By Mike May
South Florida resident Jeff Simke has been a lifelong fan of golf. These days, the 70-year-old Simke, spends most of his days at the Village Golf Club in Royal Palm Beach, Florida where he teaches golf at Jeff Simke’s Golf Academy. In addition, he coaches the Cardinal Newman High School varsity boys golf team in West Palm Beach.
Simke’s experiences in golf date back to the mid-1970’s while a student at Florida State University.
“I didn’t start playing golf until I was in college,” recalled Simke. “I was pretty good by the time I graduated.”
He took that passion for golf and transformed it into a career.
While Simke is an accomplished golf coach, a proven instructor and a solid player, one of his greatest professional experiences was working as a caddie for golf legend Jack Nicklaus, aka the Golden Bear.
He interviewed with Nicklaus for the job as his caddy, in September 1981 and caddied for the Golden Bear for the 1982 season. It’s been more than 40 years since Simke worked for the 18-time major golf champion, but memories flood back like it was yesterday.
“Initially, I had a 15-minute meeting with Jack to interview for the job as his caddy,” said Simke. “Well, that 15-minute discussion lasted nearly two hours, we ate lunch in his office, and he offered me the job that day as his caddy. I accepted.”
Simke didn’t start working for his new boss until January 1982.
“My first PGA Tour event caddying for Jack was the 1982 Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open which was held at the Torrey Pines Golf Course,” said Simke. “Jack shot a course-record 64 in the final round and lost by one shot to Johnny Miller.”
Another near victory for Nicklaus took place that March when the Golden Bear played in Arnold Palmer’s PGA Tour event at Bay Hill in Orlando.
“At Bay Hill, Jack lost in a playoff to Tom Kite,” said Simke. “In the playoff, Kite chipped in from off the green, but Jack just missed a 15-foot putt to stay in it.”
The highlight of 1982 for Simke was Nicklaus’ win at the Colonial National Invitation which was held at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, in May. Nicklaus posted a four-round total of 273 (seven under par) and defeated runner-up Andy North by three shots.
“That was one of Jack’s last official PGA Tour wins,” said Simke. “He won his Memorial Tournament in 1984 and then he won the 1986 Masters, which was his final major championship win on the PGA Tour.”
Simke also remembers the weight of Nicklaus’s all-leather golf bag.
“It was about 40 pounds with clubs,” said Simke. “He played McGregor clubs and his putter was a George Low Wizard 600, plus he played a McGregor golf ball.”
As Simke reflects on walking inside the ropes with Nicklaus, he was impressed by Nicklaus’ ability to concentrate on every shot.
“I was amazed at his ability to consistently hit the shot that he wanted to hit,” said Simke. “After the shot, he could turn off his concentration and resume a regular conversation about what he was doing that night or the following day. With a golf club in his hands, Jack was laser-focused. His concentration was eye-opening.”
As focused as Nicklaus was on the golf course, he didn’t pay too much attention to the play of his fellow competitors. That’s where Simke helped his boss.
“My job was to keep track of his opponent’s score for the official scorecard,” said Simke. “I feel that I also brought youth and enthusiasm to the golf course. I was in my mid-20’s and Jack was in his early 40’s.”
While Simke is no longer working as a caddy and Nicklaus has since retired from tournament golf, Simke still relishes spending time on the driving range helping golfers enjoy the game which has always been good to him.
