After working in Cannes, France, the two Nicholls brothers emigrated to the United States in 1897 and 1898, when golf was growing rapidly in North America.
He had an older brother Bernard (also known as Ben), also an excellent competitive golfer, who posted five top-10 finishes in the U.S. Open between 1897 and 1907, although Gilbert eventually compiled the better record of the two.

Bernard Nicholls, then playing out of the Boston area, earned the distinction of twice defeating Harry Vardon, then the top player in the world, head-to-head, on Vardon's 1900 tour of the United States and Canada; those were the only head-to-head matches Vardon lost on that tour.

The first match was on February 17, 1900 at Ormond Beach, Florida when he soundly defeated the British star 5 and 4; and the second was at the Brae Burn Country Club near Boston on 13 October 1900 when he won 2 up in a 36-hole match.

The Nicholls brothers worked as club professionals and also sold golf clubs under the "Nicholls Brothers" and later "Butchart-Nicholls" brands.
Gilbert worked at clubs in Lexington, Massachusetts, St. Louis, Missouri, Denver, Colorado, Wilmington, Delaware, Beaumont, Texas, and finally Great Neck, New York.
After working in Cannes, France, the two Nicholls brothers emigrated to the United States in 1897 and 1898, when golf was growing rapidly in North America. He had an older brother Bernard (also known as Ben), also an excellent competitive golfer, who posted five top-10 finishes in the U.S. Open between 1897 and 1907, although Gilbert eventually compiled the better record of the two.
Bernard Nicholls, then playing out of the Boston area, earned the distinction of twice defeating Harry Vardon, then the top player in the world, head-to-head, on Vardon's 1900 tour of the United States and Canada; those were the only head-to-head matches Vardon lost on that tour.
The first match was on February 17, 1900 at Ormond Beach, Florida when he soundly defeated the British star 5 and 4; and the second was at the Brae Burn Country Club near Boston on 13 October 1900 when he won 2 up in a 36-hole match.
The Nicholls brothers worked as club professionals and also sold golf clubs under the "Nicholls Brothers" and later "Butchart-Nicholls" brands. Gilbert worked at clubs in Lexington, Massachusetts, St. Louis, Missouri, Denver, Colorado, Wilmington, Delaware, Beaumont, Texas, and finally Great Neck, New York.
Gilbert Nicholls