Jack Nicklaus studied his putt on the first green of The Bear and looked puzzled.

That, in itself, was amazing because A) He’s the greatest golfer who ever lived and B) He designed The Bear golf course at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa where he was playing an exhibition back in 1987.

So he did what all good golfers do. He asked his caddy for advice. In this case, that was me.

As a member of the media at the time, I had been asked to caddy for Nicklaus for three holes, one of three media members to get the invitation since he was only playing nine holes. I couldn’t reply fast enough to the invitation.

Since I had played the course a half dozen times and was yet to break 90 for 18 holes on The Bear (a record that’s still intact), I was the very person he shouldn’t have asked for advice about his putt.

But since I have what I call a “quarterback’s confidence,” I gave him a quick reply when he asked, “What do you think, Nick?”

“I think it’s going to break right about three feet before the cup,” I said.

“That’s what I thought you’d say,” he said with a laugh, and the gallery around us also laughed as Nicklaus motioned that he thought the putt would break left – the other way – just before the hole.

Guess what? He was right. So he started his day with a birdie. And the first of my three holes was finished as his caddy.

I thought picking up his bag and walking three holes with him was going to be a breeze. Wrong.

After we shook hands near the first hole, he asked to see me sling his golf bag around my shoulder. As it turns out, it was the heaviest bag I’d ever lifted.

“Geez, what do you have in this thing,” I asked, as he smiled.

“Well, I piled everything I could think of in there to get back at you media people,” he laughed.

As the sports editor of the local paper, I had interviewed him before and always found him down-to-earth and very accommodating. That’s not true of very many “big name” athletes I encountered but was true of the guys I called my heroes – athletes like Al Kaline, Gordie Howe and Barry Sanders.

As we walked the three holes on The Bear, I found that Nicklaus not only enjoyed talking about the game he loved, he also enjoyed sharing stories about his impressive high school basketball career and about his family.

I asked him how he juggled all his roles – golfer, golf course designer and family man.

“Priorities,” he said. “Priorities and a very understanding and wonderful wife.”

I stood off to his side – he told me exactly where to stand – when he hit his shots. He was like a machine – pounding his long irons, long woods and short irons to within a few feet of the pin. He was gracious with the fans who came out to see him put his blessing on The Bear.

He also surprised me by asking me about myself and my family as we strolled along the fairway. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.

As I handed off the golf bag after three holes, he asked me if I was going to stick around. I did and I was rewarded with a hilarious moment a few holes later.

He landed in one of the deep sand traps he had designed. His first attempt to get out hit the top of the trap and rolled back in.

“Now I’m going to do an impression of several of you golfers,” he said, smiling. So he picked up the golf ball and threw it onto the green.

The crowd roared. It was Jack Nicklaus at his best – making the average Joe feel like a special Joe.

The great ones – not the great athletes but the great people – have a way of doing that.