charlie says on 2/Feb/08
Have met Both Nicklaus and Palmer on several ocassions at the resort where I used to work and would say these figures by Viper and Misha are pretty close. Nicklaus does still put a nice swing on the ball, or did a few years back. Got to stand inside the ropes on the practice tee at the Father/Son in Orlando and listen to them tell stories bout the good ole days. Was quite an experience listening to them. Had a lot of big names at that event actually, and a very small crowd so getting close was easy. If you're a fan and can get to ChampionsGate just south of Orlando around the end of the year it's worth checking out. Don't know if either of them still play this tourny as it was about 4 years ago.

Pete says on 16/Mar/07
as most golfers hes always been a big sloucher

Viper says on 16/Mar/07
Im really not that good at golf.

Misha says on 14/Mar/07
Hey, Viper, what's your handicap?

Viper says on 11/Mar/07
Well, Ive seen these 2 guys in person before many times.

misha says on 10/Mar/07
Viper, I'm impressed with your knowledge of their heights (Jack & Arnie). I
think if you go down just a quarter of an inch and I go up a quarter, we're both dead on.

misha says on 8/Mar/07
Jackie is correct, though Arnie was always about an inch shorter than Nicklaus,
but very powerfully muscled - when he won the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills in 1960 he started by driving the green on the first hole - 426 yards.

In 1993 I and some other golfers spent almost an hour with Nicklaus on the 10th tee at Bel Air Country Club. He was trying out some new drivers, comparing them with each other, and once he found his range he was out there 285-290 every drive, with a few exceeding 300 yards. There were moments I spent talking to him when I was very close, three feet away, and well do I recall my girlfriend's exclamation as he approached us, need I say very quietly but with barely concealed amazement: "My God, he's so short!" At six feet I had a solid two and a half inches on him. I think he was nudging 5'11" in his prime and lost about 1.5 inches of height. Thus what he said per your quote, Rob, is exactly right, but this is in golf shoes, not a big difference really, as they usually have only about 3/4 of an inch of heel.

Golf height sightings are reliable if up close, because as some contributors have pointed out, lifts in golf shoes would destroy your rhythm and timing - your hips, knees, ankles and feet generate distance far more than the muscles in your arms and shoulders. If Brad Pitt attached spikes to the soles of his Frankenstein boots he'd have a hard time just getting the club face to contact the ball.

Jack brought Tiger Woods with him, who at seventeen was just exactly my height - he grew another 1.5 by the time he was 21, and is actually a little taller than his stated 6'1". I was standing facing him about eight feet away while he pounded 2-irons off the tee consistently in the 265-270 yard range, and I remember thinking to myself that I'd never seen anyone, not even the best players on the tour, hit a golf ball with the authority this high school kid was hitting it with. It didn't surprise me at all that within five years he was already beginning to be regarded by some as possibly the most gifted player of all time.

In general, the heights listed for the various current golf pros are extremely accurate - there's just nothing to be gained by trying to appear taller when it can adversely affect the hair-trigger timing so essential when playing the game at that level. A refreshing departure from the Hollywood height-crazed tricks and obsessions.

Viper says on 24/Feb/07
Well, looks like Im kinda right from that quote Rob.

Editor Rob says on 23/Feb/07
He said in 2005:
"I was once almost 6 feet tall ... now I am barely 5-10"

JackieTreehorn says on 24/Jan/07
I saw Jack and Arnie at 2001 US Senior Open. I was within 10 ft. of both and I seemed much taller than both. I just had someone measure me to be 180 cm barefoot but I might have been 181 back then. I would put both in the 5-8 to 5-9 range but I can't put an exact number on it. People seem to shrink with age I guess.

Viper652 says on 2/Oct/06
Jack is around 5-10 these days, but certaintly not as short as 5-9. This is one of the rare instances where Rob is shortchanging.

mlp says on 23/Jul/06
said 5'11 in golf monthly

Steve W says on 21/May/06
Viper652 has it right. Jack & Arnie were 5'11" & 5'10" respectively in their pga tour days - but - being a little older now they are both about an inch shorter. I stood in a gallery beside both of them about 6 years ago and Jack is a solid 5'10" - no shorter.

Viper652 says on 8/Feb/06
As I think about it more, I think you might be underlisting Jack's height Rob. I have a picture of Arnie and Jack in the sixties of Arnie wining the Masters, and Jack slipping his green coat on him. Jack looks an inch taller. I think they were 5-10 and 5-11 back in the day. Arnie is 5-9 today, and Jack is still an inch taller then Arnold. Id say Jack is a legit 5-10 today.

Viper652 says on 17/Jun/05
Ive seen Arnold Palmer many times in person and he looks about 5-9 to me. I dont know If he was ever 5-10 or If he has shrunk an inch. I have no idea on how accurate golfer heights are.