NAME:
Nick Price
AGE:
53
HOME: Lives in Hobe Sound, Florida.,
with wife Sue. Three children.
Nick Price was born in South Africa
to English parents who moved the family to Rhodesia when Price was very young.
Price would become a citizen, even serving in the Rhodesian Army during that
country's civil war (from which it emerged as Zimbabwe).
An older brother introduced Price to golf, and Price ran with the new game. As a junior, he dominated in his native country. At age 17, Price traveled to San Diego, Calif., where he won the Junior World Championship.
Price turned pro at the age of 20 in 1977. He played the European Tour in those early years, claiming his first victory at the 1980 Swiss Open. He won four more times on the Euro Tour in 1982, then joined the U.S. PGA Tour in 1983.
He experienced immediate success, holding off Jack Nicklaus to win the 1983 World Series of Golf. It was 8 years before Price won again on the PGA Tour, but when he did, he emerged as one of the best players in the world.
Price won the British Open in 1992. In 1993, he won 4 times in the U.S., led the PGA Tour in money and won the Vardon Trophy for low scoring average. In 1994, Price won his second British Open, plus the PGA Championship.
An older brother introduced Price to golf, and Price ran with the new game. As a junior, he dominated in his native country. At age 17, Price traveled to San Diego, Calif., where he won the Junior World Championship.
Price turned pro at the age of 20 in 1977. He played the European Tour in those early years, claiming his first victory at the 1980 Swiss Open. He won four more times on the Euro Tour in 1982, then joined the U.S. PGA Tour in 1983.
He experienced immediate success, holding off Jack Nicklaus to win the 1983 World Series of Golf. It was 8 years before Price won again on the PGA Tour, but when he did, he emerged as one of the best players in the world.
Price won the British Open in 1992. In 1993, he won 4 times in the U.S., led the PGA Tour in money and won the Vardon Trophy for low scoring average. In 1994, Price won his second British Open, plus the PGA Championship.
Price was a short hitter off the tee, but his fabulous iron play and clutch
short game kept him at or near the top of the golf world for several more
years. In 1997, he won his second Vardon Trophy on the PGA Tour.
Price hasn't won a major since 1994, but remains highly competitive. He has represented the International team at the Presidents Cup in each staging of that event from 1994 to 2003.
Price flies his own jet plane to and from tournaments.
Price hasn't won a major since 1994, but remains highly competitive. He has represented the International team at the Presidents Cup in each staging of that event from 1994 to 2003.
Price flies his own jet plane to and from tournaments.
In 1997, Price published the
instructional book, "The Swing" (compare prices).
Nick Price was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
Awards and Honors:
• Member, World Golf Hall of Fame
• PGA Tour money leader, 1993, 1994
• PGA Tour Vardon Trophy (scoring) winner, 1993, 1997
• PGA Tour Player of the Year, 1993, 1994
• 5-time member, International team, Presidents Cup
Nick Price was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
Awards and Honors:
• Member, World Golf Hall of Fame
• PGA Tour money leader, 1993, 1994
• PGA Tour Vardon Trophy (scoring) winner, 1993, 1997
• PGA Tour Player of the Year, 1993, 1994
• 5-time member, International team, Presidents Cup
Private
Jet Lifestyle
In
a career that began more than 30 years ago and has included tournament wins on
five continents, golf pro Nick Price has been the embodiment of the
international player. Born in South Africa and raised in Zimbabwe, the now 53-year-old
father of three started competing on the so-called Sunshine Tour in his native
land in 1977. In time, he moved on to the European PGA Tour, and then in 1983
Price joined the PGA Tour, beating Jack Nicklaus in his first year on that
circuit to capture the World Series of Golf.
Price
didn't win another Tour event for eight years. But when he did, he began a run
that soon led him to the pinnacle of the golf world. Price won his first major
in 1992, taking the PGA Championship, and followed that with four victories
during the 1993 season and six in 1994, including the British Open and that
year's PGA. Those performances helped him become the top-ranked player in the
world, and he was twice named the PGA Tour's Player of the Year. During his
career, he amassed more than $20 million in tournament winning, and in 2003 he
became a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
All
told, Nick Price won 18 times on the PGA Tour. But that tells only part of his
golfing story, for he also prevailed in 28 other professional events, in places
as far-flung as Morocco, Japan, Switzerland and Australia.
Not
surprisingly, Price turned to private jet travel as his schedule filled with
commitments to play in those international tourneys. His first airplane was an
IAI Westwind, which he bought just as his career was heating up in 1993. Then
he purchased a Lockheed JetStar 731, which coincidentally had been owned by his
friend and fellow Hall of Famer Greg Norman. Price used the JetStar for six
years, and upgraded again in 1999, acquiring a Gulfstream III.
He
sold his GIII in 2006, when he began to curb his international play, and bought
a fractional share of a Cessna Citation Excel. That change, however, has done
nothing to dampen his enthusiasm for business jet travel.
What
was it that drew you so deeply into private jets?
They
made my travel so much easier. That became even more important by the time I
started doing really well on the PGA Tour in the early 1990s and began playing
a lot overseas. I bought the JetStar and eventually the GIII because they were
capable of taking me wherever I wanted to go abroad.
Why
did you play internationally so much?
In
part, it was because I was from Southern Africa and wanted to play at least
three or four tournaments there each year. I also enjoyed competing on the
European PGA Tour and over in Japan and Australia. In my heyday, I probably
played 20 events a year in the U.S. and as many as 12 overseas. So, making sure
I had a good way to get around was very important to me.
What
did you like most about owning those jets and traveling that way?
Obviously,
the convenience and comfort were a big factor. I could arrive at tournaments
fresh and ready to play. It was also great for my family. Flying privately made
it easier for my wife, Sue, and me to bring our children around when they were
young.
Why
did you sell the GIII and get into fractional ownership?
I
stopped playing overseas. Once I did that, I told Sue it was time to sell the
plane.
You
used to do a bit of flying yourself, didn't you?
I
had about 150 hours in a single-engine plane, a Cessna 172, and also had some
time in helicopters. But these days, I leave the flying to others.
How
do you use your Citation Excel share?
I
buy 90 hours [a year] through CitationAir, and I use that to travel to some of
the Champions Tour events I play in every year, and also for the golf course
architecture business I started. Occasionally, I will also charter when the
situation dictates. Like a trip we recently took to Mexico for two days. It was
easier chartering a plane for two days so the pilots could spend the night down
there with us.
What
are you doing competitively these days?
I
play 18 to 20 tournaments a year on the Champions Tour. I wasn't sure I was
going to enjoy it. But once I turned 50 and got out there, I found it was all I
wanted it to be and more. I am playing golf for fun, and I am really enjoying
it. The fields are smaller, the guys out there are the ones I grew up playing
with and admiring, and for someone like me who is on the back nine of his
playing career, it is a more social, more entertainment-based tour. We all feel
we can still play pretty well, and we all have a pretty good time doing it.
How
have you done on the Champions Tour?
I've
done all right. I won my first tournament there in 2009, the Outback Steakhouse
Pro-Am, and I've made a little over $1 million in prize money each of the last
two years.
Did
you ever think of giving up competitive golf once your time had passed on the
regular PGA Tour?
I
really wasn't sure how much I did want to play after the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
I didn't play well, and truth be told, I had gotten burned out a bit. The best
way to explain it is that after that period in the 1990s when I played so well,
I really ran with it. I played a lot of golf, and it just wore me out after a
while.
So
how much are you playing these days?
I'll
compete in as many as 20 Champions Tour events in 2010, and probably three or
four other tournaments—unofficial events like the Shark Shootout and the CVS Charity
Challenge. I'll also do maybe seven or eight sponsor-related events a year.
How
else do you occupy your time?
My
golf course design business takes up about half my time. Actually, it is
probably my biggest love right now. I do two or three courses a year, and I am
going for a boutique-style operation. If you do multiple courses in a year, as
some guys do, it is difficult to be in control because you need so many people
to do your work for you. By limiting myself as I am, I can be really hands-on.
I can spend three or four weeks on-site during construction.
How
many courses have you designed?
I
am working on my 25th and 26th, both of which are in Mexico. I worked with
co-designers on my first 18 projects, so I could get as much of a grounding in
the business as possible. Then I broke off to go completely on my own.
Do
you have a favorite tournament win as you look back at your career?
Probably
the British Open in 1994. That is such a special tournament, and even more so
to me after coming so close to winning in 1982 and 1988. I finished second both
those years, to Tom Watson and Seve Ballesteros, and I never thought I'd win
it. So, it meant an awful lot to me. Holding up the Claret Jug was something I
will never forget.
Speaking
of the British Open, have you given any thought to entering that tournament
again after watching Tom Watson almost win it last year at age 59?
If
I could take my game up a notch, particularly my putting, I'd probably think of
going back there. But right now, I am just not good enough, and I'd far rather
give my spot to someone who has a better chance of winning. But you never know
what can happen down the road. The way I figure it, I have three or four good
years of playing left, and I'd go back to the British in a second if I thought
I was capable of competing.
What
would it take to make you feel that way?
I'd
need to become a multiple winner on the Champions Tour, maybe three or four
events there to even consider going back to the British.
Speaking of the British Open, have you
given any thought to entering that tournament again after watching Tom Watson
almost win it last year at age 59?
If I could take my game up a notch,
particularly my putting, I'd probably think of going back there. But right now,
I am just not good enough, and I'd far rather give my spot to someone who has a
better chance of winning. But you never know what can happen down the road. The
way I figure it, I have three or four good years of playing left, and I'd go
back to the British in a second if I thought I was capable of competing.
What would it take to make you feel
that way?
I'd need to become a multiple winner on
the Champions Tour, maybe three or four events there to even consider going
back to the British.
