Jack Nicklaus drives 360+ yards at the 18th St Andrews Playoff 1970 

Glad you liked it. It was quite a brave shot but effective!

DANA STARBUCK And a very risky shot because the clubhouse behind the 18th green is out of bounds. I believe that if Nicklaus thought that a driver would have been as close to being OB as it was, that he wouldn't have hit a driver because, as many of his peers said about Nicklaus, nobody ever outthought him on a golf course. And speaking of Nicklaus' peers, the first voice you hear in this video is none other than that of Arnold Palmer, the player many consider to be Jack's greatest rival, so it's no surprise that Arnie thought Jack would try to go for the green on that drive, as many times as they battled for wins and major championships in the 60s and early 70s.

Palmer says he expects Nicklaus to "turn one loose also". Does that mean that Sanders had already hit, and so well that Nicklaus felt he needed to go for it?

Depends what had happened previously, in terms of what player had the honor on the tee, as far as who hit first. But I think Nicklaus wanted to decide the issue right then and there, since he had a 1-shot lead, and was going to try to drive the green and get up and down in two for a clinching birdie, and had no idea that his ball would be so precarious to going out of bounds over the green. After all, the last thing he ever expected that could happen was for the ball to go over the green. If he knew that could happen, he would likely never have hit a driver.

I remember watching it live on BBC TV with my Dad. The commentator was Harry Carpenter, a BBC stalwart of golf and boxing. One of these sporting moments that I won’t forget.

And most likely a steel shaft.

did you count for the huggggeee tail wind and hard fairway? If that John Daly with that tail wind it would have gone into the green stands on a fly.

ostreds Today's golf ball flies 20% longer too. Jack hit many, many drives over 300 yrds. He would never be as consistently long as Daly but his length plus brain...Jack would be #1 today.

saintcruzin Maybe if Tiger Woods never existed..

Tiger vs Jack is a GREAT match up and Jack, not just long but the BEST pressure putter ever. It would be great head to head....

VWRabbit2008 The thing about that is that, what made Jack the greatest ever was not simply his playing record, but also the competition he did it against, not to mention his unequaled longevity. He won his last major, the 1986 Masters, nearly 24 years after he won his first pro major, the 1962 U.S. Open. And Jack had to do it against the greatest competition in effectively three different eras. When he emerged in the 60s, the guys he had to beat included Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Billy Casper. From the late 60s through the mid-70s, he had Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, and Tom Weiskopf to deal with, in addition to Palmer, Player, and Casper. Then in the late 70s and early 80s, there were those great battles with Tom Watson, as well as competition from guys like Lanny Wadkins, Jerry Pate, Hubert Green, Ben Crenshaw, David Graham, Tom Kite, Ray Floyd, and a young Seve Ballesteros. Then when he bagged his final major, the '86 Masters, he had Ballesteros and Kite, as well as other international superstars, such as Greg Norman, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, and Nick Price to deal with. And to top it all off, Jack nearly won the Masters again in 1998 against guys that are still competitive today, including Tiger, Phil Mickelson, and Ernie Els, with whom he was paired with in the final round of the '98 Masters. The thing that Jack Nicklaus (and his contemporaries) had that very few players have today is a high golf IQ. Most of today's players simply hit it as far as they can and deal with the consequences of a bad shot when they get to it. But players back then used course management, meaning they knew how to get around a golf course and adjust their games and strategies to the conditions, which is something many of the players today don't possess. And guys like Nicklaus, Player, and Watson were able to be competitive as long as they were (Watson recently made the cut at a PGA Tour event at age 65) because of their course management skills, when their physical abilities eroded due to the ravages of time.

That story is exactly right. I heard Jack N say that a few months ago. He added that Jack Grout told him that if he learned to hit it staright first, it would be impossible to learn to hit it long. I agree with that philosophy.

Wonder how long it took them to realise he was gonna be a special player.

Someone should have told me that

I grew up playing golf and jack was my idol... I hit the ball as hard as I could every time.. some good, some bad.. I rarely had to hit a long iron.. I concentrated on driving n short game and putting...

Grout's words included, "beat the hell out of it!"

second to none is correct!

how sad 🙄

I have been to every Open Championship since 1998 and to 30 in all since 1990. In that time, I have seen the final putts of Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson. Goes without saying they were all great champions.

they used smaller balls back then that would travel further. banned in 1990

I take it he wasn't a jack Nicklaus fan...

@@seanbaker2577 I think the very articulate Harry Carpenter meant 'the stuff of fantasy' - ie 'amazing' that such a brilliant drive could end up in such trouble. I suppose that with the wrong bounce it could even have gone out of bounds!

@Hippy Ripper yep the wind was helping there.

@@ysgol3 unlikely to go out of bounds. Back then the grass was long at the back of the green and a steep slope up to road level. Today the grass is cut short so going out of bounds is more likely.

@@ds1868 Oh yes, unlikely I agree, but if his ball had bounced hard into the Valley of Sin upslope it could, only could, have continued bouncing with topspin and gone OB.

He would destroy the competition today! He hit a damn rock the size of a golf ball with a trash ass wooden driver 300+ yards constantly!! With today’s juiced balls and driver technology he would hit as far as Dechambeau period.

Johnny Miller used it ,too ! Lol

@@paulveneziano4082 Didn’t know that, Thanks

He even shattered them in high school...

The persimmon woods of the day had 4 screws on the face to hold a piece of wood designed for impact (lol, I guess). His had 5 because he would shatter it.

@@3dbadboy1 The screws (between 4 and 6, for various designs) held an "insert" made of "vulcanized fiber", compressed and treated to be nearly as hard as the would itself. The insert was replaceable - which Nicklaus put to the test frequently. If anyone is interested, Jack's driver was a MacGregor Tommy Armor, model 945, which had 6 screws.

@@nolaanderson8770 oh 6 was it? Good to know.

I used to see Jack at the Canadian Open for a few years back in the day. I can tell you that back then he ripped at the ball like no one else. The next guy that came along that swung as hard as Jack that I personally witnessed was Greg Norman.

British Open allowed the use of smaller golf balls.

Not sure what made this more amazing, "small" balata ball, persimmon driver the size of 5wd today, & metal shaft, was it his metal spiked shoes?

"Small ball" . . . there was one diameter of golf ball in 1970.

@@bradandnancysmith9106 I believe it was 1974 that the R&A discontinued the small ball.

@@bradandnancysmith9106 In North America, under USGA rules. The ball used under the aegis of the R and A was slightly smaller. The only times American pros encountered it was the Open Championship and the Ryder Cup, unless they played abroad a lot.

Sounded like Thor's hammer unleashing hell.

true, back then persimmon headed woods and a smaller 1.62 ball. A true legend and master of the game!

You don’t think todays pros are a tad in better shape than the 1970’s pros?

nah, they used smaller balls back then that would go further. big advantage. banned in 1990

@@Mikld Search on RU-vid where all these "great" golfers from today, try to do what Arnie did in 1960. He hit that one about 360 as well. It's enlightening.

@@glasgowefl3911 Todays longest hitters under similar tail wind conditions are hitting it well over 400 yards.

@tylerholt6828 Yeah it actually speaks volumes. Nobody is hitting 450 with the clubs they had back then. Plus, Jack was hitting it way further than everyone else on tour as well

it all evens out. they played a smaller ball before it was banned in 1990. those small balls went FAR... no need to hate on todays players. courses are longer now, more competition, balances.

@@djcardwell In the open only. You had the option in the UK and a few places but most places were on the bigger ball.

They did it with persimmon and balata.

@@beegee22 I always used laminated woods. Only the rich kids got persimmon.

Cool story!

DJ had a club head speed in the mid 130s. Both Tiger and Daly could swing that fast too. Bryson's head speed when he is going after it is about 145mph. I used to swing 134mph, and I have to say that hearing someone with 145mph head speed hit a ball is extremely humbling. Consistently 40 yards past me. Nothing like piping one down the fairway 340 yards on a windless day only to be hitting a 3 wood into the green on a par 5 while homeboy is hitting a 7 iron into it.

Tigers the Goat

@@Nuggetsin4 Between 2000 and 2006... yes. But when you take their careers as a whole, Jack EASILY eclipses Tiger.

@@paulgilbert2506 Tiger was a better golfer than Jack period.

@@Nuggetsin4 For a short period of time, yes. For consistency and longevity, when their careers are taken in total... Jack gets the nod and its really not close. People who cant see the CLEAR story told by the stats are delusional.

@@paulgilbert2506 lmao there’s lie, damned lies, and statistics. Tiger Woods was a better golfer.

People tend to forget just how athletic Jack was. His driver looked liked today's five wood.

@@pcm7315 I was just going to say that exact same thing. Think of how good he'd be with today's equipment.

Easily 30 ~ 40 yds more.. Also, don't forget about how much today's golf ball could add on that..

Remember that was the older, smaller ball they used over there. American ball and that’s still around a 330 yard bomb with that equipment.

Golf balls!!!

T minus 3,2,1

-adding 3 inches of shaft -removing 200 grams from the steel shaft and adding it to the head -the head is a 460 C.C titanium/carbon graphite head Vs. a 220 C.C. wooden head -the ball is a urethane ProV1 that is at least 10-15% longer than an old ball. I say jack would be the longest on tour today, putting him in the 350 yard average.

And my best drive at St Andrews in 2007 was 10 yards past the Wynd (road).

Play any of his course designs, they are truly great.

Only 2nd to 1

I've had this discussion with many others (obviously who never saw Nicklaus in his prime) that Nicklaus was not the shotmaker that Tiger is/was. I would always respond that he didn't have to be, because he was never in trouble.

@@BigfistJP good one!

@@BigfistJP That's not a good thing. If Jack can't be a shotmaker when it counts it will be a weakness.

Was 'lamped' used in that sense in 1970? I'd have thought it's far more recent.

It was dead down wind

eh they played smaller balls back then that would travel much further. eventually banned in 1990. moot discussion.

@@djcardwellhow much farther is “much” farther?

Nicklaus had a tailwind here. That said I would be shocked if any current player could blast over 350 with that abysmal Persimmon driver and the terrible 60's ball.

they used smaller balls back then that would go much further. banned in 1990. no need to get dramatic.

Smaller balls (either wound elastic or other inferior centre and inferior cover) balls will go further into the wind than the equivalent 1.68 inch diameter larger ball with the same construction (and weight as both R and A and USPGA had the same weight rule) however with the wind the larger diameter and slightly less dense ball could hang up in the air considerably longer.

Imagine Jack beating Sanders by a stroke and then his putter knocking out poor Doug!! lol

eh they used smaller balls that would go further. eventually banned.

I love him but that's not true. This was with the small english ball and clubs did actually improve quite a bit through the 60's. Jack wasn't hitting that many 300 yard drives in the 60''s

smaller balls back then that would go further. eventually banned in 1990.

In 1967 I saw 27 year old Jack Nicklaus on a practice tee in Denver, Colorado, doing a mini clinic with the driver. He crushed three drives with a slight fade. Then crushed two more with a slight draw. Then he was told to "take off the head cover" and really let one go. Farther than the bombs he's been hitting?! There's no way! He proceeded to launch a drive 20 yards beyond the previous shots. It was absolutely mind blowing.

@@travism1974 with wood!??

@@travism1974 you're so lucky. shame people short sell him now because of Tiger.

Babies wear jumpers. That was a sweater.

Long not as long as some today they are longer and taller equally athletic ⛳️🎯🏆🍻 Seangorgone@gmail.com 407-443-5600

I think he would average 350 off the tee with todays equipment and would hit 400 yards on occasions.

@@stevenkloepping2953 Nah. Bryson's club head speed is easily 10mph (145mph) faster than Jack's was, and Bryson only averages 321 yards off the tee.

I agree however this was the small english ball which is probably somewhat comparable with todays distance ball (or at least maybe the 2000's ball). If you ever watch match play where they can pick the ball it's obvious it goes a good 20 to 30 yards longer

100% correct. Genuine GREAT. Did so much for golf and he and Arnie rescued The Open. Happy days.

It was a 3 wood

@@bartanderson239 Hi, that's the first time I've heard that claimed - where have you read this ? it's clearly a driver surely, the head size shows that. 3 woods were tiny in 1970.

@@ysgol3 It was his Driver - Jack said so himself in his autobiography, "Jack Nicklaus, My Story" Random House press (1997) on page 233

@@drrob1963 Thanks !

@@drrob1963 I've just read it - thanks very much for the confirmation !

My husband and a friend were following Nick in 1966 at Agusta on a practice round. They carried a measuring tape with them and waited at 15 until he and his fans passed by. They then measured his tee shot, which was slightly into the wind. It was 333! He also won the driving contest at Agusta the last year they had it with a 342-yard drive. Proves he was as long back then as pros are today!

For real, those persimmon drivers were super heavy too.

@@lillybloom1590 Forget about the driver. You know what I would love? I would love it if they would take about 10 of the best players today (Rory, Dustin, etc) and take them to Baltusrol 18th hole. Put them in the same place (240y out) where Jack hit 1 iron to the green (there is a plaque marking the spot) in the final round of the 1967 US Open. Then... give them a forged 1 iron with a steel shaft... or any other forged iron with steel shaft they want to get the job done. Then... give them balata balls with 1960's specs. Then... see how they do. THAT would be interesting. And Jack hit that shot in the final round of the US Open knowing he had to birdie to win. A maximum pressure situation for sure. Of course he put it 20 feet and drained it for eagle.

@@paulgilbert2506 Great memory! Love you much Paul Gilbert for that wonderful post!! I wish more people knew about that shot and all the putts Jack sunk. Is it not a wonder that more people don't putt Jack's style, with a very open stance, ball upfront, and behind his head? My husband used to teach that style and he turned out some really great putters. The best! Lilly

@@lillybloom1590 Tom Weiskopf said that Jack was not what he would consider a "great putter" in general... but if he had to pick one player to make a 10 foot put with EVERYTHING on the line, he would pick Jack. Weiskopf (and probably many others) considered him the greatest "pressure putter" of all time. When it counted the most, he did not miss.

The clubs don't go much father (watch Dustin Johnson experiment with old clubs). But the balls go much much further. There are still athletes on tour that are just as powerful as jack when they want to be: Tony Finau, Camron champ, Gary woodland, Bryson (post weight gain) but missing fairways gets punished now more than it used to.

probably a little less than tiger, he really changed the game.

@@ss4adam Of course the clubs go further, they're longer, made out of material that hits further and more forgiving. I know they go further because I usually play persimmon drivers and from time to time will play with whatever other people have and the newer drivers will easily get 30 to 40 yards more distance with the same ball

Actually the best persimmon drivers had fiber inserts which were easier to shape.

He has already won more majors than anyone else.

Brian Reilly he would have been a dominant player in any era. However, the competition that tiger and jack encountered was at a low for a few years; verses today, the tour depth is extraordinary

Real golf clubs. The drivers today are a joke, like the bumper bowling of golf. Grown men should have to use wood woods of the size in this video, those cartoon drivers should just be for the elderly, children and women who don't play much - people who struggle for distance basically.

@@poocrayon4588 The PGA tried to regulate the equipment but lawsuits wore them down.

@@Frisbieinstein Yeah, I don't think the PGA are that opposed to getting a taste of that sweet manufacturing money. Reality is if equipment was regulated back when or even now, a lot of people would be out of a job as the rush to get an inch over your competitor in the market by making a club that hits further or does something else would be all but gone.

actually the ball was an advantage back then. small balls would go much further. eventually banned in 1990. pretty moot discussion.

Smaller balls (either wound elastic or other inferior centre and inferior cover) balls will go further into the wind than the equivalent 1.68 inch diameter larger ball with the same construction (and weight as both R and A and USPGA had the same weight rule) however with the wind the larger diameter and slightly less dense ball could hang up in the air considerably longer.

He would break the R&A HQ's window if he uses the modern equipment for the same shot...

Or he should have used a sand wedge. LOL

He would be amazing. Would also be fun to imagine what Hogan would do.

They used a smaller ball back then at the open that was longer. Plus the way players would swing back then was different than now players shaped their shots way more, today players put very little shape on the shot they are more focused on controlling trajectories and spin rates.

sorry but the ball back then was much smaller and would go very far. eventually banned in 1990. no need to get overdramatic

basically same. they had smaller balls back then that would travel further. banned in 1990

stevemcgee99 it was arnie

R.I.P Arnie

It sounded just like him. His voice is unmistakeable.

Yes it was The King

Steven Chappell or the Atlantic ;)

With modern equipment he probably would have used a 4 iron.

Complete Pedant mode on....Clubhouse technically, no stands behind the green at St Andrews.

Lets be honest, it was 40mph straight downwind. Look at the flag whipping to the back of the green. Don't get me wrong he is the goat but his swing speed wasn't anything crazy. That was firm and fast links golf and hard downwind. Average tour players these days would do the same with the same equipment.

@@user-tx4hz3vd5d Agreed. I hit a high draw that can stop. With that kind of tailwind, I would hit a 3-wood before I hit a driver because you will get an extra 50 yards of carry.

Before his prime , after his prime .

Golf4u Backnine Naa, Jack’s swing isn’t what it used to be. Not at 80-years-old.

Shots were straighter, more consistently back then it seems. Used to be Seve was the only guy in the bushes.

Yes. I was not a great golfer but i was tall, thin, and had inherited some great genes. I could hit 300 fairly regularly back then. You could feel the ball "sink" into a persimmon's face & you could launch them. Your motion would be slightly different; the wood transmitted more feel.

@@politicsontheedge5438 300 yards would be really long back then for anyone other than a very low handicapper but I believe you. The issue back then were the golf balls. Remember when the Balata balls came out and sort of put the golf world on it's head? They were great for distance but rarely one could make it through a round without getting destroyed. The other issue with the Persimmons of course was that they also would wear out after a while. Took a while but they indeed did .....

It's a 3 wood

@@nicholasschroeder3678 Jack hit Driver - Jack said so himself in his autobiography, "Jack Nicklaus, My Story" Random House Press (1997) on page 233

@@drrob1963 Maybe I had it wrong..🤷‍♂️

@@nicholasschroeder3678 I wasn't there, but I am just relaying what the great man himself has said. What a shot - wow!

Yes, definitely. His hands are still high at the top of course, but not as high as they were, and the flying right elbow seems to have gone.

Yes, he got a coach and worked on that.

gene sarazen after playing with nicklaus in the 1971 us pga championship "i never saw such power" jack was long

No it was Mike Austin drove it 515 yards. Just search for his video and you'll see he have similar swing as Jack.

*1970. He didn't drive the green in 78

he still has the longest drive ever hit on #18 at Augusta, in 1965!

I agree bus114. -- Jack maybe got some help from the wind and a dried firm fairway, but I doubt very seriously if anyone else in the field could of come close to doing what Jack did. No one else could drive it that far under similar conditions. I doubt very serious if any golfers today could have driven it that far under the same conditions and same equipment. ... Jack Nicklaus took out a 1 iron in the 1967 US Open at Baltusrol and made a 241 yard fairway shot right up on the green for a birdy putt. They put a placard at the spot where he made the shot commemorating the shot. Many of todays golfers tried to see if they could make the same shot, and many of them couldn't make the shot. I would of liked to have seen what a 25 year old Jack could of done with todays equipment. I bet the man could of parked it in another zip code.

The Phantom But you understood what he was saying, even with a bit of poor grammar. BTW: *It’s basic English you learn as a child. (Not “I child”)

Jack hit Driver - Jack said so himself in his autobiography, "Jack Nicklaus, My Story" Random House press (1997) on page 233. And yes, a great shot by the great man!

Their drivers look like 3 woods.

woops...not true...Tiger Woods plays in a golf world much tougher than Nicklaus ever experienced...the quality of the palyers, their technology and the International status of the game as well as course conditions and stimp of greens much quicker makes Tiger the Greatest, certainly, of his generation and 2nd to Nicklaus over all....STILL Nicklaus won 6 Green Jackets and came in 2nd 4 times...utterly astounding (he is still my cxall as the greatest ever...but your diatribe tends to diminish rather than uplift the 2nd greatest...The Tiger......B Jones...not in sight!)

watched him hit drives in person. effortless power.

Nah, one of the most powerful of the truly great players, but there were longer hitters on tour then and before, they just weren't near as good at everything else.