Jack Nicklaus - Curtis Australia

Scoring an eagle
Curtis
Jack
Australia &Nicklaus
from left—Jack Nicklaus, Nicklaus at 1962 U.S. Open, Curtis Australia’s
Jack Nicklaus U.S. Open limited edition fountain pen
On the fiftieth anniversary of Jack Nicklaus’s first of four U.S. Open
championships, Curtis Australia introduces a limited edition pen that
captures the spirit of that momentous day in June 1962 that put the
Golden Bear on course to becoming the greatest golfer of all time.
record crowd turned out at
Pittsburgh’s Oakmont Country
Club on June 17, 1962, to witness one of the most exciting and significant golf championships of the
century. Just-turned-golf-pro Jack
Nicklaus, only twenty-two years old,
was in a dramatic playoff against
reigning golf legend Arnold Palmer,
who was playing on home turf near
A
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his hometown of Latrobe. The two had
been rivals since Palmer won the 1960
Open just two strokes ahead of thenamateur Nicklaus.
“Arnie’s Army” was cheering
wildly for its native hero, but
Nicklaus was so focused on his game
that he didn’t hear them. The Golden
Bear from Columbus, Ohio, was four
strokes up after the eighth hole when
Palmer made three birdies. Then
Nicklaus made par on thirteen, while
Palmer bogeyed, giving Nicklaus a
two-stroke lead. They were pretty
much even until the eighteenth hole
when both hit poor drives. Nicklaus
confidently decided to lay up short of
the cross bunkers when the announcer
shouted it was Nicklaus’s worst play
of the tournament. Nonplussed, he
U.S. Open ballpoint, sculpture detail and sculpting the master
design. Below—black fountain pen, back side of pen band and
sketching the design.
tapped in for a bogey and won the U.S. Open with a 71
against Palmer’s 74. His trademark putting game far surpassed Palmer’s, leading to a victory.
The 1962 U.S. Open would secure Nicklaus’s place as
one of the world’s greatest golfers. He was on the cover of
Time magazine and went on to win the U.S. Open three
more times in 1967, 1972 and 1980, tying the record with
early twentieth-century greats Willie Anderson, Bobby
Jones and Ben Hogan. Nicklaus was seventeen years old
when he played in his first U.S. Open, in 1957, and sixty
when he played in his last, in 2000. He is the only golfer in
history to win all four majors at least three times. His
record of eighteen wins—four U.S. Opens, five PGA
Championships, six Masters and three British Open
Championships—is as yet unmatched. Recalling the 1962 U.S. Open, Nicklaus says, “I was
just a kid at Oakmont. I had blinders on. I didn’t care
about the crowds. I was comfortable with the course, and I
loved simply to play golf. For me, the U.S. Open is still the
event to play. I like the way the PGA prepares the course.
Much has been said about the rivalry between Palmer and
me, but we have always been friendly competitors with the
utmost respect for one another.”
Curtis Australia, in partnership with Jack Nicklaus, has
just released a limited edition pen honoring the golfer’s U.S.
Open championships on the fiftieth anniversary of his first
major victory. This is the second in a series of five pens
celebrating the legendary golfer’s career. The first, released
in 2011, commemorates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the
Golden Bear’s sixth Masters victory in 1986. To date, no
other golfer has won as many Masters championships. The
miniature sculpture shows Nicklaus lifting his putter to
acknowledge the crowd. Future pens in the series will
include one celebrating Nicklaus’s PGA championships,
scheduled to be released in 2013, followed by others honoring his British Open and Ryder Cup wins.
Curtis Australia principal Glenn Curtis and his wife,
Heather, were introduced to Nicklaus through one of their
U.S. customers. Over lunch near Nicklaus’s Florida home,
they discussed the idea of creating a series of pens commemorating Nicklaus’s accomplishments.
“Jack is a much respected figure all over the world—not
only as the world’s most successful golfer, but also as a
person,” explains Curtis. “Years ago, even in Australia, I
remember the impact Jack had on the game and was always
impressed with the way he conducted himself both on and
off the course. He is the consummate sportsman, perhaps
best illustrated at the 1969 Ryder Cup where Jack conceded
a two-foot putt to halve his match with Tony Jacklin on the
final hole of the final match, thus tying the Ryder Cup for
the first time in its history.”
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Jack Nicklaus Masters pen.
Curtis says that Nicklaus also shares
his personal and corporate philosophy of
taking pride in everything he does. “Jack
appreciates fine craftsmanship and understands what it takes to achieve it,” notes
Curtis, adding that Nicklaus is personally
involved in designing the pens and
approves the design at key stages.
A highly skilled sculptor and jeweler,
Curtis designs and creates the master
patterns for all of the brand’s sculptured
pens. He employs a variety of fine
sculpting techniques to create an initial
master pattern, often using a photo as
reference material. For the Nicklaus U.S.
Open pen, Curtis selected a black-andwhite photo of Nicklaus driving off the
tee at the ’62 Open—an iconic image
capturing Nicklaus’s full swing. “This
photo—a study of power and concentration—captures the essence of Nicklaus’s
strong, confident personality,” says Curtis.
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Initial sketches were prepared by nib that can be easily transformed into a
the Curtis Australia design team for rollerball, with the parts included in a
the pen’s sculptured silver band. It
special presentation box.
was decided to concentrate on a
Nicklaus is an ardent believer in
larger portrait to create a different
handwritten communication. “Writing
feeling than the Masters pen and to
instruments have always been part of my
capture the power and energy of the life,” he says. “Whether I am signing
Nicklaus swing.
autographs or letters or sketching golf
From the sketch and photocourse designs on a light table, I am
graphs, Curtis carved an initial wax using pens, markers or pencils. I tend to
master, using miniature tools to
be particular about what I use and am
carve the fine details and heated
especially impressed with the quality and
tools to mold the wax as needed.
fine craftsmanship of Curtis Australia
When complete, this delicate wax
pens. I proudly use them and display
master pattern was cast in silver.
them on my office desk.”
“Silver has a remarkable ability
He describes himself as a “bit of an
to accept further carving, polishing
old-school type” and not into computers,
and sharpening of the fine details,”
texting or emailing. “My wife Barbara and
explains Curtis. “From this master
I believe strongly in handwritten notes. I
pattern, the subsequent silver sculp- have never seen Barbara send a thank-you
tures of Nicklaus were cast and
message that wasn’t handwritten. We fully
hand finished before being applied indi- understand we are in a world where
vidually to the pen barrels by Curtis
everyone wants everything quicker and
Australia craftsmen.”
more convenient, but it means more to
Below the swing pose, the craftsmen someone when they know you took the
hand applied a bronze likeness of a
time to convey your personal thoughts
golden bear to symbolize the golfer’s
and feelings on paper by hand.”
nickname. Engraved on the back of the
band are two golf clubs, Nicklaus’s name Visit curtisaustralia.com or
and the four years he won the U.S.
nicklauspens.com
Open. Space is included for numbering
the pen from a limited production of 1,000 pieces.
The Jack Nicklaus U.S. Open
pens are fashioned in rich red or
jet black Curtis resin and
trimmed with Curtis’s signature
sterling silver clip and cap band
engraved with “Jack Nicklaus
Limited Edition.” The pens are
available in twist-action ballpoint
($595) or fountain pen ($795)
with a two-toned iridium-tipped Nicklaus with Heather and Glenn Curtis
In June the USGA presents Nicklaus with the new U.S.
Open gold medal—designed in his honor—to be awarded
to all U.S. Open winners beginning with 2012 champion
Webb Simpson.
Nicklaus’s fourth U.S. Open
championship in 1980
Jack Nicklaus – Golf Prodigy
Jack Nicklaus is widely regard as the greatest golfer of all time.
During nearly forty-five years as a professional golfer, he won seventy-three PGA tour events, second only to Sam Snead. He still
holds the record of eighteen championships in the four majors—
the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Masters and British Open. Born January 21, 1940, in Columbus, Ohio, Nicklaus began
playing golf at age ten, demonstrating an instinctive ability for powerful long drives and accurate putting from his very first game. He
won twenty-seven events between the ages of ten and seventeen.
Nicklaus was nicknamed the Golden Bear, also the mascot of
Upper Arlington High School, where he led the Golden Bears golf
team. While attending Ohio State University, he
won the U.S. Amateur twice and an NCAA championship. Before graduating from OSU, he had
already placed second to Arnold Palmer in the
1960 U.S. Open, with the lowest score ever by an
amateur in that competition. By the time he turned
professional in late 1961, the Golden Bear was
already on course to becoming a legendary golfer.
He credits much of his success to his father
Charlie Nicklaus, a pharmacist who nurtured his
golf instincts, and Jack Grout, the golf pro at
Scioto Country Club, who became his coach,
mentor and lifelong friend. “It was Jack who taught
me perhaps lifeʼs most important lesson,” says
Nicklaus. “Itʼs about knowing yourself, understanding yourself, and most importantly believing in it,
trusting it, and having confidence in yourself and
your game. When something goes wrong in the
heat of the game, I am the only one who can fix it.
Jack empowered me to do that.”
Nicklaus earned the distinction of being the
longest driver of his generation, as well as one of
the best clutch putters ever, empowered by his
amazing concentration skills. With all of his
championships and fame, he has always been
highly regarded for his even temperament and
first-class sportsmanship.
Long before retiring from professional golf in
2005, Nicklaus had already demonstrated his
success as a business entrepreneur, designing
golf courses and sports equipment and partnering
in a variety of enterprises. Today he heads The
Jack Nicklaus companies in North Palm Beach,
Florida, and shows no signs of slowing down.
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