Jack Nicklaus Has a Crucial Piece of Advice for All Golfers: ‘I Thought I Was Pretty Good at What I Did, but I Didn’t…’

With 18 majors to his name, Jack Nicklaus is considered the greatest golfer of all time. And a piece of advice from the GOAT is always worth listening to. During the broadcast of the 2022 Memorial Tournament, Nicklaus talked about his thoughts on his playing style and shared his advice with the young golfers.

Nicklaus, who happens to be the host and founder of the Memorial Tournament, was also doing punditry for CBS alongside the commentator Jim Nantz and former World No.1 Nick Faldo. While the legends were analyzing the game, Nicklaus brought out his approach to a certain shot played during the tournament.

The conversation started when Billy Horschel, was playing on the 16th hole at Muirfield Village. His pin was cut 12 feet in on the green’s left side, and a lake was a few yards to the left of the hole.

It was at this moment, that the Golden Bear felt Horschel should play safe. Nicklaus said, “Don’t ever aim the ball at trouble. You always aim away from it. And if you have to play back towards it, make sure that you can’t hook it enough to get there or make sure you can’t fade it enough to get to it.”

He referred to the lake closer to the hole and recommended avoiding it at all costs. Nicklaus further added, “I thought I was pretty good at what I did, but I didn’t trust it that much,” while alluding to the fade shot.

Jack Nicklaus’ advice to young golfers

Nicklaus took a moment to advise the young golfers to always maintain risk management before making a shot. He said, “What I tried to do was not ever put pressure or make myself nervous.”

Read More: Jack Nicklaus Reveals the Best Golf Shot He Has Ever Seen

Risk management is an underrated strategy in golf. Players tend to be bolder in shot decision-making. However, this may sometimes backfire on the players and affect their gameplay and score. Nicklaus believes a golfer needs to stay calm and comfortable before making a shot. This makes complete sense as to why he is regarded as the greatest of all time.

Details about the Memorial Tournament

The Memorial Tournament was founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus to celebrate the Memorial Weekend. The Tournament is played at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio, which is designed by Nicklaus himself. The course recently underwent a renovation.

It is one of only five PGA Tournaments to earn the “invitational” status. The Tournament has prize money of $12 Million, making it one of the tournaments with the highest purse on the PGA Tour.

The 2022 Memorial Tournament was won by Billy Horschel which also became his 7th PGA Tournament win. He won it with a timely eagle to earn a convincing lead over the runner-up Aaron Wise. Horschel finished with an even-par 72 at 13 under and was 4 shots clear off Wise who finished at 9 under with a 71.

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