18 JACK NICKLAUS

One of the two greatest golfers of all time, now owner of one of the biggest golf course design and construction companies.

Whether you’re Camp Tiger or Camp Jack probably depends on your age and whether you believe Major titles trump all else. Either way, it should be no surprise that everything the Golden Bear has touched since hanging up his Macgregor sticks has turned to, well, gold.

Nicklaus Design have 425 golf courses open for play, meaning around one percent of the world’s courses were designed or redesigned by Jack and his company. Some of the standouts include Gleneagles, Hilton Head, Harbour Town, Killeen Castle, and Muirfield Village, where Jack hosts the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament every year.

One of his latest developments is the Ury Estate in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen, set to open in 2024. It’s the first Nicklaus-branded residential golf community in Europe and looks absolutely stunning, with a top-drawer course wrapped around Ury Castle.

Jack’s instruction book, Golf My Way, is one of the classics of golf instruction and has sold more than two million copies and its influence shows no sign of fading. He has his own apparel line, as well as partnerships with countless leading brands, including Miura, E-Z-GO, and Golf magazine.

Jack was even approached to become LIV Golf CEO, with an offer in excess of $100 million, but turned it down twice due to his loyalties with the PGA Tour. As one of the most revered statesmen in golf, the 82-year-old’s opinion carries serious weight. It’s good news, then, that he feels golf is in a strong spot.

“There are more good players in the game than we’ve ever had,” he insists. “From a television standpoint, good gracious. You can watch almost any golf tournament in the world today on television. You can turn it on and say, ‘I’m going to watch something in Africa or I want to watch something in Europe’. No matter where you are, you’re going to be able to watch it. That will continue to popularise the game of golf.

“Covid has really seen people flock to the game. I think golf is probably in as good a state as it’s ever been as far as the growth of the game and seeing the number of good players that there are today. I think it’s really fantastic.”