Jack Nicklaus and His Grip
In the summer of 1964, Jack Nicklaus was in a slump: "It got to the point where a 76 looked like a great score to me," the golfer told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. One night, during the Cleveland Open, he dreamed he was hitting the ball with a different grip--and it worked better. So he tried it the next day, shot a 68, then a 65, and ended the tournament tied for third place. For the year, he shot about a 70 average, the lowest in professional golf. "I'm almost embarrassed to admit how I changed my grip this week, "he told the reporter at the time. "But that's how it happened. It's kinda crazy, isn't it? "
This story appears in the May 15, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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