Jack Nicklaus
For the past 30 years, Jack Nicklaus has been considered by many to be the greatest golfer of all time(1). His stamina has matched that of Arnold Palmer, and only the likes of Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Bobby Jones, and Tiger Woods are to be considered players in Nicklaus' league. In numbers of major tournaments won, Nicklaus stands alone with 18 victories(1), a number that does not include major titles won on the Champions Tour. He has won 73 times on the PGA Tour and has 58 second-place and 36 third-place finishes, as well as a total of 113 victories worldwide.(1) Nicklaus has finished top PGA Tour money winner 8 times and has also held the tour's low-scoring average eight times.(1) He was named the PGA's Player of the Year
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However, he never lit a cigarette on the golf course, unlike every other smoker in the field, even when he was stuck in a trying moment. When asked why this was so, Jack simply replied, “I just don’t think about it.” (2)
In 1963, Nicklaus won the Masters and the PGA Championship(1). He ran away with the 1965 Masters, winning by nine strokes, in what Bobby Jones called "the greatest
Page 2 performance in golf history.”(2) Nicklaus shattered Ben Hogan's Masters record of 274 by three strokes.(1)Nicklaus successfully defended his Masters title the following year and won his first British Open, becoming one of only five golfers to win all four majors(1) (the others are Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Tiger Woods).(1) At the 1967 U.S. Open, Nicklaus pulled away from Palmer in the final round to win by four strokes(1), finally proving to “Arnie’s Army” that Jack Nicklaus was truly the best golfer in the world.
The beginning of the 1970’s was the start to Jack’s most dominant decade. When it came to winning consistently, Nicklaus was a machine. Between 1970 and 1975 he won seven more majors, the only victories "that count,"(2) as he liked to say. His 1973 PGA Championship title put him one ahead of Bobby Jones' thirteen major victories, and his 1975 Masters was his fifth win at Augusta(1), and was hailed by
While he only won the Daytona 500 once, he actually was the winningest driver in the history of the Daytona International Speedway, winning 34 times in other events.
Golf also produced its legend from the era, Bobby Jones. “In the span of 8 years, Jones won 13 national championships, both in Europe and the United States. He was the original hot headed golfer, known to either play brilliantly, or to implode on the course”(Boland par 21). Bobby undoubtedly prevailed in golf and no one could stop him.
One man began to bring the game to America, Walter Hagan. In 1921 he became the first American-born professional golfer to win the PGA Championship, and a mere nine months later, he also became the first American-born professional golfer to win the British Open. Hagan was able to bring the appeal of golf to more Americans by defeating the British and bringing two Championships home. Bobby Jones also
True to form, Woods only got better in 2000, when he capped off an impressive first half of the year by winning his third major, the 2000 U.S. Open, in Pebble Beach, California. The No.1-ranked player in the world, Woods outclassed the competition by a record margin, winning the tournament by 15 strokes and breaking the standard for a major tournament set by Tom Morris at the 1862 British Open. In July 2000, Woods won the British Open, becoming--at 24--the youngest player ever to win all four major titles: the PGA Championship, the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the British Open. A month later, he successfully defended his 1999 title at the PGA Championship in a playoff victory, becoming only the second player (after Ben Hogan in 1953) to win three major titles in one year. He won the Canadian Open, his fifth tournament of the summer (out of the seven that he played), in September.
One man who has greatly influenced society and the game of golf, is superstar Tiger Woods. When he joined the PGA tour people jumped on the golf bandwagon in increasing numbers. Golf has began more popular to the American people. People from all over the country have gained interest in the game of golf. Stossel states that the number of golfers went up by seven percent in 1997 alone (2). Golf has become a high source for weekend entertainment for Americans. More than six million Americans enjoy watching golf on weekends (Stossel 2). Not only are people watching the sport, they are reading magazines like Golf, Golf World, Golf Digest and Links. Also for entertainment there have been movies such as Tin Cup and Happy Gilmore (Stossel 2).
And finally there was the number one spot, the creme of the crop, the number one golfer in the school and the entire state. Dustin McCallaster. Dustin looked like what you would think the high school quarterback would look like in every cheesy high school movie. He had short brown hair, clear skin, a sly smile, chiseled features, ocean blue eyes, and a golf game that would blow you away. Dustin was a super respectful, and would always help everyone at practice before he would even begin. He was truly an amazing role model, one that Wes has looked up to his entire life. Wes had earned his way on to the JV team for Dellburg high this year and is the number one spot, which is no easy task in itself. Every player on the Varsity roster shoots consistently in a range from 67 to 73. Wes was about a two handicap which means he shoots a range from about 74 to 79. Ever since Wes was a young boy he had always had aspirations to play for this prestigious team. He had practiced day and night for years trying to accomplish this one goal. It always came down to the same thing that was holding him back, putting. Wes could hit the ball like no ones business always putting himself into great position to score, but never being able to make the clutch putts to put himself into the low 70’s range. Wes would always have coach Wilder, the JV coach, help him during practice on short and long lag
His argument is supported by research and testing. Pennington tested golfers’ fitness levels before his research began, and then he tested the amount of energy that was required to complete a round of golf. The results were shocking to him as he came to the realization that repeatedly swinging a golf club throughout the round required a lot of energy. He discovered that as one’s anaerobic threshold was exceeded, their level of play wore off. Essentially Pennington is saying that as a golfer expends energy and gets tired, their skills deteriorate. This is no different than any other sport: the fitter and stronger athlete usually prevails. One line from Pennington’s article sums this up perfectly – “being fit cut strokes”
Imagine the sun bursting through the trees for the first time of the new day, the smell of freshly cut grass still potent to your nose as you tee the ball up for a round of golf in the cool mist of a spring morning. "That is what brings you back every time, the smell of the air, the coolness of the whether and the beautiful surroundings that make every shot enjoyable." (Suess, PI) This is the game of golf in its finest and most exquisite time to many people and many people it has touched in its long history. Golf is a lifestyle and not just games to people that are avid in playing. The game of golf has a history that is rich in technological advances and personal accomplishments, which through time has shown to shape
Marsden sat down with his swing coach to set up his objectives for his golf career. He realized he had a lot of work to do to reach that goal of winning a Green Jacket. Marsden’s father Jeff, had bought him a membership at Mattaponi Springs, where he would spend countless hours on the range and around the greens. Dyson had a routine he would do every day; he would hit eight perfect shots with each club in his bag. The young man then would move on to the chipping surface, he hit fifty perfect shots that had to land within three feet of the pin. Whenever he had nothing to do, he would be on the range practicing, if he didn’t answer the phone and you needed him he was at the range working. He would put in dedication into his golf game twenty four seven.
Even in the highly competitive college atmosphere he met no competition. In his first event at Stanford he won the William Tucker Invitational. That year he also played in three PGA Tour events, won the Western Amateur, and became the youngest champion of the US Amateur,
In this section we will discuss transitional objects and what role they play in the development of a child. A transitional object is a physical object that helps toddlers to transit emotionally from a stage of dependence to a stage of independence. The toddler thinks that the object is part of it, and this transition stage enables the toddler to realize that the mother is "not me" as well as separateness of other objects. These objects become vitally important to a toddler when going to sleep and as a defense during anxiety. A transitional object plays an important role in replacing the mother-child bond (Winnicott, 1953).
A matter of opinion has separated a variety of sports enthusiasts apart, due to the ongoing debate of whether golf is a sport or simply a skill. Famed golfer Arnold Palmer declared, “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented. (ThinkQuest.com)” These words state what every athlete experiences and feels when he/she is turning a double play, making the game winning three point shot, or throwing a hail mary pass for a touchdown. Golfers are athletes too, they train for that big moment just like any other athlete, but
On the PGA tour, it doesn't matter how fast you are, how much you can bench press, or how high you can jump, so why is it that the tour is dominated by white golfers. In 1997 Tiger Woods won the Masters in his first professional tournament, he also set the course record. Back in the
Along with his love for the game of golf, my dad also passed down his competitiveness to me. The game of golf stirs up more competition than most
He is arguably the one individual in our lifetime that transformed his sport. With his presence, the sport of golf became popular and was no longer a ratings buster on television, and became a sport more young kids wanted to get involved in.