"These are interesting times," Jack Nicklaus mused. In the 1980s the Golden Bear was, by many accounts, growing old and losing his competitive edge. At forty his drives were not as prodigious as they once were, his legendary concentration often seemed to wane at critical junctures, and even his fans feared that their hero invested too much of his time and passion into the business and architectural ventures that cluttered his schedule. Furthermore, critics of the game described a professional tour overrun by country-club clones with mechanical swings and little imagination. Even golf's veterans shook their heads: "Pro golf is dull," grumbled Tommy Bolt, "It's a chorus line of blond towheads you can't even tell apart." Ironically, the blond Nicklaus himself had once been condemned as a talented player with few charms, especially when he dared to challenge golf's reigning demigod, Arnold Palmer, in the early 1960s......
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