Editorial
Jack Nicklaus Still Hasn’t Found the Off Switch
A look back at the Golden Bear’s past year: a business reunion, a new course project and millions raised for children. Reported November 12, 2026.
At 86, Jack Nicklaus could spend his days choosing a lunch reservation and reminding people he won 18 majors. Nobody would object. We would have retired immediately after the first one and become unbearable at dinner.
Instead, the Golden Bear has spent the past year rearranging the business, designing another course and helping raise money for children. Apparently, taking it easy requires a committee, and Jack has declined the invitation.
The biggest business development arrived on March 26. An investment group called 20 Majors, led by Nicklaus, TWG Global and Nicklaus Brown, announced that it had acquired the businesses of Nicklaus.com. The deal reunited him with the enterprise he founded more than 50 years ago, including the Golden Bear marks, and brought his current course projects into Nicklaus Design.
There is something very Jack about reaching your eighties and deciding the family business needs another chapter. Some people buy a chair. He gets the company back.
Then came NOKOSI. Announced in May, the Nicklaus family’s private club project occupies the former Sherbrooke Golf & Country Club property in Palm Beach County. Jack is designing the course, with his family and TWG involved in the venture. The announcement anticipated play late in 2026; an opening should not be confused with an announcement, so keep the suitcase unpacked until the club confirms it.
Meanwhile, the ceremonial driver still gets an outing. At Augusta in April, Nicklaus joined Gary Player and Tom Watson for the Masters’ honorary start. Reuters reported that his tee shot went left toward the gallery. Even golf royalty occasionally supplies the rest of us with emotional support. The difference is that Jack has six green jackets to soften the blow.
The year’s most useful number, however, might be $1.5 million. That is what the 2026 Legends Luncheon raised for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation alliance. Jack and Barbara served among its executive chairs. Across 16 years, the luncheon’s total approached $18 million. Those are results worth discussing long after everyone has forgotten who missed a four-footer.
October brought a relaunched Nicklaus.com, gathering his playing history, design work and family business under one digital roof. Son Gary is CEO. The Golden Bear now has a refreshed website, which presumably means somebody in the family has also explained why every password requires punctuation and a small personal crisis.
And the diary remains occupied. Palm Beach Atlantic University has announced plans to honor Nicklaus as its American Free Enterprise lead medalist on November 17. As of this writing, that ceremony is still ahead.
Looking back over the year, the theme is consistent: family, golf and putting the name to work. Jack’s competitive record has been secure for decades. What he does with the attention is still evolving. For the rest of us, it is a mildly inconvenient example. We were hoping that “I’ve earned a quiet afternoon” would remain a defensible position. At this rate, the Bear may require us to submit that request in writing first.
Reporting and photo credits
Reported November 12, 2026. Photographs are archival, not pictures of the 2026 events described.
Sources: Business acquisition, NOKOSI announcement, Masters ceremony, Reuters, Legends Luncheon, new Nicklaus website, upcoming PBA honor.
Header: Moody College of Communication, Jenkins Medal Awards 2019, CC BY-SA 2.0. Display crop.
Masters archive: pocketwiley, 2006, CC BY 2.0.
Navy archive: U.S. Navy / MC3 Joe Dye, 2006, public domain.
