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Jack Nicklaus Museum

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Jack Nicklaus Museum
Established2002 (2002)
Location2355 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, Ohio
Coordinates40°00′35″N 83°01′25″W / 40.009849°N 83.023662°W / 40.009849; -83.023662
Public transit access
Bus transport Central Ohio Transit Authority 1
Websitenicklausmuseum.org

The Jack Nicklaus Museum is a specialized sports museum honoring championship golfer Jack Nicklaus. It is located on the campus of Nicklaus's alma mater, Ohio State University (Ohio State), in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.[1]

Background

Jack Nicklaus grew up in Upper Arlington, Ohio, which is part of the Columbus metropolitan area.[2] He attended Ohio State in the 1960s where he played golf on the college team. He won many professional tournaments and championships and became a noted golf course designer.[3] Before the museum opened, Nicklaus was at the time, the youngest golfer to win the U.S. Amateur and the oldest to win the Masters.[2] Later, Nicklaus would go on to help develop what became the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, one of the first golf courses he had ever designed. Muirfield is also the site of the yearly PGA Memorial Tournament he started in 1976.[2]

History

Planning for a proposed Jack Nicklaus Museum began in the 1980s.[4] Nothing concrete got underway until the early 1990s, with three locations originally considered for the site: the private Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio; North Palm Beach, Florida; and Upper Arlington, Ohio.[5] On January 14, 1993, Muirfield was chosen as the designated site.[6] By June, the private club was already hosting parts of the collection.[7] A groundbreaking ceremony was held several years later in May 1995. Things changed when a developer expanded on their plans for the site in September. The local zoning board and the community then began to oppose the idea, originally thinking it was only going to be a small footprint hosting trophies.[8]

Andy Geiger, then athletic director at Ohio State, instead proposed bringing the museum to its campus in early 1996. Construction was initially estimated at $5-6 million, with funds provided by a nonprofit foundation.[3] By 1997, the budget had grown to $6.5 million, with five million already allotted.[2] The cost rose to $10 million by 1998.[9] The final location chosen for the museum was a two-acre site on Olentangy River Road in an area that was formerly the soccer fields[3] south of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on campus, just north of the Value City Arena.[9] The land was donated by Ohio State and construction began in September 1999 and was expected to take just under a year to complete.[10]

As the building neared completion in 2001, it was reported that the cost had risen to $11 million.[11] The opening was delayed several times until its grand opening on May 21, 2002.[12][13] The building houses three theaters, a golf shop and a number of exhibit galleries.[14] In 2005, the museum was transferred by the private Jack Nicklaus Museum foundation to Ohio State.[14]

Collection

Jack Nicklaus c. 1980

The museum's 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m2) facility[15] contains a collection of over 2,000 items related to Nicklaus's life and career,[16] offering a comprehensive view of Nicklaus's life in and out of golf as well as exhibits celebrating the history and legends of the game.[15]

A statue of Nicklaus that was originally exhibited at his designed golf course at Muirfield Village is installed at the entrance of the museum.[17] The museum hosts Nicklaus's "White Fang" putter which he used to win the 1967 U.S. Open,[18] and almost all of the other clubs from Nicklaus's 18 professional golf titles except for one, the club from the 1966 Open Championship, which cannot be located.[19] Other features of the collection include his many trophies, awards, and other items from his home, office, and homes of relatives.[17] One exhibition room recreates the Nicklaus family room from his house in South Florida. The walls are adorned with paintings of his family created by artist Coby Whitmore.[19]

The Museum has also hosted traveling exhibits.[20]

See also

References

  1. Danilov, Victor J. (2013). "Athletes: Jack Nicklaus". Famous Americans: A Directory of Museums, Historic Sites, and Memorials. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 28–29. ISBN 9780810891869. OCLC 860710792.
  2. Huber, Douglas (March 6, 1997). "Museum to honor golf legend". The Lantern. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  3. Lerman, Marty (July 18, 1996). "OSU perfect site for Nicklaus museum". The Lantern. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  4. "Nicklaus museum planned for Dublin". The Delaware Gazette. January 8, 1993. p. 9.
  5. Hooley, Bruce (January 15, 1993). "Plans set for Nicklaus museum". The Plain Dealer. p. 8D.
  6. Oller, Rob (January 17, 1993). "'Alive' museum to honor Bear". Springfield News-Sun. p. 9C.
  7. Godwin, Carol (June 13, 1993). "Museums offer a link to the game's rich past". Tampa Bay Times. p. 5E.
  8. McCallum, Jack; Kennedy, Kostya (December 11, 1995). "Homeless Bear". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 83, no. 25. p. 14. ISSN 0038-822X.
  9. Wagner, Stacy; Collins, Nathan (November 30, 1998). "Ohio proposes funding for Jack Nicklaus Museum". The Lantern. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  10. "Construction under way on Nicklaus Museum on Ohio State campus". Chillicothe Gazette. Associated Press. September 16, 1999. p. 11A.
  11. Ferguson, Doug (April 25, 2001). "Golf memorabilia scattered across the globe". The Jackson Sun. Associated Press. p. 5C.
  12. "Nicklaus Museum Opens". Ohio State University Monthly. June 2002. p. 10. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  13. "Nicklaus Museum gives Jack place for memorabilia". The Muscatine Journal. Associated Press. May 18, 2002. p. 3B.
  14. Weese, Evan (September 1, 2015). "Ohio State losing about $200,000 a year on Jack Nicklaus Museum". Columbus Business First. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  15. Tramel, Berry (March 22, 2015). "Columbus travelblog: A visit to the Jack Nicklaus Museum". The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  16. Schupak, Adam (December 12, 2017). "Ohio State's Nicklaus Museum displays Bear necessities". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  17. Albers, Bucky (May 26, 2002). "Jack Nicklaus Museum shows off golden life". The Marshall News Messenger. p. 6C. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  18. Tarde, Jerry (March 27, 2026). "Why nobody goes to golf museums". Golf Digest. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  19. Bamberger, Michael (August 2019). "Jack of Arts". Golf Magazine. Vol. 61, no. 8. pp. 34–35.
  20. Batterson, Paul (September 26, 2013). "Nicklaus Museum hosts Presidents Cup exhibit". Columbus Free Press. Retrieved May 12, 2026.

Further reading