H. R. 2203 

One Hundred Thirteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and fourteen 

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, good sportsmanship, and philanthropy. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds the following: 

(1) Jack Nicklaus is a world-famous golf professional, a 

highly successful business executive, a prominent advertising 

spokesman, a passionate and dedicated philanthropist, a 

devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and a man with 

a common touch that has made him one of the most popular 

and accessible public figures in history. 

(2) Jack Nicklaus amassed 120 victories in professional 

competition of national or international stature, 73 of which 

came on the Professional Golf Association (in this Act referred 

to as the ‘‘PGA’’) Tour, and professional major-championship 

titles. His record 18 professional majors, the first of which 

he won 50 years ago with his win at the 1962 U.S. Open 

as a 22-year-old rookie, remains the standard by which all 

golfers are measured. He is the only player in golf history 

to have won each major championship at least three times, 

and is the only player to complete a career ‘‘Grand Slam’’ 

on both the regular and senior tours. He also owns the record 

for most major championships as a senior, with eight. 

(3) Jack Nicklaus’ magnetic personality and unfailing sense 

of kindness and thoughtfulness have endeared him to millions 

throughout the world. 

(4) Jack Nicklaus has been the recipient of countless athletic honors, including being named Individual Male Athlete 

of the Century by Sports Illustrated, one of the 10 Greatest 

Athletes of the Century by ESPN, and Golfer of the Century 

or Golfer of the Millennium by every major national and international media outlet. He received the Muhammad Ali Sports 

Legend Award and the first-ever ESPY Lifetime Achievement 

Award. He became the first golfer and only the third athlete 

to receive the Vince Lombardi Award of Excellence, and is 

also a five-time winner of the PGA Player of the Year Award. 

He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame at the 

age of 34. 

(5) Jack Nicklaus has received numerous honors outside 

of the world of sports, including several golf industry awards 

for his work and contributions as a golf course designer, such 
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as the Old Tom Morris Award, which is the highest honor 

given by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of 

America, and both the Donald Ross Award given by the American Society of Golf Course Architects and the Don A. Rossi 

Award given by the Golf Course Builders Association of 

America. Golf Inc. Magazine named him the Most Powerful 

Person in Golf for a record six consecutive years, due to his 

impact on various aspects of the industry through his course 

design work, marketing and licensing business, his ambassadorial role in promoting and growing the game of golf worldwide, and his involvement on a national and global level with 

various charitable causes. 

(6) Jack Nicklaus has been involved in the design of more 

than 290 golf courses worldwide, and his business, Nicklaus 

Design, has close to 380 courses open for play in 36 countries 

and 39 States. 

(7) Jack Nicklaus served as the Global Ambassador for 

a campaign to include golf in the Olympic Games, which was 

achieved and will begin in the 2016 Olympic program. 

(8) Jack Nicklaus was honored by President George W. 

Bush in 2005 by receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 

the highest honor given to any United States civilian. 

(9) Jack Nicklaus has a long-standing commitment to 

numerous charitable causes, such as his founding, along with 

wife Barbara, of the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, which provides pediatric health care services throughout 

South Florida and in other parts of the country. The Foundation 

has raised close to $24,000,000 since it was formed in 2004, 

and has provided health assistance and services to more than 

4,000 children and their families through— 

(A) Child Life programs (supporting therapeutic interventions for children with chronic and acute conditions 

during hospitalization); 

(B) Miami Children’s Hospital Nicklaus Care Centers 

(to offer a new option to Palm Beach County-area families 

with children who require pediatric specialty care); and 

(C) Safe Kids Program (aimed at keeping children 

injury-free and offering safety education in an effort to 

decrease accidental injuries in children). 

(10) In October 2012, the Miami Children’s Hospital 

Nicklaus Outpatient Center was opened to provide pediatric 

urgent care, diagnostic services, and rehabilitation services in 

Palm Beach County. 

(11) Jack Nicklaus also established an annual pro-am golf 

tournament called ‘‘The Jake’’ to honor his 17-month-old grandson who passed away in 2005, and it serves as a primary 

fundraiser for the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation. 

The event alone has raised well over $43,000,000 over the 

last several years. 

(12) Nicklaus has been a tireless supporter of numerous 

junior golf initiatives, working with the PGA of America Junior 

Golf Foundation over the course of four decades, including 

the establishment of the Barbara and Jack Nicklaus Junior 

Golf Endowment Fund and the PGA-Nicklaus First Tee 

Teaching Grants. He also is a spokesperson for several PGA 
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of America and USGA growth-of-the-game initiatives. He continues to support several scholarship foundations, other children’s hospitals, and other causes, including spinal-cord 

research, pancreatic cancer issues, and Florida Everglades restoration. 

(13) In 2013, Jack Nicklaus, with the support of the 

National Park and Recreation Association (NRPA), launched 

the Jack Nicklaus Learning Leagues, taking team-concept golf 

to our parks system for children, ages 5 to 12. A non-profit 

foundation called Global Outreach for Learning Foundation 

(GOLF) was created to underwrite the program. By the end 

of 2013, they hope to have the program in more than 100 

locations and reach close to 25,000 children. 

(14) Jack Nicklaus continues to manage the Memorial Tournament in his home State of Ohio, in which contributions 

generated through the aid of over 2,600 volunteers are given 

to support Nationwide Children’s Hospital and close to 75 other 

Central Ohio charities. This has garnered more than $5,700,000 

for programs and services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital 

since 1976, so that Central Ohio will continue to have one 

of the best children’s hospitals in the United States. 

(15) Jack Nicklaus serves as an honorary chairs of the 

American Lake Veterans Golf Course in Tacoma, Washington, 

which neighbors a Veterans Administration hospital and is 

designed for the rehabilitation of wounded and disabled veterans. Nicklaus has donated his design services for the improvement of the course, and raised contributions for the addition 

of nine new holes (the ‘‘Nicklaus Nine’’), the construction of 

the Rehabilitation and Learning Center, and the upgrade of 

the maintenance facilities. The course is considered the only 

one in the United States designed solely for the use of disabled 

veterans. It served over 30,000 veterans and their families 

in 2011 to use the healing powers of golf to help them rehabilitate and recreate. The hope is that American Lake will serve 

as a pilot program for the more than 150 Veterans Administration hospitals nationwide. 

(16) Jack Nicklaus serves as a spokesperson and Trustee 

for the First Tee program, which brings golf to children who 

would not otherwise be exposed to it, and teaches them valuable, character-building life lessons through the game of golf, 

and is a national co-chair of the organization’s More Than 

a Game campaign. 

(17) Jack Nicklaus remains active in tournament golf, 

although he retired from major championship competition in 

2005, when he played his final British Open and his final 

Masters Tournament, and led the United States to a thrilling 

victory in the President’s Cup. He consults often with the 

PGA Tour, and no fewer than 95 Nicklaus courses have hosted 

a combined total of almost 700 professional tournaments. In 

2013 alone, Nicklaus courses will host 17 PGA Tour-sanctioned 

events. His Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio will be hosting 

the Presidents Cup in October 2013, making it the only club 

in history to have hosted all three of the game’s most prominent 

international team competitions—the Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup 

and Presidents Cup. It is also expected that his course at 

the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in New Songdo City, South 

Korea, will be named the host venue for the 2015 Presidents 
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Cup—the first time that country has hosted an international 

team competition of this stature. 

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make 

appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to Jack Nicklaus 

in recognition of his service to the Nation in promoting excellence 

and good sportsmanship. 

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

referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions 

to be determined by the Secretary. 

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may 

prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicate medals in bronze 

of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 and sell such duplicate medals at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the duplicate 

medals (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead 

expenses) and the cost of the gold medal. 

SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

The medals struck under this Act are national medals for 

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

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.