Quotes from Jack Nicklaus

The game is meant to be fun.

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

A Nicklaus Design golf course is done by the guys in my company that I work with, that have been trained in my vision, and they do what they think I might do. They might come in the office and ask me questions and I'd certainly answer their questions, but I'm not involved in the site visits or anything else.

When I fly in a helicopter, I insist there be two sets of controls, one for me in case something happens to the pilot. I'm no expert, but I know enough to at least get the thing on the ground. Nothing scares me like the thought of not being in control.

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

Did you know there's probably more golf played in Iceland than most places in the world? They play 24 hours a day in the summertime and the northern part is warmer than the southern part.

I've wanted to design golf courses ever since I was a kid. I suppose it comes from the way I've played the game. To find the proper way to play any hole, I've always begun by asking myself what the architect has tried to do with it.

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

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 think Tiger Woods is a determined young man who really wants to play.

Arnold's place in history will be as the man who took golf from being a game for the few to a sport for the masses. He was the catalyst who made that happen.

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.

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

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

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

If a guy is a good athlete, he'll end up being a pretty decent golfer if he just takes it up. But you never master it; even the best players in the world never master the game.

If you design something pretty with good golf shots in it, then I think that's the combination that creates a really nice golf course.

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.

We also play a Father/Son at home and I play with Steve, too. I try to mix it up. We play two or three times a year, but that's about it.

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

I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head.

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

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