Jack Nicklaus was not known for being a real risk-taker during his rounds, with the Golden Bear arguably the greatest strategist the game has ever seen.

It should not have come as a huge surprise when it emerged during the week of Rory McIlroy‘s first Masters win that he had told Jack Nicklaus about every single shot he was intending to play around Augusta National.

Nicklaus was a master at placing his golf ball in positions where all of the potential problems were eliminated. He would often be content to hit the middle of every single green and give himself 18 opportunities to make birdie.

However, it turns out that he was prepared to take a gamble that he believes few other players would have made, particularly when he was struggling out on the course.

What Jack Nicklaus’ coach never did throughout his entire career

While Jack Grout won four times as a professional, he is best known for being Nicklaus’ coach throughout his career.

Interestingly, one of Grout’s main beliefs was that Nicklaus should take ownership over his own game, just as Bobby Jones had done during his remarkable career.

And speaking to Graham Bensinger back in 2020, Nicklaus revealed that what Grout taught him allowed him to make changes whenever he felt that something was not right within his game.

“[Jones] always said he used to run back to [Stewart] Maiden any time he had a problem. He said during that period of time, Maiden tried to teach him how to correct himself. When he’s hit a bad shot or having problems in a round, how to manage his game and how to play during a period of time so he didn’t put himself out of the tournament or he could perform the best he could with what he had that day,” he said.

“That’s what Jack Grout always taught me too. He said, ‘you need to be able to correct yourself’. Jack Grout came to 50 tournaments, 100 tournaments during my lifetime, but he never once stepped foot on the practice tee. He would be back in the gallery or back in the bleachers somewhere. If I wanted something I could go back and talk to Jack Grout, but he was just there as support because he wanted me, if I had a problem, to fix my own problem, so that when I got to the golf course and I had a problem, I could fix the problem on the golf course. I think it’s why I became a pretty decent golfer because I absolutely was able to fix myself.

“I never worried if I was in the last round of the US Open and I was one shot in the lead or one off the lead and I didn’t like what I was doing, I changed it right then. That’s a pretty dangerous thing to do sometimes. Most golfers won’t do it, but I’d do it. I’d always do it in a way that I would know what I had to do. I would go back to the fundamentals and I would make that adjustment that I had to make, but I would make it in a way that if I had a hole where I had big trouble on the left, I’d make sure I favoured the right. So if I had a problem and put it out to the right a little bit, I really wouldn’t be in too much trouble, and I certainly wouldn’t get too aggressive.”

What Jack Nicklaus said about Rory McIlroy’s strategy before the 2025 Masters

It felt too good to be true when Gary Player, Tom Watson, and Nicklaus all backed McIlroy to win The Masters in 2025, given the heartache that Augusta National had inflicted upon the Northern Irishman over the years.

But it was during the press conference after the trio had hit the ceremonial first tee shot that Nicklaus explained why he had high hopes for McIlroy.

“I think it’s about time that Rory won. I sat down with Rory last week and we had lunch, and we were talking, and I said, Rory, I know you prepared for Augusta; tell me how you’re going to play the golf course,” he said.

“We went through it shot for shot. And he got done with the round, and I didn’t open my mouth. And I said, well, I wouldn’t change a thing. That’s exactly the way I would try to play the golf course.

“The discipline is what Rory has lacked in my opinion. He’s got all the shots. He’s got all the game. He certainly is as talented as anybody in the game.”

Of course, McIlroy could hardly suggest that everything went to plan. He made a number of double bogeys and put everyone on an emotional rollercoaster with him.

But what was most impressive was his ability to adapt when it would have been easy to throw in the towel.