Jack Nicklaus to release own line of golf balls

Jack Nicklaus has been almost as successful off the golf course as he has been on it. In 2012 the Golden Bear made $28 million in his various endeavors and it appears he's looking to add to that next year. Nicklaus announced that he will start carrying his own line of golf balls.

They will be manufactured by Bridgestone but stamped with his Golden Bear logo. GolfDigest said they will come in three variations. "Three balls will be available: Nicklaus Black, Nicklaus Blue and Nicklaus White, corresponding to the tee markers from which golfers regularly play." This is something the 18-time major winner has been thinking about for quite a while.

"For more than three years, we have contemplated entering the golf ball business, so over that time, I have been researching and testing golf balls," said Nicklaus "There are a lot of very good balls on the market, but I was not able to find a ball that fully met my expectations and hopes -- not just for me or other professionals, but more importantly, for the everyday golfer. So I simply decided not to enter the business until I found that ball. Well, I found that ball. Actually, I found three." I'm interested to see if he can put a dent in the Titleist or Nike golf ball market.

This doesn't seem like a move to create a bigger pie but rather take some of the already-existing pieces. I can't get real excited just yet with Titleist's stranglehold on golf balls but I'll be watching to see what kind of success Nicklaus has. It doesn't seem like he wonts for that.