‘It’s Terrible’: Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player Once Revealed the Biggest ‘Detriment’ the Sport of Golf Faced

Every sport has challenges that it faces. Golf is no different. The people who have watched the game grow for decades know better than most what the biggest drawbacks are. Unsurprisingly, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus are the ones who can pinpoint exactly what the issues are in the sport. And in August 2018, at Augusta, that’s exactly what they did.

The two golf legends have a combined 27 major championships between them. They’re considered the best of their generation and arguably the best ever. They want nothing more than to grow the sport.

Gary Player reveals the biggest drawback of the sport

In 2018, at the Masters Tournament, Player and Nicklaus carried out the ceremonial duties, declaring the tournament open. Following this, the two opened up to the media as per Sky Sports, about one of the biggest problems in the sport. “It perturbs me when I see how long a round of golf takes now, and I think that’s to the great detriment of the game,” said Player.

The South African golfer explained that the time taken by players to play rounds was certainly far too long. He stated that the “leaders” needed to think up a strategy to counter this slow pace of the game. Player added that it was not at all ideal for amateur players since it took “five or six hours” at a golf course just to tee off.

Read More – ‘I Want to Be Great…’: When Jack Nicklaus Wanted His Younger Self to Answer Confidently to His Father Charlie

“So, I think that’s been one of the problems with golf, so we need to get it to speed up,” he stated. The 24-time PGA Tour winner wanted to ensure that everyone could enjoy the game without jeopardizing their personal lives.

Jack Nicklaus agrees with Player and expresses his feelings.

“It’s terrible,” he said, talking about the pace of the sport at some tournaments now. “We used to play The Open, and we would play in about two hours and 20 minutes.” That has increased drastically since his time, and currently, the average round of golf takes 3 to 4 hours.

The 18-time major winner stated that golf faced three major challenges. “The game of golf is too difficult, the game, it’s too slow, and it costs too much money.” He added that he knew the R&A had been working to improve on these. “Maybe we’d like to have them work a little faster,” he stated, hoping to see the sport evolve faster.

Watch This Story – Jack Nicklaus Revealed Why Greg Norman Won’t Look at Him Eye-To-Eye Despite Their Longtime Friendship

Do you agree with Nicklaus’ and Player’s thoughts? And what do you think will speed up the change? Let us know in the comments below.