Is Tiger Woods the best golfer ever???

[cobra24]

I really think he is far better then Jack, Arnold and everyone else. he is going to pass Jack pretty soon and i really do not see anyone beating him this week. with another win this weekend, that will put him one step closer to 74 wins. What do you all think?

[schillingouttheks]

I know he has the best golf video game ever.

[Looch Ness Monster]

It's a fair assesment but quite frankly he has ZERO competition. Would he have the numbers he does if he played head to head with some of the other golf legends? His biggest competition is Phil Mickelson, an absolute joke.

[cobra24]

It's a fair assesment but quite frankly he has ZERO competition. Would he have the numbers he does if he played head to head with some of the other golf legends? His biggest competition is Phil Mickelson' date=' an absolute joke.[/quote']

 

well, maybe he is that good and it makes them look that bad?

[cobra24]

I know he has the best golf video game ever.

 

lol this is very true!

[Tripleplay]

He may well end up as the best ever but I still think it is Jack at the moment.

 

It takes more than numbers to make a true great.

[TheKilo]

He absolutely is.

 

He has a case for being the best athlete ever.

[cobra24]

He absolutely is.

 

He has a case for being the best athlete ever.

 

Yes he does.

[ORS]

I'd love to see Jack in his prime with today's equipment. I think people who have Woods on the mantle of best ever would be very surprised. Jack not only won more (to date), but he's got a ridiculous number of 2nd, 3rd, etc place finishes at majors. He was always in contention and a threat to come from behind. Woods pretty much is on and walks away with it, or he's off and not winning.

[cobra24]

I'd love to see Jack in his prime with today's equipment. I think people who have Woods on the mantle of best ever would be very surprised. Jack not only won more (to date)' date=' but he's got a ridiculous number of 2nd, 3rd, etc place finishes at majors. He was always in contention and a threat to come from behind. Woods pretty much is on and walks away with it, or he's off and not winning.[/quote']

 

Just so you know.. Tiger just won his 70 PGA tour victory at 33 and Jack did it at 40. After Tiger wins the PGA this weekend he will be 2 off of jacks 73 all time. Tiger will destroy Jacks wins and will probably do it be for he is 34 years old.

[Spudboy]

I know very little about PGA but have observed from the periphery the development of the "sport".

 

My opinion: Tiger is likely the most skilled player in recent memory. Guys like Nicklaus, Palmer, Snead, Trevino, and yes, Lee Elder made it possible for the Tigers of the game.

[ORS]

Just so you know.. Tiger just won his 70 PGA tour victory at 33 and Jack did it at 40. After Tiger wins the PGA this weekend he will be 2 off of jacks 73 all time. Tiger will destroy Jacks wins and will probably do it be for he is 34 years old.

I'm aware of the stats. I don't think Tiger's peers match up to Jack's. There's no Player, no Palmer, no Johnny Miller, no Tom Watson. The closest thing to those caliber players is Mickleson and Singh (and now maybe Harrington), but they all fall short of the group I mentioned, IMO. This directly impacts how often each of them won respectively.

[Tripleplay]

He absolutely is.

 

He has a case for being the best athlete ever.

 

Presumably so does Phil "The Power" Taylor then?

 

Neither for me. I like my Athlete's to be, well..... athletic.

[rhet]

I'd love to see Jack in his prime with today's equipment.

 

Today's player putts on impossible greens, registering 12-13 on the stimp meter. The greens of the 60s were furrier, held approach shots better and were a lot easier to putt on.

 

That said, I think Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack were the best before Tiger. But he'll pass them soon.

[CrespoBlows]

He absolutely is.

 

He has a case for being the best athlete ever.

 

Jim Thorpe.

[ORS]

Today's player putts on impossible greens, registering 12-13 on the stimp meter. The greens of the 60s were furrier, held approach shots better and were a lot easier to putt on.

 

That said, I think Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack were the best before Tiger. But he'll pass them soon.

And the clubs they used couldn't impart as much spin to a ball less proned to spinning. The technology that improves the quality of the course improves the quality of the equipment too.

[cobra24]

I'm aware of the stats. I don't think Tiger's peers match up to Jack's. There's no Player' date=' no Palmer, no Johnny Miller, no Tom Watson. The closest thing to those caliber players is Mickleson and Singh (and now maybe Harrington), but they all fall short of the group I mentioned, IMO. This directly impacts how often each of them won respectively.[/quote']

 

You can add Y.E. Yang.. This guy is playing very well. I hope he sticks around. I really like his game.

[ORS]

Rough day for Tiger. Hard to hit quality shots with your hands around your throat.

[redsoxrules]

He absolutely is.

 

He has a case for being the best athlete ever.

 

I'd go with Roger Federer on that one

 

 

but as far as the best golfer ever he needs to pass 18 Majors first

[Mr Crunchy]

Tiger will blow all the records away before hes finished but he's never had a rival to challenge him on a regular basis, Michelson never really threatened him,Harrington hasnt consistantly challenged him either,Garcia was supposed to give him a run but it never happened.

Now in mens tennis we lacked the same thing for years but Nadal finally came on about 2 years ago and actually threatened Federer's dominance last year by beating him in Wimbleton.

f*** all these guys, I havent witnessed anything like I saw yesterday in the world of athletics.

See Usain Bolt run a 9.58 and obliterating his world record of 9.69 run in China last year?

See the fastest American time ever,a 9.71 run by Tyson Gay get pulverized by Bolt?

See Gay smiling because he accomplished what no other American sprinter in history accomplished?

Edwin Moses ran hurdles undefeated between 1977-1987,122 straight races without losing, Carl Lewis was a burner,won 9 gold medals in 3 different olympiads and had world records in the 100,4x100 relay and the long jump and went 65 straight events without losing in that event, the most accomplished sprinter in American history bar nbne. Michael Johnson began the new style of upright running and put the 200 on the map and Bob Hayes Reynaldo Neimaiah Willie Gault and James Jett all had NFL careers.

American sprinters were the Cats ass till Ben Johnson decided to roid up and run for Canada like Donavan Bailey did, both tremendous runners in their own right. What I saw yesterday was THE most jaw dropping experience I have yet to witness in Athletics, a 9.58 is just insane, a # thats a full 1/10th of a second faster than his Olympic run was last year, can this guy get faster as he ages?

Can we see a 9.49 some day? This is pure athleticism at its finest and Usain Bolt is the man.

[BoSox21]

Tiger will blow all the records away before hes finished but he's never had a rival to challenge him on a regular basis' date=' Michelson never really threatened him,Harrington hasnt consistantly challenged him either,Garcia was supposed to give him a run but it never happened.[/quote']

 

Golf is a game involving the player vs. the course. The argument of "well he doesn't have a rival on his level" could maybe apply to other sports but not golf.

[Tripleplay]

Golf is a game involving the player vs. the course. The argument of "well he doesn't have a rival on his level" could maybe apply to other sports but not golf.

 

How does that stop someone "beating the course" better than him. They are still in direct competition so it is a valid argument.

[TheKilo]

How does that stop someone "beating the course" better than him. They are still in direct competition so it is a valid argument.

 

It's not though, he doesn't have any control over what the other individual does. You can't play defense in golf.

[ORS]

No, you can't play defense, but whether you need par or birdie determines how you approach a given hole. Whether you need par or birdie is dictated by your competition.

[TheKilo]

No' date=' you can't play defense, but whether you need par or birdie determines how you approach a given hole. Whether you need par or birdie is dictated by your competition.[/quote']

 

But if you execute your shots better prior to that point you may not need a par or birdie.

[BoSox21]

It's not though' date=' he doesn't have any control over what the other individual does. You can't play defense in golf.[/quote']

 

That's pretty much what I meant. Besides, is the perception that Woods' legacy is weaker cause he doesn't have a direct rival his own fault, or is he just that much better than everyone? Wouldn't history look kinder on Mickelson, Singh, Els, Harrington, etc. had Tiger Woods never been born?

[ORS]

"May" not, again, whether you do or not is dictated by your competition. I agree with Crunchy's point for one reason. I've seen tons of people get paired with Tiger in the final group on the final day and fold like a lawn chair. Complete soiling of the britches by the turn. The elite guys just below Woods in terms of talent disappear when he's playing well. This didn't happen when Jack was playing. Is that Woods' fault? No, but I don't think it should be ignored when looking at career comparisons.

[BoSox21]

So then just use history to compare them. Yes, the equipment was different but in each era, every competitor is using the same equipment. And in this era, Woods & Co. are competing on juiced-up courses compared to back in Nicklaus & Co.'s era.

[ORS]

That doesn't address the quality of the field of competition.

[BoSox21]

which is irrelevant when it comes to golf IMO anyway