If Jack Nicklaus is able to endorse some home products and people are willing to buy them, what is the man doing wrong? How is this low? Perhaps Jack has some skills, interest, and tastes in this area. The story we heard in Columbus when Muirfield Village was being built is that he was involved in every facet, including choosing the colors of wall and floor coverings, china, and silverware.
As Carlyle points out, his failures in some businesses are not at all unusual for an entreprenuer that's out there risking his capital. In fact, in this area, Jack is probably unusual in that he actually put considerable amounts of his own money into some deals. Some of you may think that this is a sign of a poor businessman; I think that he is an honest guy who believes in what he is doing.
Recently, I read in the paper about a local developer who is aggresively buying vineyards north of San Francisco. Apparently, he is spending $40,000+ per acre for land on severe slopes, a price that was thought to be well above market. The writer though focused on how the developer had done over a billion in real estate deals, and how savvy he was in these wine country acquisitions. Somehow, the story was left out of how this guy had walked out on several thousand apartment units that he "paid" with others people's money more than double what they were worth (getting all sorts of fees along the way, which he protected through fancy lawyering). Nicklaus gets involved in a few bad deals, despite all he has done, he is considered to be a business failure? We should all be such failures.
No one is perfect. But from everything I've seen, Jack Nicklaus has comported himself with honor and unusual grace. So what if a few of his much lesser peers made jealous remarks about him. Nicklaus has voiced strong opinions which some have criticized him for. I have followed his career closely, and I can't remember a single instance where I disagreed strongly about what he said. I have been around him on numerous occasions, and not once did I observe him acting in any way that is distasteful or unbecoming a man of his stature. More importantly, I know people who are intimate friends of the man, and, without exception, they have nothing but respect and affection for him. In fact, the only thing that I've ever heard about him that can be construed as a negative is that he likes to kid his friends and gets a little heavy-handed sometimes doing in.
We need heroes and role models today, and Jack is one of mine. He can endorse all the rugs he wants, and all the more power to him if he can make a couple of bucks. And if I see one that I like and can afford, maybe I'll buy it. I hope that he keeps creating businesses which will be turned over to his kids, and his kids' kids. I hope that he keeps building golf courses and that I have the good fortune to play a few of them.