Steve Jones has won a U.S. Open and seven other PGA Tour events, but helping conduct a 33-minute interview with Jack Nicklaus was definitely a change of pace for the former University of Colorado golfer.
“I am speechless,” Jones said after talking with the Golden Bear on the air. “That is so cool. I can’t even imagine interviewing Jack Nicklaus. I never thought about it.”
But with injuries having kept Jones off the PGA Tour — and Champions Tour — since August 2007, he’s started to dabble in the media. Starting last month, the former Yuma, Colo., resident has been co-hosting a weekly radio golf show on a station (1060 AM) in the Phoenix area, where he now resides. “On the Tee” airs Mondays from 8 to 10 p.m. MDT (7-9 in Phoenix). Shows can be heard live or replayed by going to the necessary links on stevejonesgolf.com.
While Jones is growing into his new radio role, the connections he’s made over roughly a quarter-century on Tour are paying off in a big way. Among the guests he and co-host Brady Bogen have landed in the first four shows are reigning and former British Open champions Stewart Cink and Tom Lehman, CBS announcer Jim Nantz, NBA coach Paul Westphal, actor Ron Perlman and major league pitcher Russ Ortiz. On the Tee also features golf tips, discussions of hot topics in the game, and a segment titled “Caddies Corner.”
But with all due respect to the aforementioned guests, by far the biggest “get” for Jones and Bogen was having Nicklaus on for more than a half-hour this Monday. Nicklaus is known to be very generous with the time he spends with the media, but it’s safe to say it’s rare for a radio program to land him for a 30-minute-plus exclusive interview.
The winner of 18 professional major championships chatted about a variety of topics, but his take on international golf made for the most interesting conversation. As the founder of the Nicklaus (golf course) Design company, which does business all over the world, Jack put into perspective the growth of the game in recent years.
“We looked at our income at the end of September, and three-tenths of one percent has come from the United States, and 90 percent has come from Asia,” Nicklaus told Jones and Bogen. “That just tells you that golf (course building) is absolutely shut down here, but golf is very vibrant (in Asia), particularly in China.”
Given that reality, Nicklaus was especially upbeat about the recent news that golf will be added to the Olympics for 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2020.
“I think it’s a great thing to have happen,” he said. “I don’t think it will affect the U.S. very much. We’re a pretty mature golf market. Nor do I think it will probably affect Great Britain and maybe Japan. But you take places in the world like China, India, Russia and Eastern Bloc countries where golf is not played, and all of a sudden you’re going to get government funding for the sport. All of a sudden it’s not going to be an elitist sport in these countries. Anybody who is an athlete who wants to have an opportunity to play this sport will be able to play it.
“As a result, you’re going to have the game absolutely explode around the world because of the Olympics. For most parts of the world the gold medal is the key to everything. Will it ever beat the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open? No, it won’t. But most of the world has never competed in or knows anything about the Masters, British Open or the U.S. Open anyway. So the gold medal will be a big, big thing and will drive kids and young people to start up this game.”
And because of that movement, and the sheer number of people in China, Nicklaus said he wouldn’t be a bit surprised if in 15 years five of the top 10 players in golf were Chinese.
“All of a sudden, the game is going to be a big, big global game because of the Olympics,” Nicklaus said. “I think it’s terrific.”
Though Nicklaus would love to see the game grow for altruistic reasons, he freely admits that his company could also benefit greatly. He said officials from Nicklaus Design have already been in touch with people who are organizing the 2016 Games in Rio.
“They’re going to have to have decent courses,” Nicklaus said of the Brazilian Olympic site. “We’re going to see whether they’re interested in having us help them with that.”
All in all, it was good stuff for Jones’ new radio show. Later in the program, Jones noted that despite all his years on the PGA Tour, he played golf with Nicklaus just once, for nine holes during a practice round at the Canadian Open in the late 1990s. Jones and fellow former CU golfer Jonathan Kaye were putting on the first green when the opportunity presented itself.
“I looked back and said, “˜That’s Nicklaus coming up. I’ve never played with Jack. Let’s wait for him,'” Jones said. “So we waved him up and said, “˜Do you mind if we play with you?’ And he said, “˜No, not at all.’ On the way to the next tee, Jonathan said to me, “˜Watch me just blow it by Nicklaus. I’ll show him who’s long.’ So we all three hit it pretty good and we walk up and Jonathan is 10 or 12 yards behind Jack and I was a yard ahead of (Nicklaus). Jack looks over at me and said, “˜You’re away.’ And I didn’t argue; I went ahead and hit. He wasn’t going to hit second; he wanted to hit last. He was the man. It was a great time. I enjoyed it.”
Because of ongoing problems with his left elbow — he underwent surgery over the summer — Jones hasn’t been able to add to those Tour memories in recent years. He played 443 Tour events from 1982 through 2007, earning more than $6.5 million. All his victories came between 1988 and “˜98, with the 1996 U.S. Open being by far his biggest win. Jones also claimed the Colorado Open title in 1988, and he’s since been inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.
But with his playing days being on hold at the very least, Jones approached Bogen a few months ago with the idea of doing a golf show.
“I was sitting around not doing much, and I said, “˜Why not do a golf show with Brady Bogen,'” the 50-year-old Jones joked during his debut show on Sept. 21.
“This is kind of stepping out of my comfort zone,” he added. “(But) starting a golf show is a great way to help others understand the game of golf. Besides, everyone tells me I look like Tom Selleck on the radio, so I’ve got that going for me.”
