Jack Nicklaus, 84, is considered one of the greatest golfers of all time.
I dont know about astounded, but Id be flabbergasted by either one of those numbers.
Youve said you believe you couldve won even more tournaments, but you prioritized family time while you competed.
Do you think thats a value todays PGA Tour players share?
Could my record have been better?
Absolutely but my family would have suffered for it.
As a result, I would have suffered.
I was fortunate to have a good balance.
Is it more difficult for an elite professional athlete to come to terms with aging?
I didnt have any problem with it.
When your time to compete is up, your time to compete is up.
I was able to compete reasonably well into my early 60s.
What do you do these days to stay healthy and focused?
I keep myself busy doing an awful lot of work with our (Nicklaus Childrens Health Care) Foundation.
We probably do about 30 events a year.
I do speeches and public appearances.
Im still designing golf courses.
Physically, I do my set of exercises twice a day.
So I stay pretty active, but Id still like to be even more active.
You were a successful all-around athlete.
Was that crucial to your golf success?
When I started out, I played all the sports I could until I quit to play only golf.
But even then, I played in a rec basketball league until I was about 40.
Then I kept active by being involved with my kids.
If they played football, Id get to their football practices a lot.
Id throw to receivers.
Id kick with the punters and place kickers.
For basketball, I used to scrimmage with the kids.
For baseball, I used to pitch batting practice.
I just like all sports, but I dont think I was ever a gym rat.
Hanging out in gyms that seemed as boring to me as all get-out.
I just kept myself in condition for golf by playing other sports.
