G Spot discusses the Masters and the greatest to ever stick a tee in the ground, Jack Nicklaus
“Focus on remedies, not faults” Jack NicklausIt’s Masters Week and this is G Spot Johnson and this is Christmas for me. As is custom, I set my alarm for early Thursday morning to get up and watch the start of the Master’s golf tournament which is the ceremonial tee shots hit by former champions and legends of the game. This year rain delayed the start a bit, but it was still worth it to see newcomer Tom Watson join Gary Player, and the greatest of them all, Jack Nicklaus as ceremonial starters. The Masters, like we here at the C Thomas Printer Cooperative, remembers and celebrates its history and is only one of the reasons why it has a “tradition unlike any other.”
Most of us old timers remember Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, and Byron Nelson teeing off every Thursday morning for over a decade, but eventually their drives got shorter and then after they passed away,they were replaced eventually with Jack, Gary, and Arnold Palmer. Its been about 5 years since we lost Arnold, by far the most important golfer of all time. He was beloved and he came at the same time as television, and television made him a star. His popularity and advertising success made him one of the greatest pitchmen of the 20th century. But he was not the best golfer of all time. That was Jack Nicklaus.
Seeing Jack looking so frail as he went out to hit his tee shot Thursday morning made me remember when this tournament was his showcase. No one has won more major golf tournaments or more Masters titles than Jack Nicklaus. No one understood that the greatest ability is availability as he played in a record 154 consecutive majors that he was eligible for spanning 1957 to 1998. In addition to his 18 majors, Jack had 19 second place finishes and another 9 thirds, meaning 46 times he was in the top 3 at a major in a sport that only has 4 majors a year. In 1998 at the age of 58, Jack gave us one last thrill at the Masters finishing 6th, but for about 30 minutes the atmosphere was electric as Jack made one final charge on the back nine on Sunday making us all believe we were young again if only for a few minutes.
In addition, Jack was awarded the Congressional Medal of Freedom in 2005, the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015, and the Lincoln Medal in 2018. He has been married to his wife Barbara for 62 years. He has 5 kids and over 20 grandchildren. In 2021, a new award was created to honor the sporting gesture that Jack did during the 1969 Ryder Cup when he conceded a putt to Europe’s Tony Jacklin after the Ryder Cup had been secured for the United States. The new award honors sportsmanship and is called the Nicklaus-Jacklin award. Furthermore, the preeminent sports magazine of the 20th century was Sports Illustrated and it honored Jack with the title of Greatest Individual Athlete of the 20th Century. Not golfer, athlete. Jack Nicklaus exuded excellence in every way which brings us to our word of the week- excellence.
Excellence- possessing good qualities in high degree.
No athlete has possessed more good qualities than Jack Nicklaus. Grace, sacrifice, sportsmanship, father, spouse, class and champion, are all words that describe Jack Nicklaus; so it was no surprise that in his last major played at the home of golf, St Andrews in Scotland, in 2005 that after his last tee shot on the 18th hole on his second day that the fans that know their history gave him a 10 minute standing ovation. A few minutes later after crossing the Swilcan Bridge, Jack being Jack even at age 65 sank a 15 foot birdie putt going out in fine style. I was watching in a bar that day, and I wept.
"Golf is game of respect and sportsmanship; we have to respect its traditions and its rules." Jack NicklausOften, we reminisce about these people after they are gone, but let’s not forget them or their greatness while they are still here either. We will never forget the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus. I’m not sure how much longer I will get to see golf’s greatest champion start the Masters, but I will keep getting up early Thursday morning for the privilege.
Insightfully yours,
G Spot Johnson
On this date in 1925 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published; in 1970, the Beatles broke up, and 13 tornadoes tore through Texas and Oklahoma on a day known as Terrible Tuesday in 1979.
I’d like to announce some breaking news here at the C Thomas Printer Cooperative- we are exploring our options on social media. I am currently vetting the new social platform…Broom. I heard it is sweeping the nation.
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Also born on this date:
Joseph Pulitzer,
Cosimo de’ Medici,
John Madden,
Don Meredith,
and Jim Bowie.
What am I watching this week- the Masters! But, I’m not done talking about the excellence of Jack Nicklaus. Go to Youtube and search for Jack Nicklaus long putt, that’s it and it will only take a minute to watch. Keep in mind that the man saying “there was no chance” was a 2-time major champion and fellow golf hall of famer, Jonny Miller and Jack was 70.