Old Tom Morris can never match Jack Nicklaus’ sheer breadth of
accomplishments. But then, who could? Over nearly 50 years in the game, first as
a player then as an architect, Nicklaus’ numbers—18 majors, 117 wins, 300 design
credits—are dizzying.
Certainly, Old Tom’s four British Opens aren’t shabby.
Although he will be remembered as golf’s first great champion, his more lasting
contributions lie with the grounds he helped shape, among them the Old Course,
Carnoustie and Muirfield in Scotland, and Ireland’s Royal County Down and
Lahinch.
Morris also was St. Andrews’ longtime greenkeeper as well as a
renowned clubmaker in an age in which the craft truly was art. In short, Old Tom
was the very image of golf as its popularity grew throughout the British Isles
and abroad.
“As St. Andrews became increasingly a mecca of golfers, so, too,
did the sturdy patriarchal figure and bearing of Old Tom come to symbolize all
that was finest in the Scottish character and in the ancient Scottish game,”
wrote James K. Robertson in St. Andrews, Home of Golf. “His kindly, yet capable
and gentle nature enshrined him a good many years before his death as the
authentic Grand Old Man of Golf. To generations of people all over the world his
name and his picture epitomized the game.”Nicklaus has held a similar
position, on a much larger scale. Like Morris, Nicklaus is a Renaissance man:
Without equal on the course, he has been able to parlay his stellar game into
successes in areas of equipment, teaching and most notably architecture in a way
no top player before him could—not Bobby Jones, not Ben Hogan, not Byron
Nelson.
In doing so, the indefatigable Nicklaus has remained one of golf’s
most important and influential figures for nearly five decades. More than 20
years after his last major win, Nicklaus remains a giant. His opinions still
matter, and he is as relevant today as he was as a player.
While Morris’
role as a pioneer is significant, his status in golf and achievements were made
easier because he was working with a nearly blank canvas. In comparison,
Nicklaus dramatically shifted long-entrenched standards of a player’s influence,
both on and off the course; he has altered the golf landscape, to the benefit
of both contemporaries and subsequent generations, including Tiger Woods.
Ultimately, Nicklaus’ achievements are more impressive.
