From a trailer park in Arkansas to winning majors, John Daly has come a long way, but did you know it all started with a cartoon of Jack Nicklaus?

John Daly appeared on the Like a Farmer Podcast in February 2025, where Daly said:

“I learned how to play golf because of him [ Nicklaus], on a Jack Nicklaus golf lesson, a cartoon in Golf Digest back in ’70 or whatever it was. I just looked at the cartoon. I was four years old.”

When he was four, Daly's father gifted him a copy of 'Golf My Way', a book written by Nicklaus and famed sports illustrator Jim McQueen. Daly swapped professional balls for used ones and turned to baseball fields to practice, spending hours learning techniques the book described.

“I was looking at it like, okay, he grips it interlocking, take the club outside to hit a cut, take it inside, delay your legs, hit a draw. That’s awesome... I mean, I learned from a cartoon of Jack Nicklaus how to play golf.” 

Eventually, John Daly made his first major championship appearance at the 1986 U.S. Open. In the same tournament, Jack Nicklaus, then 46, recovered from an opening-round 77 and finished tied for eighth.

John Daly even solved the G.O.A.T. debate between Tiger Woods and his teacher

In the same podcast, John Daly talked about comparisons between Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

“I think you choose in generations. I don’t think you can choose one over the other. I think Jack is the greatest of all time players.”

Jack Nicklaus built his career on 18 major championships. Tiger on the other had 15.

“Because of his record, but I still think Tiger is the greatest player of all time. The reason I say that is no disrespect to these guys who won all these majors back in the day, but look where Tiger is. Every guy [was there] when Tiger came out to win a tournament,” Daly said during the podcast.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar