Problems of a Pro

Best amateur to stroll the links since the days of Bobby Jones and Lawson Little, burly Jack Nicklaus, 22, seemed a cinch for instant stardom when he turned professional last January. Twice U.S. amateur champion, runner-up to Arnold Palmer in the 1960 U.S. Open, Nicklaus was almost unbeatable on the amateur circuit--and his aggressive, intimidating game seemed ideally suited to the challenge of the rich pro tour. His explosive drives averaged nearly 300 yds. His crisp irons were distinguished by the shovel-sized divots they left behind. His putting was bold and confident. But in his first pro tournament, the $45,000 Los Angeles Open, he tied for 50th place, won exactly $33.33--"a monumental beginning," he remarked wryly.

Nicklaus has done well enough since. His earnings of $14,674 put him seventh (just behind South Africa's Gary Player) among the pros. But though he has been a short-priced favorite to win every event he has entered, he has yet to score a victory in 13 starts. In Burneyville, Okla., for the $20,000 Waco Turner Open last week, he could reflect on some harsh differences between the pro and the amateur game, and on the problems of moving into a man's world.

Off the Green. Nicklaus' first shock was the biggest: his golf game, polished and sound, almost fell apart on the grinding pro tour. "As an amateur," he said, "I played nothing but good courses, with good greens and dependable grasses. But as a pro, you have to play all kinds of courses -- many of them awful. I had to find different clubs, learn a lot of new shots. I had to learn to putt from off the green. I had to change my putter. I've always used one with a very light blade; it was fine for the fast greens I played on as an amateur. But as a pro, I had to be ready for any kind of green." The weather, said Nicklaus, was often worse than the course. "At San Diego, I had to learn how to play frozen greens. At the Bing Crosby National, I had to play with the rain coming at me sideways. Amateurs wouldn't have considered playing under such conditions."

Any golfer can get his game up for an occasional tournament. "As an amateur," said Nicklaus, "you play tournaments a month or so apart. When you finally get into play, your competitive edge is so high that you may play the best game of your career. But as a pro, you play week to week, every week. You're in a tournament for four days, playing a pro-amateur the fifth, traveling the sixth. You can't work up that same competitive edge." Self-discipline and moderation are matters of necessity, not choice. "I can drink with the best of them and stay out all night," said Nicklaus, "but now I get nine hours of sleep a night--after Tuesday, I don't even drink a beer." By experience, he also knows not to take liberties with the golfers he plays against. "As an amateur," he said, "the number I had to worry about might be only half a dozen. All the rest were just weekend golfers. You might luck through against six good players. But against a hundred? Never."

Starting Again. Defeat week after week has been a bitter pill for cocky Jack Nicklaus to swallow. He still abhors the taste. "For two years," he said, "I was expected to win every tournament I entered. If I didn't. I was a bum. I liked being top man. You've got to have the confidence that you can win; you've got to expect to win. If you don't, you have no business being there. As an amateur, I had it. I was on top. Now I've just got to work my way up the ladder again."

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