The modern golfer is very much all about speed and power and there is the age old debate of just how a modern player with all the new technology, would go up against a legend of yesteryear like Jack Nicklaus.
Nicklaus won 18 majors throughout a number of decades at a time when golf clubs and equipment were nowhere near what the modern day player gets to choose from.
However, the one issue with such comparisons between Nicklaus and the modern greats is that the PGA Tour didn’t actually start measuring certain metrics until Nicklaus was finished.
Nowadays, every stat you can think of is measured and compared across the PGA Tour and a lot of players spend plenty of time absorbing them.
Of course, one of the biggest elements of the modern player’s game is swing speed. The likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy have taken swing speed to another level over the years.
But just how would they shape up against Jack Nicklaus?
What Jack Nicklaus’ swing speed was when he measured it himself
With the PGA Tour not recording driving distance numbers until 1980, there is plenty of gaps in the data.
As for Jack Nicklaus, he took it upon himself in 1998 to measure his own swing speed and the results were more than a little surprising.
According to golf instructor Jon Martin, posting on X, Nicklaus’ speed in 1998 actually came out at 118mph. That puts him above the average from last week’s Valspar Championship.
Speaking of that test, Nicklaus recounted how surprised people were with his result.
“First time I ever had my swing speed checked was ’98. I was 58, and I was out at either Titleist or Callaway . . . and I was 118 miles an hour,” Nicklaus said.
“And I said, ‘Wow, that’s pretty good, I guess.’ They said, ‘Yeah, there’s only one other guy on the Senior Tour, Jim Dent, was 118.’ That’s the only comparison I ever had. We never had any of that stuff.”
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The highest swing speeds currently on the PGA Tour
Looking back at the data from the Valspar Championship, average was around the 116mph mark but some players are really pushing the limits as well.
Top of the pile was Niklas Norgaard, who managed an average of 126.52mph – the only player to average above 126.
Three players hit an average over 125mph, with Aldrich Potgieter, Gary Woodland and Will Gordon all in there.
Interestingly, the leader of this week’s Houston Open – Min Woo Lee – was next on the list with an average of 124.87mph.
Even more interestingly, Nicklaus’ figure of around the 118mph mark puts him bang on par with current world number one, Scottie Scheffler.
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