Jack Nicklaus reveals why he used the same 3-wood for his ‘entire career’

Jack Nicklaus is full of stories, and as one of golf's living legends, he's seen and done quite a bit in the sport. According to an old rumor, however, he has overseen most of it with the same three-wood club in his bag.

At the Memorial Tournament, which Nicklaus hosts, he talked to a golf reporter about the famed three-wood, revealing how long he had it for and much more.

Jack Nicklaus confirmed that he did use the same three-wood for 28 years. He said:

"I was 18 years old, and for my whole career, I'm not sure exactly what it was, but it was sometime late 90s when we finally switched over to a metal three-wood."

He described the club, explaining why he favoured it:

"It was so rounded on the leading edge. There's no way to catch the ball on the bottom of the club, because you couldn't get it off the ground anymore. It didn't have any loft anymore."

Nicklaus added:

"I had it for years, and I'll never forget I had the same grip on it from 1958 to 1981, I had the same grip."

He also shared a story of accidentally bending the three-wood's shaft at a tournament in 1987 when he hit it on top of his bag harder than he realized, so he briefly changed clubs, but he otherwise had the same one for most of his career.

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Jack Nicklaus left surprised by Rory McIlroy's absence

Notably, Rory McIlroy is not playing in Jack Nicklaus' The Memorial Tournament this weekend. The golfer decided against it despite it being a Signature Event with most of the other top-ranked golfers participating.

Jack Nicklaus is hosting the Memorial (Image via Imagn)

McIlroy's absence, which is mostly due to his PGA Tour and Major schedule, surprised Nicklaus, the host. He said via ESPN:

"I really don't know why Rory didn't talk to me. I can't answer that question. There's nothing I can answer. I know he has to make a schedule that works for him and what he has to do. And I understand, because I had to do the same thing. We just weren't included this year."

Jack Nicklaus did not want to 'throw McIlroy under the bus' for his decision, though. Despite their good relationship, McIlroy just wasn't able to communicate with him, but Nicklaus did not blame the recent golf Grand Slam winner, adding:

"I like Rory too much. He's a good kid. He's played some great golf. He's had a lot of things that have happened to him. He's got to make his own call on things. Could he have done them differently? Probably. But that's all right. I could probably have done some of mine differently, too. I'm not complaining about Rory."

Nicklaus understands that McIlroy had to "make a call" about playing or not, and he admitted he made many of those choices himself during his playing days.