Tim Rosaforte - November 6, 2012

• By Morning Drive Team
• Nov 6, 2012 7:08 AM ET

Renowned Swing Instructor Jim Flick passed away on Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. His legacy includes teaching many players of all abilities including pros such as Jack Nicklaus, Tom Lehman, and more recently, Beau Hossler. Rosaforte spoke to Jack Nicklaus on Friday and in many ways, Flick was an extension of Nicklaus’ original instructor Jack Grout. Flick for many years would watch Grout work with Nicklaus and learned a great deal about what made the teacher-student relationship effective. After Grout passed away, Flick began to coach Nicklaus at the 1990 Regions Tradition.

Flick began teaching Tom Lehman back in 1990 well before he became a Major Champion and #1 Player in the World. Like Grout with Nicklaus, Flick could sit and watch Lehman hit balls for hours and then they would discuss the swing. Lehman had a very close relationship with Flick and when he talked to Flick on Saturday morning last week thinking that Flick had already passed away, Flick simply said to Lehman: “Coach, go out and be Tom Lehman.”

Mark King of TaylorMade gave Jim Flick an opportunity to extend his legacy by giving him a chance to teach many players at TaylorMade’s facility in Carlsbad, California during the last years of his life. In Carlsbad, players would wait for hours for the chance to have Flick watch their swing and offer advice.