My Time With Jack

Jack Nicklaus and Charlie Mechem

Ed. note: With Memorial week upcoming at Muirfield Village, former LPGA commissioner Charlie Mechem provides memories and anecdotes of his association with Jack Nicklaus, the creator of the tournament and the golf course.

During my years as LPGA Commissioner we often had dinner parties at our home in Jupiter, Florida.  One night we entertained several LPGA pros and we asked Jack and Barbara Nicklaus to join us. We discussed a number of things, one of which was why did women tennis players fare better than LPGA players in compensation, media attention, etc. I said to Jack that I thought the primary reason was that their major events were held at the same time and venue as the men’s major events. For example, at the U.S. Open in New York City, if you were watching Björn Borg and John McEnroe and wanted to watch Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, you only had to walk a few yards into an adjoining court.  I then said that this was impossible in the golf world.

Later in the evening Jack said, “Wh...