The incredible dedication to absolute perfection that Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods showed cannot be replicated by many. The two were remarkably accurate and had more techniques, knowledge, and abilities than any of their peers. What’s common between the two is that both of them dominated Augusta National with 11 Masters Tournament wins between them. Till Woods’ last win of the Green Jacket in 2019, he and Nicklaus had won more than 13.25% of all Masters Tournaments played.
However, before Tiger Woods made his debut, his former caddie was hired by Greg Norman. Steve Williams and Norman took on the course together for most of the 80s until 1989, when the former was fired. During one of those times, Williams was teaming up with his boss at Augusta National. That’s when the renowned caddie had the opportunity to chat with Jack Nicklaus. Around the time when Nicklaus won his sixth Green Jacket, he received some vital tips from the GOAT that showed the difference between his mentality to that of Norman’s.
Speaking to the host of the High Performance podcast on YouTube, Williams said, “One of the greatest things that I took from Jack Nicklaus was… We were playing a practice round with Jack Nicklaus. I was caddying for Greg Norman at the time. Greg Norman went to the left of the second green at Augusta and was hitting some flop shots over the bunker over to the left pin,” speaking about the routine of his former boss. Norman was always known to be a hardworking person. Apart from his on-course exploits, fans also got to see how thorough he was as the boss of LIV Golf for the first three seasons.
That’s when Nicklaus questioned him, “Why is he practicing over there, Steve?” Humoring the GOAT for his silly query, Williams replied, “Well, he might hit it over there.” That’s when the 73x PGA Tour winner gave one of the wisest tips anyone could ever receive. Nicklaus said, “You don’t ever go and practice where you don’t want to hit it. Because if you go and practice it, you might hit it there. If you don’t go and practice, then you won’t hit it there.” Such simple advice, but it absolutely made sense to Williams.
In fact, he also gave an example of how you don’t want to hit the ball on the drop zone on the 12th hole. But he often saw players go near the Rae’s Creek drop zone and practice shots from there. As per Nicklaus’ remarks, you don’t want yourself to think about ever hitting there, forget practicing for it. To this, the host questioned Williams, “Would Tiger ever do it?” Drawing parallels between Nicklaus and Woods, the famed caddie confessed, “100% not,” confirming that even the 82x PGAT winner didn’t think about shots he won’t hit. Just goes to show how elite players think.
MUIRFIELD – JULY: Jack Nicklaus of the USA in action during the British Open at Muirfield in Scotland in July 1972. Nicklaus finished 2nd. (photo by Don Morley/Getty Images)
Having said that, let’s compare the records of the three individuals at Augusta National. How did Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, and Jack Nicklaus perform in the Masters Tournament?
Greg Norman vs. Jack Nicklaus vs. Tiger Woods at Augusta National
We all know Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have won six and five Masters Tournaments, respectively. In the 26 times he has played at Augusta National, Woods has had single-digit finishes 14 times. That includes five wins and five more top-5 finishes. Nicklaus has had 45 opportunities to participate in the Green Jacket event. He has made the top 10 of the leaderboard an incredible 22 times. Apart from his six wins, Nicklaus also has four runner-ups and five more top-5 finishes.
Greg Norman has never won the Masters Tournament. He only has two Open Championships to his name when it comes to his major wins. He has appeared at Augusta National 23 times in his career. Norman has finished as a runner-up in the prestigious tournament thrice while ending up in the top-5 five more times. The Australian lost to Seve Ballesteros in the playoffs of the finals of the 1987 Masters Tournament. That’s what eventually led to the firing of Steve Williams in 1989.
Do you think Greg Norman would have found more success at Augusta National if he had followed Jack Nicklaus’s practicing approach? Let us know in the comments section.
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