What Bobby Jones wrote as a note in Jack Nicklaus’ locker before he played in his first-ever Masters tournament

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Before Jack Nicklaus was an all-time legend of the sport, he was a 19-year-old amateur making his Masters debut.

Like anyone else, he had a sporting hero who he dreamed of impressing growing up. But unlike everyone else, he was able to meet and learn from his idol, Bobby Jones. 

Jones was an amateur golfer who won 13 major championships in his career. He was the co-founder of The Masters and helped design Augusta National, making him one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport.

His imprint on golf lives through Nicklaus, who went on to win 18 major championships partly thanks to the mentorship of Jones. 

It started at Augusta, where Jones left a note to Nicklaus, which kick-started a blossoming friendship between the two legends.

Jack Nicklaus revealed what Bobby Jones wrote in a note to him at his first Masters

Nicklaus met Jones for the very first time when he was 15 years old. He had qualified for the National Amateur and impressed Jones with a shot he played during the tournament.

Speaking on A Conversation on Golf, he explained how that interaction led to Jones leaving a note to Nicklaus at Augusta National: “Bobby Jones won the US Open in 1926, at Scioto where I used to live.

“My Father was only 12 years old but he came out at watched it and he was a big Bobby Jones fan. When I started playing golf in the 1950s there were many memories of Scioto who had seen Jones win in 1926.

“It’s only 24 years later, so there’s a lot of fellas that were there. I kept hearing that Jones did this. But he never parred the ninth hole at The Open. There was this big tree that overhangs the right side of the green and he kept hitting it.

“I always heard all about Jones and there were pictures all over the place. That was my orientation in the game. As I went on and qualified for the National Amateur when I was 15 years old, I went down to the James River course at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond. 

“It so happened that Bobby Jones was the speaker at the dinner that night. The day of the dinner, I hit a ball into the 18th green and it was a long par four and I hit about a three wood into the green.

“Bobby Jones called me over and introduced himself. He said young man I have been sitting here for a couple of hours and you are the only person to reach that green all day.

“He then spoke at the dinner that night and after dinner he walked over to me and he had these two canes that he had strapped to his wrists. He said young man I want to come out and watch you play a few holes tomorrow, what time are you playing?

“I played the first 10 holes and kept looking over my shoulder for Bobby Jones then finally I am walking off the fairway to the 10th green and there comes Bobby Jones. I immediately went bogey, bogey, double bogey.

“He turned to my Dad and he said ‘I don’t think I am doing Jack much good’ and got out of there. I got back to evens and lost the match on the 18th hole. I didn’t think much about that, but two years later we were playing the US Juniors and we were playing at Ohio State University golf course.

“He came to the last round and presented me the trophy, when I won the tournament. I renewed my friendship with him there, we talked a little bit, and then when I qualified for the Masters at 19, there was a note in my locker.

“He said ‘Jack, I would love to have you and your Father come down to my cabin and talk and say hello.’ We did that for a lot of years, five, 10, 12 years.

“It was a relationship I really treasured because he taught me so many things about what he did when he was a kid and how he became a golfer and how he got through his seven lean years and how he had to learn to teach himself and how he could stop running back to his teacher.

“He learned to be responsible for his own game and what he did and the problems he had during his latter years of playing and how tough it was on his nerves. I really had a very nice relationship with him. He was many years older than I was, but he gave me nice counsel and I really appreciated it.”

Jack Nicklaus’ note to Rory McIlroy after he won the career grand slam

Perhaps inspired by his hero, Jones, Nicklaus followed in his footsteps by leaving a note for Rory McIlroy after he won the career grand slam at Augusta. 

Nicklaus revealed what he wrote to McIlroy: “After the Masters, I dropped him a note, and I told him, ‘I don’t think anybody’s won by having four double bogeys.’

“And I said, ‘But that just showed me how much talent you have to overcome that to win and how you played some unbelievably spectacular shots’.”

It was a nod to the rollercoaster ride McIlroy took us on when winning the Masters, following some of the most incredible shots we have ever seen with disastrous mistakes.

It was a classy touch from Nicklaus, giving props to one of the most popular winners of the Masters who endured years of heartbreak on his way to a green jacket.