2017 January Memorabilia Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/29/2017
Jack Nicklaus' Personal Used 1970 MacGregor Irons - From Sweden's Volvo Open
What a great way to start off a great 2017 than to have the great pleasure of offering up a set of Jack Nicklaus’ 1970 tournament used MacGregor irons in The Golf Auction! Jack Nicklaus' personal clubs used during his successful year of 1970. Acclaimed for decades, and prestigious around the world, the Golden Bear clearly sits atop the long list of the greatest golfers to ever grab hold of a club. Never to be hit again, but always to be admired. These instruments of Jack’s optimum links success during the 1970 year are the first to come to the auction block here at The Golf Auction. For the advanced golf collector numerous opportunities to acquire exceptional memorabilia will come over the years, but here is one addition that exceeds those. A set of personal club's from a true legend of not only golf, but sports in general. Most can only dream about an experience like this. You cannot let opportunities like this pass you by. These six MacGregor VIP Split Sole Irons number 2,3,4,6,7, & 9 come with a letter of provenance from Mathias Fock, who was the personal driver for Jack at the 1970 Volvo Open, and who shared a mutual friend of Jack's in legendary Swede Sven Tumba. There is reference letter confirming Jack's participation in the tournament, not to mention a photo of the clubs in the golf bag as they walk down the fairway in Sweden. Also accompanying this lot is a signed letter from Jack himself in reference to the well used clubs.
After The Open in July 1970, Jack Nicklaus left Scotland and went back to the US. Just some months later was back in Europé, in Stockholm, Sweden; invited by his good friend Sven Tumba to play the first Volvo Open, later known as the Scandinavian Enterprise Open and Scandinavian Masters. Tumba was one of Sweden's most prominent ice hockey players of the 1950s and 1960s. He also represented Sweden in soccer as well as golf. After his retirement from ice hockey, he became an accomplished golfer, a golf course designer as well as an ambassador to the game of golf.
The Volvo Open was played on Royal grounds, at Drottningholm golf course, just outside Stockholm, on an island in Lake Mälaren. Mathias Fock was there as a young 18 years old. With a brand new driver license, he was there to work as Jack Nicklaus’s private chauffeur. Every morning Jack was picked up at the Grand Hotel in the city center of Stockholm and brought to the course by Mathias, and every afternoon he took him back to the hotel.
On the final day, after Jack finished second by a single stroke to the Frenchman Jean Garaialde, he was in a hurry, and relayed this to Mathias. Mr. Fock states “Jack Nicklaus came rushing to the car, where I was already waiting, jumped in and told me to “step on it.” He had been invited to an event where also parts of the Royal family would attend. Going 60mph (100 kph) in a 30mph (50 kph) zone will attract the police, and that’s exactly what happened. The police officer walked up to the left side of the bar and asked him to roll down the window.
”Hm, I see that you have had your license for only two weeks, and now you seem to be pretty eager to lose it. Already? Tell me, why is that?”
”No thank you,” Mathias said.
Jack Nicklaus saw and heard everything from the passenger seat. He leaned forward and spoke to the officer pleading to place the blame on himself. The police officer bent down and stuck his head into the car, to be able to see more clearly, who the guy was who had addressed him in English. He had recognized Jack. After getting a stern warning, agreeing to follow the rules of the road for the rest of his life, and being let go Mathias got Jack to the meeting with the Royals on time.
The day after, Sven Tumba came to Mathias with his arms full of golf clubs, a nice bunch of MacGregor VIP, the Jack Nicklaus design.
Sven said:
”Jack, wants you to have these clubs, as a small compensation for the incident yesterday. These are his clubs. Be nice to them,” Sven Tumba said and walked away.
Mr. Fock was of course very happy, even if he did not really grasp what a gift he had been given. It was far too big a gesture. Sven came back the next day and requested only a single club from the gifted set, the driver. Mathias was happy having all the rest of the irons and one wooden club. The putter, Jack kept.
A reporter from the biggest golf magazine in Europe, the Swedish "Svensk Golf" went to North Palm Beach in Florida to interview Jack. Following up on the story of Mathias and how a young Swedish man has Jack Nicklaus’ personal clubs, he asked Jack about it. The reporter reminded Jack Nicklaus about the story back in 1970. ”Oh yeah, now that you tell me… So that’s where the clubs ended up," Jack Nicklaus said, with a smile.
Please note: This auction will end at 7:00pm EST on Sunday, January 29th with EXTENDED BIDDING to follow. All items in the auction will remain open until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period. All lots are free to be bid on until extended bidding has ended
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