitive that I didn't remember how to play. I remember 773 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:51,800 Speaker 3: how to play that back nine. I remembered how to compete, 774 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,879 Speaker 3: I remembered how to finish. And so that's what I did, 775 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:58,359 Speaker 3: and it was exciting. It was probably obviously the most 776 00:37:58,400 --> 00:37:59,880 Speaker 3: fund and nine holes I've ever played. 777 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:02,840 Speaker 1: That's wild. I'm curious you mentioned sinking a series of 778 00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:07,240 Speaker 1: twenty five footers. Did you find that there were periods 779 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:10,320 Speaker 1: when it all just clicked and you could sink apart 780 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 1: from amazing distances, and then there were periods when you 781 00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:15,200 Speaker 1: were going to come up slightly short? 782 00:38:15,719 --> 00:38:18,840 Speaker 3: Well always that way, I mean, you know, I wouldn't 783 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:21,160 Speaker 3: make it many puts earlier in the tournament. Then all 784 00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:23,080 Speaker 3: of a sudden the last nine holes I made everything 785 00:38:23,239 --> 00:38:26,080 Speaker 3: I looked at the last round of tournament golf I 786 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:29,399 Speaker 3: played was a Saint Andrews in two thousand and five, 787 00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:32,880 Speaker 3: and I wanted to make the cut very bad. I 788 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:35,520 Speaker 3: didn't want to finish my career on a Friday, and 789 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:39,919 Speaker 3: I shot seventy to the first round and it looked 790 00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:43,600 Speaker 3: like was going to make a cut. I was all 791 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:46,120 Speaker 3: around the hole all day, couldn't make a putt save 792 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:49,840 Speaker 3: my life, and finally I bogied seventeen. 793 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:53,800 Speaker 2: That put me through. Over part of the tournament, I knew. 794 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:57,200 Speaker 3: I wasn't going to make the cut, and the eighteenthal 795 00:38:57,239 --> 00:39:00,480 Speaker 3: I hit twelve feet by the hole thirteen feet, and 796 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:02,640 Speaker 3: I knew that since. 797 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:04,319 Speaker 2: The Turney was over. I was going to make that putt, 798 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:06,000 Speaker 2: I said, didn't make any of us. Where I hit 799 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,000 Speaker 2: the putt, the whole would move and get in my way, 800 00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:10,000 Speaker 2: and it did. I made the putt. 801 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:11,760 Speaker 3: But I mean, you know, it's funny how you can't 802 00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:15,120 Speaker 3: make things happen, and all of a sudden they just happened. 803 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:17,680 Speaker 2: And I ended my career with a birdie. 804 00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:22,279 Speaker 3: And I started my major championship career with Bertie at 805 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:25,719 Speaker 3: Inverness in Toledo in nineteen fifty seven, when I was 806 00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:28,360 Speaker 3: seventeen years old in the US Open. So I started 807 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:29,240 Speaker 3: and intered with a birdie. 808 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:34,600 Speaker 1: Pretty good symmetry and a pretty good framing to your career. Well, listen, 809 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:38,080 Speaker 1: I want to thank you for joining today. You're not 810 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,960 Speaker 1: just one of those extraordinary golfers, but you're a remarkably 811 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:43,880 Speaker 1: good person. And you and Barbara are doing great things 812 00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:47,480 Speaker 1: with the Nicholas Children's Healthcare Foundation. And so we're going 813 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:51,480 Speaker 1: to link both to Nicholas Design and to the Nicholas 814 00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:54,600 Speaker 1: Children's Healthcare Foundation on a show page. And I want 815 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:58,200 Speaker 1: to really thank you for taking time to share these 816 00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:00,800 Speaker 1: insights from a lifetime of extraord andry achievement. 817 00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:04,359 Speaker 3: Well, Thanks Jan, I appreciate that. I've always enjoyed being 818 00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:06,879 Speaker 3: with you and talking you through the years. I don't 819 00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:09,640 Speaker 3: think I've ever walked away from you not learning something. 820 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:12,200 Speaker 1: I don't know about that well I do. 821 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:14,600 Speaker 3: You've had great wisp and you've handled your life well, 822 00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:17,759 Speaker 3: and every time you come on television, we never changed 823 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:18,200 Speaker 3: the channel. 824 00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:20,840 Speaker 1: Well listen, tell Barbara we said hi and kliston and 825 00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:23,719 Speaker 1: I wish you a wonderful year and look forward to 826 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:24,440 Speaker 1: seeing you again. 827 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,080 Speaker 2: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. 828 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:32,919 Speaker 1: Thank you to my guest, Jack Nicholas. You can learn 829 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:37,640 Speaker 1: more about Nicholas Design and Nicholas Children's Healthcare Foundation on 830 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:41,840 Speaker 1: our show page at newtsworld dot com. Newtsworld is produced 831 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:46,520 Speaker 1: by Gingrish three sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is 832 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:50,799 Speaker 1: Guarnsey Sloan, our producer is Rebecca Howe, and our researcher 833 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:54,279 Speaker 1: is Rachel Peterson. The art work for the show was 834 00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:58,000 Speaker 1: created by Steve Penley. Special thanks to the team at 835 00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:02,000 Speaker 1: Gingrish three sixty. If you've been enjoying Nutsworld, I hope 836 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,880 Speaker 1: you'll go to Apple Podcast and both rate us with 837 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,600 Speaker 1: five stars and give us a review so others can 838 00:41:08,719 --> 00:41:12,440 Speaker 1: learn what it's all about. Right now, listeners of Newtsworld 839 00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:16,160 Speaker 1: can sign up for my three free weekly columns at 840 00:41:16,239 --> 00:41:21,320 Speaker 1: gingridsthree sixty dot com slash newsletter. I'm Newt Gingrich. This 841 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:22,239 Speaker 1: is Nutsworld