Most golfers would think twice before ripping a Jack Nicklaus design to his face. Kevin Kisner apparently did not. During a recent Fore Play podcast appearance, the four-time PGA Tour winner recalled sitting next to Nicklaus at lunch during a Memorial Tournament week and telling him exactly what he thought of Muirfield Village’s par-3 16th hole.
Kisner said he called the hole “complete dog s—” because he could not hold the green. Nicklaus, according to Kisner, pushed right back and told him it was “just a 5-iron.”
The exchange sounds funny now, but it also fits a much bigger story. Muirfield’s 16th has frustrated players for years, drawn public criticism from stars like Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, and pushed Nicklaus to keep rethinking one of the most debated holes on his course.
Kisner unfiltered at lunch
Kevin Kisner, a multiple PGA Tour winner, is known for speaking his mind. His appearance on the Fore Play podcast recently reminded fans of that quality in vivid detail. Kisner recalled sitting down next to Jack Nicklaus at lunch during one of his six Memorial Tournament appearances and telling the Golden Bear exactly what he thought of the par-three 16th hole at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Nicklaus asked Kisner what he thought of the course. Kisner did not hesitate. He told him the 16th was “complete dog s—“ and that he could not hold the green. Kisner said Nicklaus told him to shut up and replied that it was ‘just a 5-iron.’”
16th hole controversy
The par-three 16th at Muirfield Village is no ordinary hole. According to Golf Digest, Nicklaus thought about redesigning the hole for five full years before he finally acted. Before the 2011 Memorial, the hole was bulldozed. A bunker was removed, and a pond was added in its place.
Even after those changes, the complaints kept coming. In 2021, the green was reshaped, and a new tee box was added to make the shot more manageable. Still, tour pros continued to struggle. The wind is the main villain. When it blows from the wrong direction, the hole becomes something players genuinely dread.
Spieth and Day add to the debate
Kisner was far from alone in his frustration. Three-time major champion Jordan Spieth told reporters in 2023 that the 16th was “not a great hole in pretty much everyone’s opinion.” His words echoed what many in the field had been saying privately for years. Spieth was one of several top players Nicklaus personally consulted about what to do with the hole.
Jason Day took the criticism even further during the 2023 Memorial Tournament, when a television hot mic caught him venting after a poor shot, muttering that the 16th was a ‘motherf—ing stupid hole.’
Making the moment legendary, course designer Jack Nicklaus was actively commentating in the broadcast booth at that exact second, instantly hearing the insult and jokingly calling Day out on air.
As it happened, Nicklaus was in the TV booth at that exact moment. The exchange went viral and led to laughter and an acknowledgment from the Golden Bear that his critics might have a point.
Nicklaus responds by sketching changes
Rather than dismissing the complaints, Nicklaus leaned in. Sports Illustrated reported that Nicklaus sat down with Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth in the players’ dining room and discussed the hole at length. He then reportedly sketched a redesign plan on a napkin right there at the table for Spieth to see. That kind of spontaneous problem-solving reveals a designer who genuinely cares.
Nicklaus was clear about his motivation. He said he did not want players walking away from Muirfield thinking they had played a great 17-hole golf course. That one line says everything about his perfectionism and his pride in the work he has spent decades building.
Fun fact: Muirfield Village is the only course in the world to have hosted the Ryder Cup in 1987, the Solheim Cup in 1998, and the Presidents Cup in 2013.
Why is the 16th hard to fix
The fundamental issue with the 16th is its extreme volatility depending on the wind.
While a southwest wind keeps the hole challenging yet fair, a northeast wind completely transforms it, causing balls to overshoot the green and trickle down the back slope into the water or heavy rough. Players have very little margin for error and no reliable way to land the ball softly.
LINKS Magazine noted that Nicklaus himself admitted the original hole was essentially a connector. It got players from the 15th green to the 17th tee without offering much drama. The redesign added stakes but also unpredictability. That combination has never fully satisfied anyone, including Nicklaus himself.
Nicklaus valued the honesty
Kisner made a sharp observation during his podcast appearance. He said that Nicklaus probably respected him more than the players who walked in, smiled, and said the course was perfect. That tension between false praise and useful feedback runs through all of professional golf. Most players are too polite or too calculated to say what they really think to the faces of the people who make decisions.
Following a 2016 conversation with Kevin Kisner, the 16th hole at Muirfield Village underwent two significant redesigns, with the first adjustment occurring during the 2020–2021 renovation.
A subsequent, major structural overhaul in 2024 finally addressed lingering issues with wind and approach angles. From his perspective, that vindicates the criticism. He was not wrong to say something. The course evolved because players told the truth, and Nicklaus had the confidence to listen and act on what he heard.
Nicklaus’s Memorial legacy
The Memorial Tournament, held annually at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, is one of the most respected events on the PGA Tour calendar. The PGA Tour notes that Nicklaus opened the course in 1974 and hosted the first Memorial in 1976.
He has been the tournament’s anchor ever since. The event was founded with a specific purpose: to honor the legends of the game.
Muirfield Village is widely considered Nicklaus’s design masterpiece. The course features tree-lined fairways, dramatic elevation changes, and fast, contoured greens. Its closing stretch is particularly demanding. The fact that Nicklaus continues to tinker with it decades later shows a commitment to quality that most designers never demonstrate.
What does it say about golf culture
The exchange between Kisner and Nicklaus is entertaining on the surface. But underneath it is a more meaningful point about what keeps the sport evolving. Golf courses are not static.
They are living designs that respond to how the game changes, how players adapt, and how weather conditions interact with the layout. The willingness to revisit and revise is a sign of integrity, not weakness.
Kisner summed it up well. The locker room culture on tour is built on honesty. Players tell each other the truth. When that same honesty reaches the people with the power to change things, good outcomes tend to follow. The 16th at Muirfield is a better hole today because someone had the nerve to say it was not good enough. That matters.
Little-known fact: Nicklaus sold Muirfield Village to its members for just $445,000 so no fellow pro could ever accuse him of profiting off the tournament.
TL;DR
- Kevin Kisner told Jack Nicklaus his 16th hole at Muirfield Village was terrible during a lunch conversation, and Nicklaus told him to shut up.
- The par-three 16th has been redesigned multiple times since 2011, including a complete bulldozing that added a pond.
- Jordan Spieth and Jason Day both publicly criticized the hole, with Day’s hot-mic moment caught while Nicklaus was in the TV booth.
- Nicklaus acknowledged the criticism, sketched a redesign on a napkin for Spieth, and committed to making the hole fairer.
- Kisner believes Nicklaus respected the candor and cites the subsequent redesigns as evidence that honest feedback drives real change.
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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.
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