Divergent Paths
Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus will always be linked by history, but the two men have less in common than we once thought

By Tim Rosaforte
Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
December 17, 2009

While Tiger Woods may eclipse Jack Nicklaus' major record, he has struggled to enjoy the same stability at home.

Back in the day, Jack Nicklaus hosted what was called a "State of the Golden Bear" news conference at his home in the Lost Tree Village community in North Palm Beach, Fla. There was nothing to hide, no privacy to protect. Granted, the times were different, but so, as it turns out, are the two men linked by the greatest record in golf history.

Nicklaus was always forthcoming on tough questions, elaborative on all points, and gracious as a host. When the writers and TV cameras arrived on those January mornings to break down the previous year and look ahead, Barbara would always greet us at the door and hang with us afterward in the kitchen, serving up something she baked while talking about the photos on the refrigerator.

What I remember is that the Nicklaus estate was more of a home than a palace, although the sweeping views to the south of Lake Worth, toward the Intracoastal, were spectacular. When Jack finally built his game room off the chipping green, you didn't have to duck under the bill of a black marlin he caught off the Great Barrier Reef hanging the length of his living room.

Just south of the Nicklaus Compound, in a marina off A-1-A, are the troubled waters where Tiger Woods docks his boat. There's no secret that "Privacy" is moored here, and until Thanksgiving weekend, Tiger could come and go, do his thing, pop into the Starbucks or the workout clubs, without the paparazzi stalking him. Friends who live inside the gates at Isleworth tell me the same thing; that Tiger could bop around Windermere, pump his gas and lift his weights -- but those days are over with the helicopters overhead and the news trucks parked outside the front gate.

Prior to this latest chapter, Woods was scheduled to move to Jupiter Island, and basically be Jack's neighbor while going through the final stages of his chase of the Nicklaus record. Three years ago, when Woods was coming off back-to-back years of double majors, it was not a question of "if" but "when." Nicklaus seemed resigned to it happening, confessing he wished he worked harder, to make the number higher than the 18 majors that have been Tiger's benchmark since the day Nicklaus' records were tacked to his bedroom wall. Or so the legend goes.

That winter day in 2007, the South Florida press caught up with Nicklaus at the re-opening of a course he renovated with the town of North Palm Beach. It wasn't like his old State of the Golden Bear news conferences, but Jack was still Jack.

Woods had just closed on $44.5 million worth of real estate on Jupiter Island. Elin was pregnant with Sam, about to deliver that June. Tiger had just turned 31, and was on the West Coast getting ready to play Torrey Pines. Jack was in a reflective mood, talking about the years to come. "Tiger's life will change, but I think for the better for him," he said. "He'll have family to share his life. That was great for me to be able to share it with my family."

Woods won his 13th major that year at the PGA, and his 14th on one leg the following summer at the U.S. Open. Charlie Axel, his son, was born Feb. 8 of this year, while Tiger was rehabbing from knee surgery. His life was starting to appear whole. "Sam is very excited to be a big sister and we feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful family," Woods wrote on his website.

Fourteen of Nicklaus' majors came when he had kids. The Golden Bear won his 15th major at 38, his 16th and 17th at 40 and his 18th at 46. He did this with a relatively blissful home life, in between games at The Benjamin School, where Jack II, Steve, Nan, Gary and Michael were actively involved in the sports programs. His only drama was winning the 1986 Masters while on the verge of a financial collapse. While not comparable to family turmoil or loss of image, Nicklaus was able to summon his best golf in the midst of this personal crisis.

Again, different times, different backgrounds, different approaches to fame. While Woods couldn't wait for the 30-minute news conference to end, Nicklaus developed a reputation for being the last to leave the interview area, sharing the personal as well as the professional, without ever looking at his watch. While privacy was never much of an issue for Nicklaus, Woods seemed obsessed by it.

But Jack admittedly never had to carry the sport on his shoulders, never reached $1 billion in earnings and endorsements, and never had the tabloids stalking him. While Nicklaus life was out of the Saturday Evening Post, Woods has been front page of the New York Post since two days after Thanksgiving.

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