Back in the early 70’s, I was at the US Open and as luck would have it, I happened upon Jack Nicklaus and 2 other notable players playing a practice round. As they finished the 18th hole, I said to myself, “One day I would like to meet this iconic player”. Almost a year later I was working outside services at a club in Florida and heard my name being called. It was Jack. I was in shock. I went over and said something very memorable, “I’m Billy”. To make a long story short, I was given the opportunity to work for Mr. Nicklaus. The next several years began a fantastic apprenticeship in life and adventure I will never forget.

What I learned from this great player was priceless. I should have paid him for all the wonderful and insightful knowledge he shared. I became fascinated with Jack’s dedication and passion for learning. It seemed that was one of the key attributes that separated him from the other players of his era.

One of the more important things I learned from Jack had nothing to do with golf. Jack always found the time to prioritize the important things in his life. The biggest thing that stood out the most was his love for his family. His time with his family appeared to give him extra energy and heightened focus – as if he needed any help being focused!

I was so blessed to learn some of the reasons Jack was such an amazing golfer for so long. He stuck to the basics. He kept things simple. And he saw things on the course in such detail, it was amazing to watch. With that in mind, I decided to take the valuable things I learned from Mr. Nicklaus and apply them to my teaching.

Fast forward to today. I enjoy using the latest technologies to reinforce the concepts I am expressing to my students. But it is Mr. Grout, Jack’s first instructor and longtime coach, that said it best, “you must be your own best coach”. Creating one’s own solutions is one of the cornerstones to developing a solid foundation for a player’s future in the game. Maximizing your passion for learning, and how to apply that knowledge of your game and the fundamentals when things may not be going right, is so important.

There is not a day that goes by that I do not appreciate what I learned from the greatest player of all time, Mr. Jack Nicklaus..