Jack Nicklaus quotes: wise famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Jack Nicklaus on Wise Famous Quotes.

I think I fail a bit less than everyone else.

If there is one thing I have learned during my years as a professional, it is that the only thing constant about golf is its inconstancy.

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

Golf is a better game played downhill.

This is a game. That's all it is. It's not a war.

Every putt is different. Your feet dictate the stroke by how they feel on the green. I just never used the same stroke on every putt.

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

Jones is the greatest golfer who ever lived and probably ever will live. That's my goal. Bobby Jones. It's the only goal.

In 1979, when I was 39, I had such a bad year, I thought it was all over. Thankfully it wasn't.

The best way to cope with trouble is to stay out of it as much as possible.

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

I'm probably the only bottom-heavy golfer in the country.

If there is one thing golf demands above all else, it is honesty.

My ability to concentrate and work toward that goal has been my greatest asset.

Keeping the head still is golf's one universal, unarguable fundamental.

I like trying to win. That's what golf is all about.

There's a guy who won't be in contention. There's another one I don't have to worry about.

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

I know it sounds selfish, wanting to do something no one else has done. But that's what you're out here for - to separate yourself from everyone else.

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

I never thought about being No. 1. I just kept trying to be No. 1.

Temper is the one thing you can't get rid of by losing it.

The longer you play, the better chance the better player has of winning.

Confidence is believing in your own ability, knowing what you have to do to win. My confidence was developed through preparation.

Concentration is a fine antidote to anxiety.

I don't think about winning the Masters as part of the slam. You want to win the Masters because of what it means to the game.

Pursue what you love, what you are passionate about. Don't let somebody else dictate your life's path.

I've said many times before that Pebble Beach is a wonderful thinking-man's golf course. That is why it is such a great U.S. Open venue.

Augusta National is a young man's golf course, and you really need a young man's nerves to play on it.

Golf is a game of precision, not strength.

Pete Egoscue has totally changed my life. Never have I experienced such complete pain relief as I have by following the Egoscue Method.

A kid grows up a lot faster on the golf course. Golf teaches you how to behave.

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

If somebody says they don't watch the leaderboard, I don't buy that, I'm sorry. Because you've got to know where you are to know how to play.

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

If you want to hit it farther, hit it better.

I don't believe in philosophies. I believe in fundamentals.

See, as much as I love the game, golf was my vehicle to competition. And I love to compete.

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

The game is meant to be fun.

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

Focus on remedies, not faults.

He has the finest, fundamentally sound golf swing I've ever seen.

Pressure is what you live for ... if you are going to be successful in life, you're going to have pressure.

You don't think anything about age when you're playing [golf]. I mean, why would you ever think about that.

I always practice as I intend to play.

Crises are part of life. Everybody has to face them, and it doesn't make any difference what the crisis is.

People only do their best at things they truly enjoy

Before every shot, I go to the movies

I love design in general, the creativity. Whether it is golf courses, my apparel line, ads we do or our business with AriZona, design is fun.

Once you play a tournament, you're playing against the golf course, you're playing against yourself and trying to do the best you can.

The holes are numbered.

Don't be too proud to take lessons. I'm not.

I'm tired of giving my best and not having it be good enough.

Talent isn't as important as the work and dedication necessary to become competent.

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

It's hard not to play golf that's up to Jack Nicklaus standards when you are Jack Nicklaus.

I think that Pebble Beach is my favorite golf course to go to. I think Augusta is my favorite place to go play golf.

Nobody ever remembers who finished second at anything.

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

Golfers have a tendency to be very masochistic. They like to punish themselves for some reason. A lot of them like tough courses.

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

Achievement is largely the product of steadily raising one's level of aspiration and expectation.

We all would like to struggle like Tiger is struggling.

This is a tournament. The others are all championships.

When I want a long ball, I spin my hips faster.

Complacency is a continuous struggle that we all have to fight.

Well, the biggest rival I had in my career was me.

Essentially, he has been retired since he was 21.

Sometimes the biggest problem is in your head. You've got to believe you can play a shot instead of wondering where your next bad shot is coming from.

I never missed a putt in my mind.

I had polio when I was 13. I started feeling stiff, my joints ached, and over a two-week period I lost my coordination and 20 pounds.

You have to love something and have a passion for it to be disciplined. My commitment was purely to golf

Golf is you against yourself.

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

I never worried about money, except that I knew that all I had to worry about was golf. As long as I could play, I was going to make money.

It takes hundreds of good golf shots to gain confidence, but only one bad one to lose it.

Why are we building golf courses? Because we enjoy being outside, bringing man and nature together.

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind

Oakmont is probably the premier - Oakmont and Augusta National are probably the top two set of greens in the country.

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

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

Resolve never to quit, never to give up, no matter what the situation.

I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity.

You have to trust your kids. They have to experience life, and you just hope you've provided them a foundation for what's right and what isn't.

There are no maladies in my golf game. My golf game stinks.

Golf is not, and never has been, a fair game.

Public appearances are a headache. I hold mine down to a minimum.

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

I guess that's why they call it Hell.

Golf is game of respect and sportsmanship; we have to respect its traditions and its rules.

Writers have told me more than once that I'm a better interview in defeat than in victory, which is a compliment I am extremely proud of.

I might cook occasionally, but I'm not a good cook. That's not my passion.

I've been fortunate over my career to make a little history on the 16th hole at Augusta National.

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

Learn the fundamentals of the game and stick to them. Band-Aid remedies never last.

Success depends almost entirely on how effectively you learn to manage the game's two ultimate adversaries: the course and yourself.

Through the years of experience I have found that air offers less resistance than dirt.

Oakmont, you've got to be playing slope.

There are always new places to go fishing. For any fisherman, there's always a new place, always a new horizon.