( CNN ) -- Money has changed the game of golf -- and for the better , says Jack Nicklaus . The golfing legend , who holds the record for the most PGA major tournament wins , heartily approves of the big money that top players command and vast prize pots available to them . `` When we played , we had to play to win , to make a name , so that we could go make a living , '' Nicklaus told CNN . `` We did n't make a living playing golf . Today ... we 've got a couple of hundred guys who can actually make a living on the golf course , which is kind of neat . They do n't have to go out and do a bunch of other things to be able to take care of their families . '' After a professional career that lasted more than 40 years , Nicklaus now plays golf only once or twice a month . `` I 'm done playing golf . And my record is there . And do I enjoy it when I play ? Yeah sure . I enjoy it when I play . I have fun . But most of my efforts now are basically with my business . '' Designing golf courses is Nicklaus ' business , and China is a large part of where his company , Nicklaus Design , is finding opportunities . Talking at Pine Valley , a vast Nicklaus-designed 45-hole course outside of Beijing , Nicklaus believes that China will be home to future champions as well as millions of recreational players . `` I was asked a question when I was here on a trip . And it was before golf became an Olympic sport . And they said , 'Jack , do you ever see a time when you will see a Chinese player maybe be one of the top 10 players of the world ? ' '' `` I said , ' I wo n't be surprised in 10 or 15 years to see maybe half of the players in the world , come from this part of the world . ' Because I do believe that they will . I think you 're going to have a tremendous amount of players come from over here . '' Nicklaus also believes golf 's becoming an Olympic event at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016 will give the game a boost , especially in countries like China and Brazil that are relatively new to the sport . `` Will the gold medal ever compete with the Masters , the U.S. Open , the British Open ? Well , if you look at it , the rest of the world has never ever really worried too much about those . Now these emerging golf countries , you know what 's big in these countries ? Gold medals . The gold medal for the Olympics golf will be a major , major event . `` The Olympics are going to change the game from being an elitist sport to being an everyday , everyman 's sport . ''
Nicklaus ' professional career lasted more than 40 years . He now plays golf only once or twice a month . His company , Nicklaus Design , designs golf courses . Golf becomes an Olympic sport in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games .