structural:reformatting
Playing style

During his prime, Nicklaus was consistently among the longest and straightest hitters on the PGA Tour. In 1963, he won the long-drive contest at the PGA Championship with a belt of 341 yards, 17 inches (312 meters), a record that lasted more than 20 years. He preferred the fade (left-to-right shape) for his ball flight, since this allowed the ball to stop quickly on hard and fast greens. His fades could reach long par fours and par fives in two shots. Nicklaus considers his longest drive in competition to be during the final round of the 1964 Masters on the 15th hole, where he had less than 160 yards left to the 500-yard par five. He hit an eight-iron slightly over the green for his second shot.

Nicklaus debuted as a young pro who hit the ball very high. Later, he could also hit lower-trajectory shots as needed. He also developed a right-to-left controlled draw.

In 1968, IBM kept PGA Tour statistics. Nicklaus led two categories for the season: he had an average driving distance of 275 yards, and hit 75 percent of greens in regulation; both marks were significantly ahead of his rivals.

Even though official PGA Tour statistics were not kept until 1980, Nicklaus was consistently the leader in greens hit in regulation through that year, displaying great command of the long and middle irons. Indeed, Nicklaus remained in the top six of this category through 1985 – far past his best playing years. Nicklaus also finished 10th in driving distance and 13th in driving accuracy in 1980 at age 40, which equated to a "Total Driving" composite of 23 – a statistical level not attained since, by a comfortable margin. Nicklaus led this category through 1982. One key to Nicklaus's ball-striking ability and overall power was his exceptional swing tempo. Of this Tom Watson referred to it as Nicklaus's greatest strength in its ability to remain smooth. This proved an asset, especially under pressure, which allowed him to obtain great distance control with his irons.

Nicklaus was also known for his course management skills. He would plan to hit each full shot to the optimal position, to best set up his next shot, usually aiming for level lies and clear approach lines, while favoring his preferred shot shapes. He would often hold back on power to achieve this, but had a power advantage over most rivals through the set, so that he could hit a 3-wood or 1-iron from the tee with increased accuracy to avoid trouble, with sufficient length to keep up with the drivers hit by most rivals. An exceptional example of this came in the final round of the 1966 Open Championship at Muirfield, on the 17th hole, a 530-yard par 5 hole. Nicklaus needed a birdie, but the hole was framed by tall fescue rough, and was playing downwind with very firm turf conditions. He used a 3-iron from the tee and hit the shot 290 yards, then hit a 5-iron 240 yards onto the green, two-putted for birdie, and parred the final hole to win the title.

Nicklaus was the first player to chart and document yardages on the course on a consistent, planned basis. For most of his career, he was not known for his skill on touch shots with the wedges, so he would often play to avoid wedge shots that needed less-than-full swings. Gary Player stated that Nicklaus had "the greatest mind the game has ever known".

Nicklaus was not known for being an outstanding putter, but he was often able to make the important putts when they were needed. Nicklaus's putting was highly regarded by his rivals. He was also known as a conservative player at times; he went for broke only when it was necessary. This was especially apparent on the greens, where he would often choose to be less aggressive and make sure of an easy two-putt. Nicklaus spoke about this in his autobiography. "I was a fine two-putter, but sometimes too defensive—too concerned about three-putting—to go for putts that I probably should have gone for."