Ask any golf fan where the greatest to ever do it comes from, and you’ll likely get a quick, confident answer. They’ll tell you he’s a Buckeye through and through. They aren't wrong. Jack Nicklaus, the man who redefined the professional game with 18 major championships, is a product of the American Midwest. Specifically, he’s from Columbus, Ohio.
But "where someone is from" is usually a bigger story than just a GPS coordinate on a birth certificate. For Jack, it’s about a specific suburb, a particular country club, and a father’s broken ankle that changed the course of sports history.
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The Upper Arlington Connection
Jack William Nicklaus was born on January 21, 1940. He didn't grow up in the heart of downtown Columbus; he was raised in Upper Arlington, a leafy, upscale suburb on the city's northwest side.
His roots there are deep. Honestly, they’re legendary.
He attended Upper Arlington High School, and if you're wondering where the "Golden Bear" nickname comes from, you don't have to look much further than the school’s mascot. They were the Golden Bears long before Jack was a household name. He was a multi-sport athlete there, not just a golf prodigy. We're talking about a guy who was an All-Ohio honorable mention in basketball and a beast on the football field.
It’s kinda wild to think about, but golf wasn't even his first love.
The Ankle Injury That Changed Everything
If Charlie Nicklaus, Jack’s dad, hadn't broken his ankle playing volleyball in 1950, we might not be talking about Jack today.
Charlie was a pharmacist—he owned a chain of drugstores—and he was a great athlete himself. After his injury, his doctor told him he needed to walk on soft ground to rehab the leg. That meant golf. Charlie joined Scioto Country Club in Columbus, and ten-year-old Jack tagged along to carry the bags.
Eventually, Charlie gave Jack a cut-down set of clubs.
The kid shot a 51 for nine holes his first time out.
Most adults can’t do that after a decade of practice.
Scioto is where Jack met Jack Grout. Grout was the pro at the club and became Nicklaus’s only teacher for his entire life. Think about that. In a world where modern pros swap swing coaches like they swap socks, Jack stayed loyal to the guy who taught him the basics in Columbus.
Is He Still in Ohio?
While his heart is clearly in the Midwest, you won't find Jack shoveling snow in Columbus these days.
In 1966, Jack and his wife Barbara made the move down to North Palm Beach, Florida. They’ve been there ever since. He lives in a massive, 15,000-square-foot waterfront estate in the Old Port Village community. He’s 86 now (as of 2026), and he’s gone on record saying that while he’s traveled the entire globe, Palm Beach is where he wants to be.
He loves the water. He’s an avid fisherman. He even updated his boat lift recently because, well, when you're the GOAT, you spend your retirement on a boat.
But he never truly left Ohio behind.
The Dublin Legacy
Just 11 miles from where he grew up is a town called Dublin, Ohio. This is the home of Muirfield Village Golf Club. Jack built this place from the ground up in the 1970s. He wanted to bring a world-class tournament to his hometown, and he did it with the Memorial Tournament.
He actually roamed those woods as a kid while hunting with his dad. He knew the land before it was a golf course.
Where to Find "Jack" Today
If you want to see the real history of where Jack Nicklaus is from, you basically have to do a tour of Columbus:
- The Jack Nicklaus Museum: It’s right on the campus of The Ohio State University. It’s got all 18 major trophies and a ton of mementos.
- Scioto Country Club: You can still see the plaque where he hit his first shot.
- Muirfield Village: This is his "masterpiece" and where his professional legacy lives on every year.
Most of his kids stayed in Florida, near the North Palm Beach home, but the Nicklaus name is still the biggest thing in Central Ohio. He’s the guy who once dotted the "i" in the Ohio State marching band’s Script Ohio—an honor almost never given to a non-band member.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
If you're looking to walk in the Bear's footsteps, here is what you should actually do:
- Visit the Museum: Don't just Google it. The Jack Nicklaus Museum in Columbus is one of the best-curated sports museums in the country.
- Check Out Dublin: If you’re in Ohio, visit the Muirfield area. Even if you can't get on the private course, the community Jack built around it is a masterclass in urban planning.
- Study Jack Grout’s Fundamentals: Nicklaus’s "hometown" swing was built on three pillars: keeping the head still, staying balanced, and swinging with a wide arc. They still work today.
Jack Nicklaus might live in the Florida sunshine now, but he’ll always be the kid from Upper Arlington who just happened to be better at everything than everyone else.