112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4040 

AN ACT 

To provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of 

Congress to Jack Nicklaus in recognition of his service 

to the Nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship in golf. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) Jack Nicklaus is a world famous golf pro4 fessional, a highly successful business executive, a 

5 prominent advertising spokesman, a devoted hus6 band, father, and grandfather, and a man with a 

7 common touch that has made him one of those most 

8 popular and accessible public figures in history. 

9 (2) Jack Nicklaus amassed 118 victories in pro10 fessional competition of national or international 

11 stature by the end of 2005, 73 of which came on the 

12 Professional Golf Association Tour, and 18 profes13 sional major-championship titles. He is the only 

14 player in golf history to have won each major cham15 pionship at least three times and is the only player 

16 to complete a career ‘‘Grand Slam’’ on the regular 

17 and senior tours. 

18 (3) Jack Nicklaus’ magnetic personality and 

19 unfailing sense of kindness and thoughtfulness have 

20 endeared him to millions throughout the world. 

21 (4) Jack Nicklaus has been the recipient of 

22 countless athletic honors, including the Muhammad 

23 Ali Sports Legend Award and the first-ever ESPY 

24 Lifetime Achievement Award. He became the first 

25 golfer and only the third athlete to receive the Vince 

26 Lombardi Award of Excellence and is also a five- 
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1 time winner of the PGA Player of the Year Award. 

2 He was also selected as Golfer of the Century by 

3 GOLF Magazine, Best Individual Male Athlete of 

4 the 20th Century and Sportsman of the Year by 

5 Sports Illustrated, and he was also inducted into the 

6 World Golf Hall of Fame. 

7 (5) Jack Nicklaus has received numerous hon8 ors outside the world of sports, including several ar9 chitectural awards for his work in golf course de10 signs, such as The Old Tom Morris Award which is 

11 the highest honor given by the Golf Course Super12 intendents Association of America, and both the 

13 Donald Ross Award given by the American Society 

14 of Golf Course Architects and the Don A. Rossi 

15 Award given by the Golf Course Builders Association 

16 of America. 

17 (6) Jack Nicklaus has been involved in the de18 sign of 275 golf courses worldwide and his business, 

19 Nicklaus Design, has 346 courses open for play 

20 globally. 

21 (7) Jack Nicklaus served as the Global Ambas22 sador for a campaign to include golf in the Olympic 

23 Games, which was achieved and will begin in the 

24 2016 Olympic Program. 
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1 (8) Jack Nicklaus was honored by President 

2 George W. Bush in 2005 by receiving the Presi3 dential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given 

4 to any U.S. civilian. 

5 (9) Jack Nicklaus has a long standing commit6 ment to numerous charitable events such as sup7 porting the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foun8 dation, which provides pediatric health care services 

9 in a five county area including Palm Beach County, 

10 Florida, has assisted in raising over $12 million in 

11 just five years for the cause, and continues to sup12 port several scholarship foundations, other children’s 

13 hospitals, and junior golf initiatives. 

14 (10) Jack Nicklaus continues to manage The 

15 Memorial Tournament in his home state of Ohio, in 

16 which contributions generated through the support 

17 of over 2,600 volunteers are given to Nationwide 

18 Children’s Hospital fund. This has garnered more 

19 than $5.7 million for programs and services at this 

20 hospital since 1976, so that Central Ohio will con21 tinue to have one of the best children’s hospitals in 

22 the United States. 

23 (11) Jack Nicklaus and his wife serve as hon24 orary chairman and active chairwoman of the 

25 Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation in 
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1 North Palm Beach, Florida, which provides free of 

2 charge health assistance and services to more than 

3 4,000 children and their families through Child Life 

4 programs (support therapeutic interventions for chil5 dren with chronic and acute conditions during hos6 pitalization), Miami Children’s Hospital Nicklaus 

7 Care Centers (to offer a new option to Palm Beach 

8 County area families with children who require pedi9 atric specialty care), and Safe Kids program (aimed 

10 at keeping children injury free and offer safety edu11 cation in an effort to decrease accidental injuries in 

12 children). 

13 (12) Jack Nicklaus established an annual pro14 am golf tournament called ‘‘The Jake’’ to honor his 

15 17-month-old grandson who passed in 2005, and it 

16 serves as a primary fundraiser for the Nicklaus Chil17 dren’s Health Care Foundation, which has raised 

18 over $3 million over the last several years. 

19 (13) Jack Nicklaus and General John 

20 Shalikashvili (ret.) serve as honorary chairs of the 

21 American Lake Veterans Golf Course in Tacoma, 

22 Washington, which is designed for the rehabilitation 

23 of wounded and disabled veterans. Nicklaus has do24 nated his design services for the improvement of the 

25 course, and raised contributions for the addition of 
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1 nine new holes, the construction of the Rehabilita2 tion and Learning Center, and for the upgrade of 

3 the maintenance facilities through a two-day event 

4 in Palm Desert, CA, called the ‘‘Nicklaus Nine’’. 

5 (14) Jack Nicklaus serves as a spokesperson 

6 and Trustee for The First Tee program which 

7 brings the game of golf to children who would not 

8 otherwise be exposed to it. 

9 (15) Jack Nicklaus remains active in tour10 nament golf, although he retired from competition in 

11 the major championships in 2005, when he played 

12 his final British Open, his final Masters Tour13 nament, and led the United States to a thrilling vic14 tory in the Presidents Cup. 

15 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Speaker of the House of 

17 Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Sen18 ate shall make appropriate arrangements for the presen19 tation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of ap20 propriate design to Jack Nicklaus in recognition of his 

21 service to the Nation in promoting excellence and good 

22 sportsmanship. 

23 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 

24 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

25 of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable em-
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1 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

2 Secretary. 

3 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

4 Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treas5 ury may prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicate 

6 medals in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to 

7 section 2 and sell such duplicate medals at a price suffi8 cient to cover the costs of the duplicate medals (including 

9 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex10 penses) and the cost of the golf medal. 

11 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

12 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

13 for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

14 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

17 Public Enterprise Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 

18 to pay for the cost of the medals authorized by this Act. 

19 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

20 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 
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1 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

2 Fund. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 16, 2012. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4040 

AN ACT 

To provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf 

and good sportsmanship in golf. his service to the Nation in promoting excellence of Congress to Jack Nicklaus in recognition of