Jack Nicklaus once admitted that he was almost ashamed with how much confidence he took into the majors during the early stages of his career.
Of course, Nicklaus is the most successful golfer of all-time. The Golden Bear won 18 major titles, while he also finished second 19 times in the four biggest events of the year.
Nicklaus’ longevity was so impressive. There were nearly 24 years between his first and last major wins. Meanwhile, he managed to finish tied for sixth at The Masters in 1998 – one year after Tiger Woods announced himself on the biggest stage.
Why Jack Nicklaus was almost ashamed about his attitude at the start of his career
Seven of Nicklaus’ major wins came in the 1960s, with the Career Grand Slam being completed with his win at The Open Championship in 1966.
And in an article with Golf Digest, Nicklaus once explained how he was somewhat baffled by how much self-belief he had at the start of his career.
“During those early years I was winning [majors] fairly easily. Now that I think back on it I have to believe that I expected to win one or two each year,” he said.
“That is a ridiculous assumption, utterly false and idiotic. I’m almost ashamed to admit it. I never felt the full impact of what it meant not to win until I stopped winning. ‘Gee, this is tougher than I thought,’ I said to myself. That’s why it was such a psychological lift to win the British Open.”
Why Jack Nicklaus’ first major win proved to be so pivotal
In fairness to Nicklaus, his confidence was justified. Remarkably, he won two majors in the same year on five occasions during his career.
Those years alone would keep him as one of only three men to reach double figures for major victories.
It also highlights just how important the mental game is. Nicklaus understood that having the talent to hit the great shots was only part of the battle.
Winning his first major in a playoff with Arnold Palmer in Palmer’s backyard at the 1962 US Open would have been a game-changer for Nicklaus.
He went into the lion’s den against arguably the most influential and popular golfer of all-time and emerged victorious. With that, he must have known that there was little that could be thrown at him that he could not deal with.
