Has Golden Bear the Right to Tell McIlroy What to do?

WHEN Jack Nicklaus speaks, people tend to listen. Given his status in the game, that is hardly surprising. The Golden Bear won 18 majors, more than any other golfer and it is by his incredible standards that all other tournament players are judged. 

He has endlessly expressed the view that we need to find a way to stop golfers routinely hitting the ball 300-plus yards from the tee, and because it is Nicklaus who is saying it, most of us nod quietly in agreement with him. Yes, club and golf ball technology have made huge strides in recent years, but Nicklaus overlooks one key factor - today's top players are fitter by far than those he went head to head with.

Sure, Gary Player was obsessional about personal fitness, but that was as much to do with the fact that he was only 5ft 6in tall as anything else. Player knew that he had to be as fit and as strong as he possibly could if he was ever going to keep up with the likes of Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and company. But, by and large, the golfers of Nicklaus' era were not perfect specimens - far from it. Lee Trevino, Billy Casper, Bob Murphy, Craig Stadler and many others were hopelessly overweight and never went anywhere near a gymnasium during their playing careers.

Tiger Woods changed the game with his incredible fitness regime and scarcely-credible clubhead speed. And when other realised how he had changed the game then they had to follow the same route - and that is the primary reason for the unbelievable distances that the likes of Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, JB Holmes and Rory McIlroy propel the ball.

It is impossible to halt the path of progress, and why would anybody want to? Titanium drivers and modern golf balls have made the game of golf easier for the average club golfer, but have they led to an improvement in standards? The answer is a resounding no.

Nicklaus has now turned his attention to McIlroy's standing in the game. The Northern Irishman is just 27 years old, is ranked second in the world and has already won four majors. He finished last season by winning the FedEx Cup in some style. By anybody's standards, that is not a bad record. But Nicklaus believes that McIlroy must work harder if he wants to become golf's greatest player.

"Rory is one of those young men who has got a tremendous amount of talent," 76-year-old Nicklaus said.“He has won and played on his talent to this point. If he wishes to dominate and go forward then he's got to improve.”

"He has to work hard, he's got to focus on what he is trying to do and it is up to him. Certainly he has all the tools to be able to do it – it is just whether he has the desire and the willingness to give up some other things. And that's his call. I mean, whatever Rory does, he has established himself as one of the great players that has ever played the game.

"Whether he wants to be the greatest player to have played the game, that's his determination and it's his decision whether he wants to make that effort to try to do that."

That is precisely correct. It is HIS decision to make. McIlroy is to marry Erica Stoll in 2017 - possibly in the week after The Masters. If McIlroy secures the Green Jacket then he will have already completed a career Grand Slam. If he doesn't do it in 2017, he will surely win at Augusta sometime, as the course is made to measure for him. Marriage may or may not change McIlroy's priorities - the chances are that it will - but take note of something he said in 2016: "I do not play golf to grow the game. I play golf to win tournaments."

Single, married, married with children - his desire to win will not diminish. Guaranteed..

Nicklaus combined a successful family life, bringing up five children, with winning 18 majors and 118 tournament victories worldwide, and he may well feel qualified to give advice to McIlroy and others, but times have changed since Nicklaus was in his pomp.

"It's just management of time," Nicklaus said. "When you are young and single and just one dimensional you pretty much can do things at your leisure. Once you start getting married, having a family, other business interests, then you've got to learn how to manage your time and use it efficiently. He'll learn that."

Interestingly, although Nicklaus says he believes that McIlroy needs to improve, he refuses to say which areas he believes the British golfer should work on, although it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that he needs to find a reliable putting stroke.

The two men are said to have formed a strong bond. Will that still be the case when Rory reads the great man's words.