Jack Nicklaus: Adaptability The Key to Golden Open Run

This Chronicles Unseen long-form article can be viewed in full on the oneclub.golf website. Enjoy a teaser below.

There are many remarkable statistics relating to the glittering career of Jack Nicklaus, but his record at The Open from 1966 to 1980 surely counts among the most impressive.

Displaying stunning consistency in golf’s original major, the Golden Bear not only lifted the Claret Jug on three occasions in this period, but also finished inside the top six in 15 consecutive Championships.

In addition to a victory at Muirfield and two triumphs at St Andrews, his golden run featured six runner-up finishes, swelling Nicklaus’ overall tally to seven after he had finished second in 1964.

While there have been many great Open Champions, no other player in the modern era has ever put together such a lengthy sequence of high placings.

In this long-form article, using never-before-seen quotes from Nicklaus’ Chronicles of a Champion Golfer film, we explore two key factors in that sustained success: his willingness to embrace new challenges and unrelenting desire to keep improving, even once he had become the most prolific major-winner in the game.

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Nicklaus’ first appearance at The Open came two years after another icon of the game had played a significant role in reinvigorating the Championship.

Arnold Palmer’s appearance at St Andrews in 1960 heralded a new era in which The Open would quickly become much more attractive to American players. Palmer finished a close second to Kel Nagle over the Old Course, but he soon returned to the United Kingdom to win each of the next two Opens, at Royal Birkdale and Royal Troon.

When Palmer defended his crown at Troon, a 22-year-old Nicklaus marked his debut in The Open with a tie for 34th. Already the U.S. Open champion, Nicklaus recognised he would need to make changes to his game in order to achieve similar success on British links courses.

To his immense credit, he adapted quickly enough to come close to victory in each of the next two Opens, placing third at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1963 and second at St Andrews the following year.

Nevertheless, by the time the Championship was held at Muirfield in 1966, Nicklaus had five majors to his name but was still seeking a first success outside the United States.

“Was it the hardest one for me to win? Probably. More so because the golf courses that we played The Open Championship on were ones that were not familiar to me or familiar to my type of golf,” acknowledged Nicklaus.

“I grew up hitting the ball in the air playing target golf, playing in conditions in the middle of the United States in Ohio that were not particularly windswept. Sure, we had wind, but nothing like you have at The Open Championship.

“It was just a real treat to go and play a Championship in conditions that you’re not familiar with. You had to adapt your game and learn how to play.”

Although Nicklaus loved Muirfield and felt he “should do well there”, he knew a cautious strategy would be required if he was to prevail.