Jack Nicklaus is more than a golfer, he’s an idea. It’s one thing to be the greatest champion the game has ever known, but to also be the quintessence of class, dignity and sportsmanship? Well, Jack represents something bigger than himself. In honor of The Golden Bear turning 80 on Tuesday (Jan. 21), GOLF.com is spending Nicklaus’ birthday week — with a little help from his friends — honoring the man himself. You can find even more Jack at 80 coverage in GOLF’s February issue.

Over the years, various people have been called the Next Nicklaus, with varying results. By birthright, Jack Nicklaus II was the Next Nicklaus. But Jackie grew up to be tall, slender and easy-going, and much more like his mother, Barbara, than his father, Big Jack himself. Ben Crenshaw was a Next Nicklaus, at least for a while. Eddie Pearce, Hal Sutton, Bobby Clampett and John Daly all carried the mantle at various times.

And then there are two special-case Next Nicklauses, Gary Nicklaus and Johnny Miller. Johnny, now 72, retired last year after 29 years as a broadcaster for NBC Sports. In the mid-1970s there was a stretch when nobody played better golf than Johnny, except for Nicklaus, and Johnny looked like he could be the next Nicklaus. Gary, now 51 and an entrepreneur and a sometimes competitor on the Senior Tour, was on the cover of  Sports Illustrated in 1985 as a promising 16-year-old golfer, accompanied by a three-word headline: “The Next Nicklaus.”

It seems almost unnecessary to say that neither became the Next Nicklaus. Sixty years after Jack’s first U.S. Amateur win, we know there will never be a Next Nicklaus. Nicklaus, who turned 80 on January 21, is one of a kind. But Gary and Johnny are in a special category because they figured out the best thing you can do, if people started calling you the Next Nicklaus. And it’s something any of us can do. They followed Jack’s example.

Johnny knows the exact day he entered the Jack Nicklaus mentorship program. It was on the Tuesday before the 1966 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club, in San Francisco. Two months earlier, Nicklaus had won this third Masters title. He was 26 but old for his age. He and Barbara, already married for a half-decade, had three children. Jack was heavy-set, he wore pork-pie hats over his oiled-back hair and did most everything, except make a downswing, at a languid pace. Johnny was a 19-year-old amateur hotshot with a body you could fit in a driver shaft, and he was a junior member at Olympic. John — what Nicklaus calls him to this day — and Nicklaus played a practice round together on that Tuesday.

“He treated that practice round like it was the fourth round,” Johnny said recently. Johnny and his wife of 50 years, Linda, recently moved to Pacific Grove, Calif., just a few miles from Pebble Beach. “And every round I’ve ever played with him since then was the same way. Same methodical pre-shot routine. Same level of focus. And over time I realized that if you treat a practice round like a competition round, then you can just keep doing your thing.”

It’s amazing how vividly Johnny remembers many of his interactions with Nicklaus.

“He must have thought I was okay, because at the end of the day he said, ‘Let’s go play San Francisco Golf Club tomorrow.’ He was ready for the Open. He wasn’t going to cram for the test.” And eventually Johnny saw the wisdom in that, too: Do it, but don’t overdo it.

Here are four things under the heading “John Watching Jack”:

1. Johnny saw that Jack had such a deep level of preparation, particularly at the majors, “that he could say to himself, ‘Who deserves to win this more than I do?’” To the degree he could, Johnny tried to do the same.

2. Johnny saw how Jack balanced his professional life and his family life, and he followed his lead. Jack and Barbara have five children; Johnny and Linda have six. “The only thing I beat him at was grandchildren,” Johnny said. He and Linda have 25 and Jack and Barbara have 22.

3. Johnny saw that Jack never tried to extract every last dollar from his business deals, always emphasizing the importance of long-term relationships, and Johnny has learned from that example.

4. Johnny saw that Jack resisted change, in his golf swing and his equipment and in various other things, unless he was absolutely convinced it was going to improve him, and Johnny saw the wisdom in that.

He saw the wisdom in staying close, even though Johnny lived in northern California and Jack lived in south Florida, in a community he helped settle, called Lost Tree Village. When Jack invited Johnny somewhere — on fishing trips, to look at courses he was designing, to play in various team competitions — Johnny was quick to say yes. He knew he’d learn something, and he knew he’d have a good time.

This comment is a half-century in the making. There are two things that Johnny says all people could take from Jack Nicklaus and apply to their own lives: Jack’s abiding sense of honesty and sense of fun.

“I remember at the 1975 Masters, at the awards ceremony,” Johnny says. Nicklaus had just defeated Johnny and Tom Weiskopf by a shot. “He says, ‘Thanks for making this so much fun for me.’ Easy for him to say!” Some years later, Jack paid Johnny one of the most meaningful compliments anybody ever has. As Jack’s sons were getting serious about golf, he said, “I want my boys to swing like Johnny Miller.”

On that SI cover, Gary looks like Johnny Miller, but golf never brought Gary Nicklaus the kind of pleasure it brought his father. But he followed his father into hunting and fishing, and being in the field and on the water did. Today Gary is one of seven members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. As a hunter, the first thing father taught son was gun safety. They went out to a nearby woods and took aim at a pine tree with a 410 shotgun. They then walked over to the tree and Jack had Gary rub his finger over the gaping hole where bark and wood had once been.

“Do you feel that?” the father asked.

“Uh-huh,” said the son.

“Now, if a 410 shotgun can do that to a tree, imagine what it can do to a stomach,” the father said.

Jack didn’t need a parenting book to figure out how visual learning works, and the value of learning by doing. Gary does the same thing with his son, GT, and daughter, Nina. GT is a golfer, so father and son have a natural meeting point. But Nina is not, just as Gary’s sister, Nan, was not. When Nan was growing up, Jack made an extra effort to have one-on-one time with his only daughter. Gary follows that example with Nina.

Then there was the long period, starting in 2003, when Gary didn’t play golf at all. His father’s life was defined by golf, and if he was disappointed, he didn’t let on. Then, after nearly four years of not playing, Gary told his father he was going to start playing again, but as an amateur, and Jack was glad to hear it. Gary said he learned from his father that “Life’s too short to be doing something you don’t want to be doing.” Jack, as a father, figured out that dictating a path has no chance for success, but setting an example does.

Jack shouldn’t sound too saintly here. If he gives you a hard time, he’s expressing his love! Back when Gary Nicklaus was the Next Nicklaus, he went off for a day of fishing with his buddies. Father said to son, “Keep this up and you’ll become the best fisherman in Lost Tree Village.”

Well, Gary did, and his father understood.

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More over, Jack. There’s another Nicklaus in town. The Golden Bear might hold the record for most majors wins ever, but his career is in the rearview. His son Gary, however, still has a shot at major glory after winning a three-man playoff to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open.

Gary Nicklaus, who turned 50 in January, decided to try his hand at a sectional qualifier to get into the U.S. Senior Open in his first year of eligibility. The qualifier took place at The Bear’s Club in Florida, a club founded by, who else, Jack and Barbara Nicklaus.

According to Jack, Gary was even through 16 holes when he heard he needed a two-under 70 to get into a playoff. That wasn’t a problem for Gary. He birdied the final two holes, then defeated two opponents on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to earn his spot.

His proud father congratulated him on Twitter Friday night, posting a photo of Gary with his son GT, who caddied for his dad in the tournament. Jack closed out the tweet by sneaking in a lighthearted jab at his grandson’s chosen hairtsyle, “Caddie (son GT) needs haircut!”

Proud of son Gary who qualified today for #USSeniorOpen! Gary, a senior rookie, was even thru 16 in qualifier at The Bear’s Club, heard he needed 2-under 70 to get in playoff for last of 2 spots & birdied last 2 holes. Won 3-man playoff on 1st hole!
Caddie (son GT) needs haircut! pic.twitter.com/pybP2jlj7k

— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) June 7, 2019

Though he doesn’t have as sterling a resume as his father, Gary Nicklaus is not new to the pro game. He spent three years on the PGA Tour from 2000-2003 before returning to the amateur ranks. After turning 50 this year, he joined the Champions Tour and has competed in three events so far.

Gary’s son and caddie GT Nicklaus isn’t too bad with a club in his hands either. In a moment the family won’t soon forget, GT made a hole-in-one at the 2018 Masters Par-3 Contest while caddying for Jack, setting off an exuberant celebration featuring cameos from Jack, Tom Watson and Gary Player.

The 2019 U.S. Senior Open takes place June 24-30, 2019 at The Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

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Gary Nicklaus, the son of 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus, made his official Champions Tour debut on Friday. Despite admitting he was “shaking like a leaf,” Gary finds himself in contention after 18 holes.

Nicklaus fired a promising five-under 67 in the first round of the 2019 Oasis Championship, the annual Champions Tour event held at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Fla. That stellar opening round, highlighted by a stretch of four consecutive birdies on holes 3-6, left Nicklaus T11 with two rounds to go.

“I was out of my element and kind of shaking like a leaf, which I didn’t expect,” Nicklaus said after his round. “But I kind of pulled it together, birdied the third hole and was off to the races.”

Nicklaus celebrated his 50th birthday on January 15th, thereby making him eligible to compete on the Champions Tour. He entered Champions Tour Q-school last year but failed to earn his Tour card.

But this isn’t the first time he’s competed at the professional level. Nicklaus enjoyed a brief PGA Tour career in the 90s and early 2000s. He played in 26 events before earning his PGA Tour card in 2000. He then played three seasons on Tour, which included a playoff loss to Phil Mickelson at the 2000 BellSouth Classic.

After losing his status in 2002, Nicklaus played on minor tours before he chose to retire from playing the game professionally. He has made intermittent appearances on the course since, including at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.

Gary wasn’t alone for his debut at the Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday. His famous father was on hand to follow his round, though he wasn’t about to play helicopter parent and interfere.

“I stayed as far away as I could,” Jack Nicklaus told the Golf Channel. “That’s probably the best thing I could do.”