“Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.”

Hit the ball up to the hole… You meet a better class of people up there.

There is no similarity between golf and putting; they are two different games, one played in the air, and the other on the ground.

I don’t like the glamour. I just like the game.

If the Masters offered no money at all, I would be here trying just as hard.

Why that would be like challenging Bing Crosby to a singing contest,wouldn’t it

You hear stories about me beating my brains out practising, but the truth is, I was enjoying myself. I couldn’t wait to get up in the morning, so I could hit balls. When I’m hitting the ball where I want, hard and crisply, it’s a joy that very few people experience.

I have found the game to be, in all factualness, a universal language wherever I traveled at home or abroad.

Certainly, if you can’t manage your game, you can’t play tournament golf.

The only thing a golfer needs is more daylight.

You only hit a straight ball by accident. The ball is going to move right or left every time you hit it, so you had better make it go one way or the other.

Good golf begins with a good grip.

All other things being equal, greens break to the west.

You continually have to ask yourself what club to play, where to aim it, whether to accept a safe par or to try to go for a birdie. You can’t play every hole the same way. I never could.

Jesus Christ can’t hit a golf ball straight. It’s virtually impossible – at best it’s an accident.

Selecting a stroke is like selecting a wife. To each his own.

Your name is the most important thing you own. Don’t ever do anything to disgrace or cheapen it.

Shoot a lower score than everybody else.

I play golf with friends sometimes, but there are never friendly games.

I dreamed one night that I had 17 holes-in-one and one two, and when I woke up I was so goddam mad.

I had a 15th club in my bag.

You learn to accept defeat graciously in golf. Unlike other sports, the game itself is a constant opponent. It never stops. A golfer is fortunate to win a few times. We spend our whole lives trying to conquer something, and we lose a lot more than we win.

I’m about five inches from being an outstanding golfer. That’s the distance my left ear is from my right.

A shot that goes in the cup is pure luck, but a shot to within two feet of the flag is skill.

May thy ball lie in green pastures, and not in still waters.