Lorne Rubenstein

The Pleasure of Covering Jack
January 26, 2006

It's always enjoyable to read the latest newsletter from the Golf Writers Association of America, and the January one just issued was no exception. It was particularly enjoyable because of the news that GWAA members have picked Nicklaus as the winner of the ASAP Sports/Jim Murray Award.

The GWAA directory explains that this award is "given to a professional who reflects the most positive aspects in the working relationship between players and reporters."

Photo © J.D. Cuban/Getty Images While proud of his status as the No. 1 golfer of all time, Jack Nicklaus has always been helpful to Tiger Woods who could someday take his spot.

Nicklaus richly deserves the award, which was given first, in 2002, to Nick Price. Arnold Palmer won in 2003, Fred Funk in 2004, and Jay Haas in 2005.

And now Nicklaus has won it.

The award comes after a year in which he suffered a most grievous loss, when his 17-month-old grandson Jake drowned in an accident at home. Yet Nicklaus showed up only six days later at a press conference to which he had committed himself.

That's Nicklaus, following through no matter the circumstances. There can hardly be a more horrible circumstance than the one in which he, his wife Barbara, and their son Steve and daughter-in-law Krista, Jake's parents, had found themselves.

"I made a commitment to you guys," Nicklaus said that day at the Loxahatchee Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, which he had designed some 20 years earlier and where he had done some recent work.

He'd called the press conference to discuss the work at a course of which he was proud and which remains one of the best member clubs in the area.

Photo © Allsport UK/Getty Images Jack Nicklaus has always been there for the press even in the early days when they weren't very kind to him.

"I knew I would have to come to the press sooner or later," Nicklaus said. "I thought it was the right thing to do. I need to do this, and you also have to move on. Life is for the living. It hurts, but you go on. You make commitments, and you've got to do them."

It's easy to show up in front of the press after shooting 65 or winning a major or any tournament. Nicklaus must have done more press conferences and private interviews than any golfer ever. The press always wants to hear from him and he always obliges.

"Jack was the best interview-area interview in any sport, as far as I'm concerned," Dave Anderson, the must-read New York Times columnist said in a Golf Digest roundtable discussion in advance of the 2003 Masters.

Years ago Nicklaus's son Steve was involved in a car accident. Nicklaus was playing in the 1981 Open Championship at Royal St. George's in Sandwich, England and had shot 83 after getting the news.

At first Nicklaus said he'd talk about the round the next day. The press followed him to the clubhouse, where he opened up and talked not about golf but about being a father. He was hurt. He was hurting.

"I remember appreciating him for the way he conducted himself after bad days much more so than the way he was after a good day" Golf World senior writer Tim Rosaforte said in the aforementioned roundtable discussion. Nicklaus, by the way, shot 66 in the second round of the 1981 Open Championship.

Photo © Stan Badz/Wire Image Barbara has been there by his side since the very beginning of his illustrious career.

The thing about Nicklaus is that he's always present when he's talking to a group or an individual. You don't have the sense that he's trying to get away, or not giving your question his full attention.

You can joke with him as well, take the mickey out of him. He likes that, in fact. Nicklaus will jostle with the press in a friendly way.

He often recognizes people in the media, as well. Just about every writer I've met remembers the first time Nicklaus addressed him or her by name. I certainly do. It was during one of the first Masters I attended. I'd asked him a question of no particular distinction, and he looked right at me from a distance and called my by name. I was shocked that Nicklaus knew who I was.

Years ago Nicklaus was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in the builder category. He's finished second in the Canadian Open but has never won the tournament.

Nicklaus has always been good to Canadian golf, and made many friends there. He designed the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario, which was the all but permanent home of the Canadian Open from 1977 through 2000. It still goes there from time to time.

Anyway, the Royal Canadian Golf Association asked me to speak on the occasion of Nicklaus's induction. I had some fun with the speech and Nicklaus didn't mind at all. He and Barbara couldn't have been kinder to my wife Nell and me. We walked back to our cars late at night, and, as I recall, Nicklaus was excited about a hunting trip he was about to take. Golf seemed far away at that moment for him.

Another time I happened to be leaving Glen Abbey late after a round in the Canadian Open. I noticed Nicklaus signing autographs in the parking lot, as late as the hour was. For some reason I had an impulse to ask Nicklaus to do something silly. I'd never asked a player for an autograph and in fact don't understand why any adult want an autograph from anybody, especially somebody he doesn't know.

But I thought I'd have some more fun with Nicklaus, and asked him over to my car, which was nearby. My reason? Simple. I asked him if he'd ever autographed a car, and he said he hadn't. So I asked if he'd autograph the back fender of my 1980 Toyota Celica.

For a moment I thought Nicklaus figured I was nuts. But then he laughed and said, "sure." He signed the car with his Sharpie and later I found out that putting nail polish across the signature would give it a longer life. I drove around for a few years with a Nicklaus-autographed car.

Photo © Getty Images Jack passed on his love for the game to his children. Pictured are sons Gary and Jackie.

I'm sure every writer who has encountered Nicklaus over his illustrious career has a story or two or three or 20 about something personal. That's because Nicklaus was indeed open to the media. It's why he's so deserving of the award named after Jim Murray, the late, unmatched sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

Nicklaus has gone out of his way with writers, no doubt about it. He's done the same with people who work in other media.

A few years ago I asked if I could do a fairly lengthy interview with him in Florida, where he lives and where I spend the winter. I wasn't expecting Nicklaus to invite me into his home, but he did.

One of the networks had people there as well, to do a show on his performance in the majors. Nicklaus gave us all plenty of time. When I left, Nicklaus made sure I took a detour by way of the kitchen. Barbara had left me some cookies she'd baked, as well as a handwritten note.

These days, players rarely invite the media into their homes. They don't sit in press conferences for as long as the media would like.

But Nicklaus rarely seemed to have a time limit. He would usually do more than was asked.

Photo © Al Messerschmidt/Wire Image Regardless of it is programs, flags, or car bumpers, Jack Nicklaus has shown the same patience to fans as he did to the media.

During one press conference at Doral, somebody asked Nicklaus about a workout regimen he was doing. He didn't just describe the exercises, he got down on the floor and demonstrated them.

Last July Nicklaus holed a 20' birdie putt on the 36th hole of the Open Championship at the Old Course in St. Andrews. He'd shot 72 but missed the cut, and had made clear this would be his last Open. He came into the media centre after the round.

"As we finish up, just let me say that I want to thank you," Nicklaus said. "It's been absolutely a pleasure to be able to come in here and talk to you honestly and know that I'm going to get a good, honest, straight result."

This was an amazing moment, the greatest player ever in the game thanking the media for being fair to him. Well, that's probably because he was fair to us, for nearly 50 years during his distinguished career.

The press conference continued, and when it was over the room erupted in applause for Nicklaus. He'd said, "The game we play is a game, nothing more. It's a wonderful game. It's a game I love. I think that the game needs to be played in that spirit."

The session over, writers rushed the table where Nicklaus was sitting. For a second I wondered what was going on, and then I realized everybody wanted a memento of this moment.

Nicklaus was signing programs, and the new £5 note that the Royal Bank of Scotland had issued that week with his image on it. He was signing notebooks, and press passes. I found myself asking him to sign my press pass, which he did.

That makes two Nicklaus autographs for a guy who doesn't ask players for their signatures. I sold my Toyota long ago, but I'll keep the press pass.

I, along with all my fellow writers, I'm sure, congratulate Nicklaus on his latest award, and I look forward to hearing what he has to say when the award is presented to him at the annual GWAA dinner the Wednesday night before the first round of the Masters.

I'm sure Nicklaus will be there. When it comes to the media, he's always been there.

Jack Nicklaus' Career Victories:

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