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Jack Nicklaus family tree: Meet wife Barbara, parents, children, grandkids and more about golf legend's roots originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Jack Nicklaus is the greatest golfer of all-time.
Despite being 86 years old, he still holds the record for the most golf majors won in a career, and currently has a three-win lead over Tiger Woods. Nicklaus' life has been golf. While he was still playing, he started designing courses and holes, and even came up with his own tournament.
Nicklaus has had a lot of success in his career, and was one of two children to his mother and father. He and his wife Barbara had five kids, and he has 24 grandchildren. Even though he is only 86, Nicklaus now also has seven great-grandchildren. Many in his family have pursued golf, but none have reached the levels he has and have instead joined the family business, whether on the links or in their community.
Here is more on Nicklaus' family, including his wife, kids and grandchildren.
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Jack Nicklaus wife: Barbara Bash
Barbara was born in 1940. She met her husband, Jack, at Ohio State in 1957 when she was an incoming freshman and a pre-nursing student. Hours after meeting for the first time, Jack called her to set up a date. They started officially dating a few weeks later, and will now have been married for 66 years come July 2026. She and Jack remain avid Buckeye football fans.
She has become the driving force behind the Memorial Tournament. It was founded by Nicklaus but she put herself in charge of fan enjoyment. Even now, as the tournament approaches, she will go through the course with a notepad and note what needs to be changed or improved for the fans.
'First Lady of Golf'
Barbara spent years doing charitable work for golf, her home state of Florida and with the Nicklaus Children's Center Health Center. She helped to start the Tour Wives Association, which had raised more than $6 million for charity as of May 2025. Barbara was recognized as an Honoree at the Memorial Tournament in 2025. She set the standard of expectation for a wife of a TOUR golfer, and continued to make an impact well after Jack stopped playing.
When she was chosen as the 2025 Honoree, Jack said, "From day one, she's been the guiding light for good common sense and good judgment, and the TOUR wives have all looked up to Barbara and where she's gone and what she's done. The people who have come into this tournament, many, many have come here because of Barbara.”
She won the inaugural "First Lady of Golf" Award in 1998. Barbara also previously won the 1990 PGA TOUR Ambassador of Golf Award, the 2015 Bob Jones Award (which is the USGA's highest honor) and the 2019 PGA of America Distinguished Service Award.
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Jack Nicklaus children
Nicklaus and his wife, Barbara, have five children together.
Jack Nicklaus II
Jack Nicklaus II was born on September 23, 1961. He played in 14 Korn Ferry Tour events and made the cut four times. While his golf career didn't follow in his father's footsteps, he stayed in the game and went on to become a big part of "Nicklaus Design," his father's company that designs golf courses. Jack is the President of the group and a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
Steven Nicklaus
Steven was born in 1963 has the honor of being the lone Nicklaus son who opted not to turn pro in golf. He has still played in tournaments, and his dad even shouted him out ahead of a casual tournament in 2018. Steven has caddied for his dad in the past, but has mainly pursued his own ventures.
Nancy O'Leary
O'Leary is the lone daughter of Nicklaus and Bash. She didn't try to play golf in her career, but has been an instrumental part of the Nicklaus Children's Hospital and the family's Nicklaus Children's Center Health Care Foundation. The Children's Hospital in Coral Terrace, Florida, opened in 1950. It was initially known as Variety Children's Hospital, and later as Miami Children's Hospital. It was renamed yet again in 2015 in honor of Jack and Barbara.
While legally named Nancy, she tends to go by "Nan." She was born in 1965, and she had a childhood health scare that inspired the family to look into providing assistance in the pediatric realm.
Gary Nicklaus
Gary Nicklaus is the most experienced golfer in the family outside of his father. He was born in 1969 and went on to play collegiate golf at Ohio State like his dad. Gary's pro career got off to a slow start and then had a quick finish. He played in a total of 122 PGA Tour events in his career, but only won junior majors. Gary was on the PGA Tour from 2000 to 2003.
One of his best highlights actually came in the Masters Par-3 Contest. He was caddying for his dad in 2018 and was given the chance to hit a tee shot. Gary aced the hole.
Michael Nicklaus
Michael is the youngest of the five Nicklaus children and was born in 1973. He had a brief entry in the golf world, playing two events in the Korn Ferry Tour, but missing the cut both times. Since he ended his golf career, he has gotten into real estate in South Florida and is the owner of Nicklaus Vance, which is a real estate group.
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How many grandchildren does Jack Nicklaus have?
Nicklaus has 24 grandchildren. His first child was born in 1961, and his first grandchild, Gary, was born around 2002 or 2003.
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Jack Nicklaus family tragedy
The Nicklaus family suffered a tragedy in 2005. At the time, Nicklaus' 17-month-old grandson Jake passed away unexpectedly.
What happened to Jack Nicklaus' grandson?
Nicklaus' grandson escaped the nanny's and his older brother's notice. Jake made his way to the family hot tub despite the safety barriers. Jake fell into the hot tub where he had been playing earlier and drowned. The nanny found him in the water and performed CPR until emergency workers arrived. He had passed before first responders made it to the home.
How many great-grandchildren does Jack Nicklaus have?
Nicklaus, being one of two children, comes as a surprise, given that he has a massive family now. Along with all of his five children and 24 grandchildren, he is now old enough to have great-grandchildren. As of April 2026, Nicklaus has seven great-grandchildren.
A golf commentator asked Nicklaus in 2025 if he could name all of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren without his wife helping track the names by writing them down. Nicklaus said, "Sure, of course. Do you have 10 minutes?" He then proceeded to name them all.
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Jack Nicklaus family photos
It is hard to get all of Nicklaus' family together for pictures since there are 38 members of the family. But when they do, the pictures look impressive.
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Jack Nicklaus parents
Nicklaus was born to Louis "Charlie" Nicklaus and Helen Schoener in 1980.
Jack Nicklaus dad: Louis 'Charlie' Nicklaus
Charlie worked as a pharmacist, running several Nicklaus Drug Stores. Before becoming a businessman, he played football for Ohio State. After leaving the Buckeyes, he played semi-pro football for the Portsmouth Spartans. Charlie passed away in 1970 when he was 56 years old from his battle with pancreatic cancer.
Charlie and Helen's love story is well documented. They went on a blind date together, and both claimed it was love at first sight. Helen had moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and Charlie actually mailed her a letter proposing to her, with an engagement ring in it.
Jack Nicklaus mom: Helen Schoener
Not much is known about Schoener's childhood, but an NBCSports article noted that her childhood and adolescence were "scarring." She lost all of her family and was forced to move to the East Coast "because she had no kin alive at home." Because of this childhood trauma, Schoener was more reserved and shy than Charlie, who was more outgoing. She moved from Columbus to Baltimore to live with her aunt after losing both of her parents and her sister at a young age.
Schoener would get nervous when Nicklaus would be playing in tournaments, so while she would be there, she would often have to watch from afar. She was in attendance in 1957 when Nicklaus played the Masters for the first time, but opted not to attend regularly. In fact, she didn't watch him play in Augusta until 1986. Schoener said that she wanted to watch her son play the Masters one more time, and he said for her to attend in 1986. That year, the 46-year-old won his sixth green jacket. Nicklaus' sister said about the event, "That week was special. I think my mom being there was in Jack’s mind. It was meant to be."
Schoener passed in 2000.
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Does Jack Nicklaus have any siblings?
Nicklaus has a massive family, but only one sibling. He has a younger sister named Marilyn. In 2017, the Jack Nicklaus Facebook account posted a photo from the 1986 Masters with himself, Marilyn and their mother and wished Marilyn a happy birthday.
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Where is Jack Nicklaus from?
Nicklaus was born in Columbus, Ohio in January 21, 1940. He grew up in a suburb of the city and attended Upper Arlington High School. Nicklaus returned to Columbus to attend Ohio State University. He didn't graduate because he turned pro before finishing his degree.
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Where does Jack Nicklaus live now?
Nicklaus lives in North Palm Beach, Florida. Along with Columbus, Ohio it is considered where he has spent the most time. He and his wife Barbara have lived in the Lost Tree Village community in North Palm Beach for more than 50 years. The couple does still have a house in Ohio at The Estates at Muirfield Village.
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