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00:00So in your career you won 18 majors which is the most of anybody . But many people think that trying to beat your record is almost impossible. I don't know. Tigers. Tigers pretty good in those days. The compensation was good but not compared to today. So I was making as much money selling insurance and I would have played when playing golf. But you didn't. I ise past that though. What is the key that makes somebody a great golfer as a concentration. Is it physical ability. I think winning breeds winning. Would you fix your time please. People wouldn't recognize me if my tie was fixed but it just seemed to swing. All right. I don't consider myself a journalist . Nobody else would consider myself a journalist. I began to take on the life of being an interviewer even though I have a day job running a private equity firm. How do you define leadership . What is it that makes somebody tick. So let me go back to the beginning of golf and so forth. I am not a golfer I have to be honest with you. I took it up when I was nine. I quit when I was 10. I'm not I'm not one anymore either. OK. But now while you're pretty famous in golf but it was too frustrating and here's what I couldn't understand why is it that so many people are addicted to something that is so humiliating and frustrating for so many people all the time. Yeah whatever goes where supposed to go. Why why are people so addicted to it. Well that's a pretty good question. I think it's trying to think about that. It's it's a it's an essence it's a never ending pursuit of an unattainable goal is what it really is. Right . Right. You could try all you want and nobody has ever mastered the game. Well most all athletes in all sports love to play golf because it's difficult. It's it's challenging for them and it challenges them at whatever level they play. And I think it's why I enjoy it. That's why I enjoyed it. I enjoy playing it because no matter how good I got I can always be better. So when you were growing up you played many different sports is that right. Yes. And actually you were recruited to play football at Ohio State football basketball but you were a good football player as well. LISA Yeah. So at the time golf was not your most important sport or was it one of the three most important golfers another sport at the time but let's say it's a star game to college. I won a national lesson the national tour that got me on the Walker Cup team and all of a sudden I was now one of the 12 this damage the country. And then later that year I won the national global news 24 hours a day on air and @TicToc on Twitter. powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. this is Bloomberg and I was ranked number one and I said hmm maybe I'm better at this than I thought I was. And then I almost won the U.S. Open the next year and then I did win the U.S. Amateur again the next year . And then I said well maybe I need to go play against the best of I want to be the best. So it was it was it was a you know a process. But your father was the one who got you into golf actually. Yep. May I see if a golfer himself. He was a decent golfer as a kid and then he quit for 15 years and was a pharmacist and he broke his ankle playing volleyball and he ended up having three operations and had it fused and the doctors said Charlie says if you don't end up in a wheelchair you better start walking again. So he took he went. We moved out to the suburbs to Upper Arlington to south of the country club he joined there took me along to carry the bag and because he couldn't make a game because he couldn't walk very far and that particular year. Phil Jack Grout came to Sira and the PGA Championship came to sign under that year. So I get all that in my first year of playing golf and it just sort of got me charged up to learn a sport. Now Jack Grout became your coach for most of your career. He was my coach until he passed in 1989. So your father and Jack Kraut were the people who mostly got you on the way in golf you would say Yep my dad was a My dad was sort of like my best friend and my and my idol I love my dad because he just he just did everything with me. It just he just gave up everything for me in those days it wasn't clear that you could make a big career financially and as a professional golfer so you were thinking of getting a degree as an accountant or to be a pharmacist. Well I started college having most kids going to be what your dad was so my dad was a pharmacist so I went through pre pharmacy. I hated afternoon labs. All right. And so my dad taught me how to go before I went to pharmacy school talked me into doing something else so I start selling insurance . And I just love selling life insurance to my fraternity brothers. They really needed it. So I did that for a while but I did pretty well at it and I was making good money and I got married and had a first child and but I really wanted to play golf. Now he's got that's what I did. You got married to Barbara. Yeah. And you've been married how many year the 59 dying next month. 59 years. OK. And the result is five children and 22 grandchildren. That's right. Now you never forget a name of a grandchild. When they come along you know their name and other name and I know I know. Ninety five percent of the birthdays. Really. OK. It's pretty impressive . So in those days you were thinking of maybe becoming professional you weren't sure and you met with Bob Jones did you . ROBERT JONES Yep they're probably famous most famous amateur golfer of them all. And how did you actually come to meet him . Well he he was he was a speaker at the banquet and my first U.S. senator when ise 15 years old. And at that time he was crushed . He got paralyzed as he went on and he was one he's still walking the canes at that time. And he saw me play coming in the last practice run. They said yes Madam come out watch you play a little bit tomorrow you know my 15 year old kid playing at my first U.S. embassy the greatest player that ever lived is Bob Jones. It's gonna come out watch me play. And he came out and I nearly went bogey bogey double bogey lost my match but it was a great experience and that became a good friend and he was he was great counsel he was he was a really really good man. So you decided ultimately turned professional in the year after you won the second amateur and won the U.S. Amateur twice yet after you had done that you decide you'd make a career out of it . Well I didn't have any more goals to do it more to do an amateur enough. And I wanted to be the best I could be at playing golf . So I said the only way I could do that is to play against the best. And we went through that to play against the pros. So that's why people in those days the compensation was good but not compared to today. So I was making as much money selling insurance as I would have played when playing golf. But you did . I past that though. So as you went on you had the comp a rivalry with Arnold Palmer a bit. It was the leading golfer when you came in the pros and then you surpassed them in many ways. But what was it like in the early days when you were rising and he was over the top. Well you know I wasn't real popular because I started beating Arnold. And you know I was popular with myself because I was an Arnold Palmer fan. And Ireland's a good guy. He we got to be really close friends our lives got to be very close friends. But he was. And he never really seemed to mind that I'd beat him more than he'd beat me . And I'm sure he probably did inside. They never let me know it . He took me under his wing and he's 10 years older than I was . And he was he was great to me. So I have no I have nothing but love for Arnold Palmer. So in your career you won 18 majors which is the most of anybody. And Tiger Woods is now one with the most recent Masters win 15. But many people think that trying to beat your record is almost impossible. I don't know Tiger's Tiger's pretty good. So let's say you won the Masters six times. Yeah. And is that your favorite tournament. The Masters probably so yeah in the course of your career ise ise I remember you've won more than 100 tournaments. Right. And 18 majors and you were the leading money winner seven times a leading shot lowest shot for a tournament for a year seven times . And there's no record in golf you haven't achieved is that right was there anything left for you to achieve. I don't know that I had a record that I haven't achieved. But you know my record is good. But you know you could always be better . That's that's the neat thing about the game in golf no matter how good you get of you can be better. So in terms of being better it's hard to know how you could do much better than you've done. But let's ask you about a couple of things. What is it the key that makes somebody a great golfer as a concentration. Is it physical ability. Is it just I think combination of those things. I think your mind is a big part about it. I think you've got to believe in what you can do . You've got to learn to play within yourself. I think I think anybody in all walks of life. I don't care what business you're in you need to work within yourself and you need to do what you can do not what somebody else can do. And he's out and you start believing in that. And then I think winning breeds winning. So I was lucky my first year I won the U.S. Open won the biggest tournament in golf my first first first year out and I believed that I could play. So it's all of a sudden they start coming in a little easier for me. So in the first year you won the U.S. Open was that in a playoff with Arnold Palmer had to fight Arnold's Gallery a lot. I never had to find Arnold . He ise treated me with respect and treated me like a fellow competitor. And we I didn't have those issues. So one of the most enjoyable tournaments. People say to ever watch anybody could have a watch was the 1986 masters when you were an old old man 40 46 she has a really old mandate. Those days seem like an old man but today to me that's just a start. It's very young today right. So people have had never. No one had ever won a major. I guess you have over the age of maybe 41 or 42 at that time. Tiger won the Masters now at 43 but 46 was considered ready for you know a golf cart or a wheelchair or something. So you weren't born you were not leading that tournament until really near the end. You were quite four shots behind with the final nine holes to go was that right. I was I was still the first time I led the tournament was after 71 holes going to the level. But you were four shots behind at the final nine So did you actually think you could win. Well I'm well I'm thirty nine every 10 I breed eleven I messed up twelve a little bit but then I buried 13. And then when I eagled 15 a British 16 and British 17. Yeah I thought I could win because I was like that place at the most emotional when you've ever had . Well you know it's kind of funny because I really I really finish playing golf and then I've played my and won two majors when I was 40 years old and I really just enjoy playing golf and I want to be part of the game. And I just sort of struck lightning in a bottle that that week and all of a sudden I got around to the last nine holes the last 10 holes and I remembered how to play. I mean you you get yourself into contention and all of a sudden much like Tiger happened to Tiger at the Masters this year. When I saw the fellas start to fill up the creek at race Creek which is a 12th hole and he took this pretty little shot out cut it down the middle agreed I said tournament's over because he will remember how to play and that's what I did. I learned I remembered how to play and I remembered how to finish it. It was it was really fun being able to do that. You've also played a lot of presence of the United States. I played with a few. And which one's the best. And playing golf well the ones I've played with actually Trump is probably the best playing Trump plays pretty well. He you know he he plays a little bit like I do you earlier in your career decided that you wanted to be involved in golf course design and as I now understand it you have personally designed about 310 courses and your company has designed over I guess is 400 or so are you and about a thousand tournament's have been held on these courses so and there in 46 different countries in 40 different states. That's pretty impressive. Well I got into it by following beat guy Pete guy has been sort of the premier golf course designer over the last 30 years or so. And Pete one day called me. This is in the mid 60s he said Jack I'd like to have you come out and see I'm doing a new course for finding Fred Jones and I want to come and see what this is. I said Well what do you wanna see. He says I want you to critique it for me. Pete I don't know what you think about design. He saw you know more than you think you know. I said OK. So I went out. I looked through the golfers . We did things. And he asked me a couple of things I said later. I don't know a thing about that. This is yeah you do . Just tell me what you what you would like to see. And he did it . Well I got piqued my interest and I got a call from Charles Frazier at C pines plantation down harbor town and held that island and he said Jack I'd like to have you do ya golf course for us. I said Well I don't know anything about this. But I got a young guy who I'm working with only big guy who I think I'd like to work with. So I did that I made I made 23 visits into that trip with with Pete. And about six months before the term came in Tulsa we're going to have a heritage Golf Classic there which I've had there ever since 1969. Arnold won the first tournament. I loved it. I had a ball. I was just tremendous. So I'm talking about golf courses your favorite course to play of any other than ones you might have designed . I assume that those are the ones you like the most. But you know who's your favorite child you know. I think let's suppose take the ones you didn't design which ones would you say your favorite anyway. Well if I had one round of golf play and probably about to Pebble Beach which we just left the U.S. Open last week I love Pebble Beach is the scene out there I won the U.S. Amateur there when the U.S. open their 1 3 3 Crosby's out there and I just I just love the place and then my two favorite places in the game are probably Augusta National and St. Andrews . When you finished your professional career I think it was 2005 . Yeah. Your last tournament was the British Open. Yeah that's you know was that pretty a pretty emotional Yeah. Yeah. You had your family there and the family there. They were all there . My son Steve CAC for me during that week and he we stopped at what's called a school can bridge which is a bridge trusses 18th fairway and we didn't get a decent picture Steve. Steve was crying too much and Tom Watson was crying. I mean they're all emotional I'm trying to figure out how to finish the golf tour but they're out there crying on me. And so we had a great time now and it was fun. I loved it. I would not I didn't want to finish on Friday but I did finish on Friday. So you your last shot was a birdie. I know it's kind of funny guys. Yeah I wanted to make the cut that day and after I threw putted from the front edge at 13 our 17 trying to make birdie I got to the 18th hole and I hit the ball at about 14 feet behind the hole . Now the ball had not gone anywhere near the hole all day and I knew that that putt because the tournament was over I didn't no matter where I hit it the hole was going to move in front of it and that's what I did that made my last but I started my my professional or my career and major championships in 1957 with a birdie on the first while I played and I finished it on St Andrews with a 14 foot foot for the birdie. So after you got a birdie you said well maybe I should stay a little bit longer and play and I'd stayed long enough. David OK so you've played with many prominent individuals over the years and prominent golfers if you could pick any golfer to be your partner in a twosome who would you want to have as your partner . Well I think that's the tiger today but through the years I you know I never got to play with Bobby Jones even though I know him and knew him and really really really loved the man. I would love to play with Jones and I would have loved to have played quite a bit of golf. Hogan Hogan was fantastic. You've also played a lot of presidents of the United States. I've played with a few. And which one's the best. And playing golf. Well the ones I've played with actually Trump is probably the best player really. Trump plays pretty well. He you know he he plays a little bit like I do. He doesn't really ever finish many holes but he can hit the ball and he just goes out and plays and just enjoys it. And he's won several club championships and he could play Gerald Ford. I played like 50 rounds with Ford. I used to play with him at the AT & T every year and Ford was about a 13 handicap but he played to a 13 handicap. Clinton I never knew what Clinton might do. Clinton would. He might play to it play to win Tennessee by play to a 30. But he had a nice golf swing and he enjoyed it all these guys enjoyed playing golf and I don't think any one of them really were very serious about the game but they all enjoyed playing it and I think that it's good for the game in golf to have the president of the United States say you know this is my game. So when you're playing in those kind of matches that's they are fun with the president and let's say the ball is 10 feet away from the hole. Why don't people just start say put it out as opposed to oh you can have it. Why is that done so much we just say Oh I think that's a little bit of courtesy or. Well that's a little bit of politics too. I think that you give me mine if I give gift I give you years if you give me mine that kind of routine which is not golf. Now you have a grandson who recently at a Masters par three tournament got a hold on. Is that a fairly emotional thing to see your grandson get a hole in one. Pretty good. You know it's kind of a funny story because if his name is J.T. which is Gary Thomas after his father is a junior and we play and we would not play nine holes and I said I always ask the kids because I have a different one caddy for me every year the Masters tour I said do you want to. You want to hit a ball . This is one of my cousins have ever gotten in on the green . That's okay. I said Yeah I love that advice. OK so fine. So he said if you don't I'm not going to go any base I'll make a home one this is OK so you saw it. So his dad was at the Masters dinner on Tuesday night he said. These people are people. He says people thinks I'm going to make a hole in one . This is really yes racism is not going to be made I'll make a hole Ghana for next day knocks it right in the hole. And you know. Gary players who is actually named after I get my son here because Gary was such a great friend and such a great role model and Gary was jumping all over the place Tom Watson was jumping all over the place I'd like to talk about how you and your wife decided to focus a lot of your philanthropy on children's hospitals to see what's happened with these kids. I will tell you one thing it's far more important than a four foot so when players are playing golf and they're in a tournament you're getting your paired with somebody to actually talk during . When you're walking down the fairway they talk. I thought somebody didn't even talk to each other. And now the guys are good friends. Arnold and I had a fierce rivalry and we won. We we blew more tournaments for ourselves trying to beat each other and worrying about the feeling that we get off the golf course and we look at it. We say we did it again. We both shot 75 while everybody else shot sixty five. But just the two of us try to beat each other. But they would shake Kansas Sahil Kapur where are you going to dinner tonight. You know. So you know that's that's there. I love the golf kids today. I love watching the. Gary Woodman finished and you see on television but he saw four or five of the other players or six year round congratulate him. Justin Thomas won the PGA two years ago Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth were waiting for him down the line as he finished on the 18th green. The guys really support each other and they're and they've got enough money. They're not worried about the money. They know it's a game. And those guys are their friends and they enjoy it. So in recent years Tiger Woods has struggled a bit for you went 10 years between winning a major tournament. Do you think today that your record of 18 majors can be broken by Tiger or by anybody. I think so . Brooks kept because he's got to do it before Tiger. I felt like I remember the last one of the tiger when part of this was was at Torrey Pines in San Diego 10 years ago and Tiger had it all over the place and won the tournament. Now he hasn't yet even had back fusion and his swing is much better now than it was and he's now learned not to hit it hard because he does want to hurt himself. And Tiger's short game is fantastic. Tiger's going to win a lot more tournaments whether he's going to win three or four more major tournaments. I don't know. But Tiger's 43 in the game of golf today is not real. So let's talk a moment about philanthropy. I'd like to talk about how you and your wife decided to focus a lot of your philanthropy on children's hospitals. Well we started David Back with my daughter in 1966. Our daughter Nan was 11 months old and she started choking and we never couldn't understand why we hit her the doctor. She'd be fine. Finally the doctor says we've got to get this gal down to the Children's Hospital went down to the Columbus Children's Hospital now nationwide Children's Hospital and they found a crayon in her windpipe and they didn't have. How in the world they did but they didn't have a pediatric Bronx company wouldn't have an adult Bronx scope broke the crane up dropped in her lungs. She got pneumonia. She's for about six days she was you know touch and go. And as Barbara and I were sitting and waiting for Nan whatever was going to happen we just said you know if we ever are in a position to help others we want to be children. And then 15 years ago the Honda tournament moved up from Fort Lauderdale to the Palm Beach area and felt him Fred Millsaps came to me ran the charities said Jack. What do you have in this area for children's charities. And I looked to Barbara as you want to go for it. And she said Go for it. So we started our foundation. We and we'd been the main beneficiary from Honda and several other events and so forth and we haven't really done anything large. But we raised a little over a hundred million dollars in the last 50 years. Pretty impressive is pretty good. Now the university the Miami City Children's Hospital has been renamed in your honor. They want it back that Miami was Miami Children's and we made an association with Miami Children's and after a couple of years it came back to us. They said you know we'd like to be a global hospital. So we'd like to use the Nicklaus name and it's fantastic to see to see what's happened with these kids. And I won't tell you one thing. It's far more important than a four foot putt and I enjoy it a lot more. You enjoy it. In other words the satisfaction of winning the Masters is fantastic but the satisfaction of saving a child's life is unbelievable. Well it's been a great life and a great inspiration for so many Americans and people around the world. Thank you for everything you've done for the golf world and for our country and for philanthropy. Thank you. Well David thank you very much . Christian .

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The David Rubenstein Show: Golf Legend Jack Nicklaus

David Rubenstein sits down with golf legend Jack Nicklaus, the winner of a record 18 major championships. In the conversation, Nicklaus reminisces about his favorite golfers, explains why he and President Donald Trump have a similar playing style, and analyzes Tiger Woods' chances of breaking his majors tally. The interview, shown on the "The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations," was recorded on June 18 in New York. (Source: Bloomberg)

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