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Jack Nicklaus playing clubs now that never made his bag in his prime

By Doug Ferguson
Published on
Jack Nicklaus playing clubs now that never made his bag in his prime

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Jack Nicklaus won't have a bouquet of head covers in his bag when he plays the PNC Father-Son Challenge this weekend, though the 14 clubs in his bag have changed from his prime. 
 
Nicklaus said when he played on the PGA Tour he carried a driver and a 3-wood, a 1-iron through a 9-iron, pitching wedge, sand wedge and putter. 
 
"Now I've got a driver, a 3-wood, a 4-wood and a 5-wood," he said last week in a conference call. "I'm not a big hybrid guy, although I'm playing with one right now and I took out the 2-iron. That's pretty much where I am. I'm usually a 3-iron through 9-iron, pitching wedge and sand wedge. I don't know if that's 14 or 15 (clubs), but it'll be 14 when I tee it up." 
 
 
No other player hit more memorable shots with a 1-iron than Nicklaus, a club that featured in three of his majors – the 1972 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, the 1975 Masters and the 1967 U.S. Open at Baltusrol. 
 
But there were times when he benched the 1-iron. 
 
"I used to even go to Augusta when I carried a 1-iron a lot, and sometimes I'd put in maybe a 4- or 5-wood, simply because you needed some elevation to stop it on the greens and some of the lies you played," Nicklaus said.