Jack Won't Be Watching Tiger Or Any Golf Unless By Accident

I think it's fair to say Jack Nicklaus has watched enough golf in his life that he's earned the right. Still, as someone who has many business interests in the game and has lobbied for things that make golf a healthier sport, his comments prior to the PNC Father/Son/Stepson/Grandson/Step-Grandson Challenge did not exactly inspire confidence.

Golfweek's Kevin Casey with the Golden Bear's comments when asked if he's doing to be watching Tiger's comeback.

“I’m not interested at all,” Nicklaus said.

Tell us how you really feel, Jack.

OK, but don’t take that to mean the Golden Bear has suddenly grown callous here. Nicklaus is not indifferent to the success of Woods, who is still chasing the Golden Bear’s record of 18 majors. The 77-year-old clarified that he does hope the best for Woods: just don’t expect him to be a TV viewer … for any golf for that matter.

“Do I wish (Tiger) well? Yeah, but I’m not interested in watching him,” Nicklaus said. “I’ve watched him play golf for 20-something years, why would I want to go watch more? I don’t watch anybody play golf.”

Comments

[FC]

Good choice, Jack.

[Thinking Out Loud]

Guess this means we won’t be forced to listen to him whine in the Golf Channel and CBS booths during the Memorial. Methinks Jack is not telling the truth.

[ol Harv]

“I’m not interested at all,” Nicklaus said.

Classic!

[DrBunsenHoneydew]

Maybe he's as tired as all the rest of us are at all golf being framed by media-types as the Tiger f'n Woods show, especially considering he hasn't played in ages

[Wayne]

Then isn’t it hypocritical of him to be selling this product as host of The Memorial?

[D. maculata]

Please. Reverse their age and Tiger would be off someplace hawking geriatrics with Steiny.

[MattS]

If he's not even interested enough to watch why is he interested in rolling the ball back?

I left volleyball about 15 years ago and they have made some dramatic changes to the sport, for insiders not where casual fans would notice, I don't go on volleyball boards and push for changes to the game. Obviously no one there would care because I'm not Karch, but still.

[Hawkeye]

Not many were interested in how the ”done, washed up, finished” Jack was going to do in the ‘86 Masters, either, but most were pretty darned thrilled when he went and did what he did. As would Jack and most others be if Tiger gave us one final thrill.

[Abu Dhabi Golfer]

Guess he’s not buying the hype.

[Schlasser]

I'm with @ThinkingOutLoud on this one. Wish I had a dollar for every guy who told me he didn't watch golf/tv, etc. yet chimes in non-stop when the conversation switches over to a recent tournament. Kind of like the guys on here who say they watch with the mute button on. Sure you do.

[B.B. King]

@Hawkeye

The Thrill is Gone.

[Colin MacGillivray]

For Nicklaus, I think I read, golf was and is a job.
He prefers to pass time with his family or play tennis or go to New Zealand trout fishing. So it's entirely logical that he doesn't watch much but still promotes his tournament and products and course design business.
He would have to admit though that he would be slightly interested in Tiger reached 17 major wins.

[DrBunsenHoneydew]

Everyone wants to frame this as about Jack not wanting to watch golf. Again, he probably knows how unbearable golf coverage is about to become now that tiger will be playing again. He's hoping with this answer to avoid constant tiger questioning, in the future, in the unlikely event that tiger starts contending again. He knows, like a lot of us, that golf becomes unwatchable whenever tiger's present because it becomes no longer about the game or the players who are actually currently leading the game.

[Oggiew]

Jack sounds like me. I follow Pro golf loosely and rarely if ever watch it anymore. It's always been pretty boring to watch except the for the majors. I'd rather just hit balls at the range, pitch in the backyard or play when I get the chance. Only difference, I'll prob tune in if Tiger's ever in contention. Of course I grew up watching Eldrick, Jack's been there and done that, I'd be bored by it if I were him too.

[Oggiew]

Also worth considering is TW used to make folks talk about Jack because of the major chase. Jack's said many times he liked or appreciated that. Now that that is unlikely, the conversation will probably shift more toward Snead, TW's just 3 regular wins away from tying Sammy. Prob another reason Jack has maybe lost interest. He's all like well Tiger, ya coulda caught me but those five seasons with that Foley swing(?) if you wanna call it that set ya back bud.

[DD]

Being from his home state, I covered Jack in my profession of media since the 1980s. He's more moody than you realize, he really is. You can catch him on a good day .. for sure .. and there is nobody that is more thoughtful and incisive and, honestly, very witty. But I swear to God, you catch Jack on the wrong day, wow. Whew.

Pretty close to my all-time favorite .. not athlete in sports of any kind but .. human being .. in general. So, I have no agenda. This was just my decades of experience covering the guy.

It always kinda came off to me that the media .. and the general golf fan .. he kind of had enough of it. It's like "I gave you guys stuff when I was 22 years old. And I've been doing it for half a century. Leave me alone."

He can be very surly.

And this is a trait I have found among most of the great men I have ever met.

[Smooth]

Jack strikes me as someone who doesn’t suffer fools. Tiger and his enabler Steiny are certainly not Jacks type of people. If you read between the lines its a nice way of Jack saying he has had enough of Tiger and his lack of integrity. Tiger came close to Jacks golfing record but cannot even sniff his legacy.as a man.

[Smooth]

Jack strikes me as someone who doesn’t suffer fools. Tiger and his enabler Steiny are certainly not Jacks type of people. If you read between the lines its a nice way of Jack saying he has had enough of Tiger and his lack of integrity. Tiger came close to Jacks golfing record but cannot even sniff his legacy.as a man.

[Hardy Greaves]

In the same interview, he also mentioned the Tiger’s swing looks like he’s trying not to hurt his back. I thought that was more interesting.

[Hardy Greaves]

The actual quote:

"Tiger seemed to hit the ball pretty well over there and seemed to enjoy it and be pain-free and I wish him well," Nicklaus said. "The swing as I saw, looked good. It looked like a swing of somebody who didn't want to hurt his back."

[BDF]

@DD I've never been within 300 miles of him, but your description fits my impression of JN.

[KS]

+1 Colin. Jack has always struck me as someone who thought of golf as a job and nothing more. He has said repeatedly that he doesn’t play golf at all anymore. He always seemed a stark contrast to Arnold Palmer, who was a confirmed golf junkie who loved to play the game all the way to the end of his life.

[Reaper]

Jack is full of sh^t. He is watching and he cares.

[v60]

DD. being surly around here gets you 20 lashes.

[Easingwold]

Arnold loved golf. Jack loved competition. When he couldn't complete in golf, he saw no reason to play it except the odd get together with friends.

[TTB]

None of the people I know who are basically retired from playing golf at the highest levels likes to watch it on TV, except for The Masters that is.

[Pat(another one)]

Considering Nicklaus was a pretty good basketball player in his day, and is apparently quite the wiz on the tennis court for his age/experience, I think Easingwold is spot on. It was about the competition, and golf was his best outlet to compete at the top of the world. But had he been a little bit better at the other sports, I suspect he goes there and we're not talking about him today.

[Ben Hagen]

Jack's the GOAT. The biggest of all dogs. He gets to say whatever wants, and all the lesser dogs can yap all they want but their yap (including mine) doesn't matter.

In my imaginary perfect golf world, the game is a monarchy with an Ruler for Life who decides what's what. Of course my fantasy has the luxury of an Uber-Dog like Nicklaus. After he's gone, um, well . . .

[Keith - NYC]

Probably too busy making milkshakes.