Jack vs. Tiger: Who's the Greatest Golfer?

[jet pilot]

my vote is for Tiger. He is without a doubt the best golfer to play the game. It is only a matter of time before he passes all of Jack's records

[Titanfann]

I love to watch Tiger and I don't normally pull against him. However, I love to see someone push him a little. I love Jack because I never had to worry about hearing the "F" word on TV when him and Tom battled it out. Just wonder how Tiger will feel when his children get old enough to watch him on TV and wonder if he'll tone it down a little then. I don't care how focused or into it he is...he doesn't have to act that way....many times it's over the top witht he cussing and beating his golf bag...just my "humble" opinion.

[Bug Bunny]

Tiger is one of, if not THE, most impressive athlete of our time!!!!

[caddyshaq]

Tiger is the most mentally tough athlete.

[lobsterzilla]

I love to watch Tiger and I don't normally pull against him. However, I love to see someone push him a little. I love Jack because I never had to worry about hearing the "F" word on TV when him and Tom battled it out. Just wonder how Tiger will feel when his children get old enough to watch him on TV and wonder if he'll tone it down a little then. I don't care how focused or into it he is...he doesn't have to act that way....many times it's over the top witht he cussing and beating his golf bag...just my "humble" opinion.

i wish tiger could be in this thread giving you the look he gave the reporter at the PGA who asked him about his tarnished reputation as a sportsman ...

come on people sticks and stones, lets all grow up and i've got to wonder .... for everyone in this thread who keeps say "oh im not old enough to see jack play" ... how do you manage to watch tiger play and never have seen jack ? do you only get network so you just see weekend rounds when they happen to be on tv ? Jack's wins are on golf channel atleast 1-2 times a week, i've seen jack play a hundred times over. that's a pretty weak excuse ...

[Harrison]

You also have to look at equipment. Lot's of people leave that out. Put the old school equipment in the hands of these guys and you won't be seeing such low scores. Tom Watson's British this year was a perfect example. In Tom's Prime he had to hit a 2 iron to go 214 yards on 18 Turnberry they said..... this year he ripped a 4 iron from 220 I believe it was. Balls stop better now, courses have better grasses now, drivers go WAAAAY longer now. It's a totally different game b/c of equipment. Tiger is going to pass Jack's record no doubt about it. He'll NEVER come close to 15 2nd places in majors though. To me that's astounding! To this golfer though..... Jack will ALWAYS be the man in my book. I never saw Jack curse on TV like Tiger the Sailor does. Tiger will never be the sportsmen that Jack is. Just my $.02.

[lobsterzilla]

i guess i sometimes forget how stodgy most golfers are....

[enduro]

i guess i sometimes forget how stodgy most golfers are....

Yeah, really.

I don't get so many people being upset with occasional profanity. It's 2009, people swear! People swear at the office every day here. The higher ranked you are the more you swear it seems. People with emotion use profanity sometimes. The great people are often driven with emotion.

[djhyro]

hard to say right now as they are in different points in their career..best to revisit this question when tiger has retired.

[soup]

Jack won 12% of his starts on the PGA Tour.

Tiger has won 28% of his starts on the PGA Tour (and Tiger really only plays in events with top fields).

End of discussion. It's a little embarassing to think Woods hasn't blown by Nicklaus. If you want to hold out until major #19 is in the books, that's fine. Don't ignore that Tiger has absolutely destroyed Jack.

You want to make the argument Tiger has better equipment, that's fine. I'll make the argument Jack's equipment was better than Bobby Jones' and Walter Hagen's. Same with the level of competition.

12% vs. 28% - no contest. Tiger could go winless for his next 350 starts and still have a 12% winning percentage.

[Dr. Manhattan]

Jack won 12% of his starts on the PGA Tour.

The scary thing about his winning percentage is that even though he's not winning by 15 anymore, he is becoming a more consistent winner. He has won 33 of his last 85 starts (38.8%).

[soup]

The scary thing about his winning percentage is that even though he's not winning by 15 anymore, he is becoming a more consistent winner. He has won 33 of his last 85 starts (38.8%).

No kidding. And he's 16 for 30 in the WGC events - and those fields are every bit tougher, if not moreso, than a major. Crazy.

Tiger has some double-digit wins left in his bag. His game has changed. He's looking to "own" his swing - something, he says, only Hogan did. When he was playing with that "balls out" mentality - if he put it together, it was curtains by big margins. He's toned it down - using more 3-woods, stingers and the like while improving his course management. Is he 18 for 19 in Top 10s the last two years? That's unbelievable. I get the feeling he has a 65-64-65-65 in his bag soon in one of these majors where he'll win by a dozen again. He looked absolutely unbeatable this past weekend - and he was still a little sideways off the tee. Even though his wins the last few weeks have been by just a couple of strokes - you never really feel like he's going to lose. It's been awhile since he threw up a 65 to start a major - can't wait to see what happens when that occurs.

[Dr. Manhattan]

No kidding. And he's 16 for 30 in the WGC events - and those fields are every bit tougher, if not moreso, than a major. Crazy.

If he swung as smooth on the course as he does on the range, he'd be even more dominant than he is. That's the funny thing about it. No one is perfect and Tiger still has quite a bit of immaturity with the driver. He gets up there and thinks he needs to hit it 350 to have a chance at making birdie on a par 5. And that's when you see him hit the kind of horrid tee shots like he did at the Buick Open in the third round where he birdied both par 5's on the back nine after putting himself in very tough spots. By all accounts his driving is much better on the range and his tempo is noticeably better on the range. I almost think getting older and having his swing slow down would almost be a benefit to him. He's no longer the longest in driving anyway. He's barely in the top 30. No need to pull the Incredible Hulk routine and try to kill the ball. His strength is his iron play, short game, and putting. So just get the damn ball in play off the tee and your chances of winning will go up significantly.

[soup]

Agree with all of that, too.

That may be evening things up a bit - Tiger off the tee with a 3W is 280-290, generally. These other guys are striping drivers 330. John Doe with a 8, 9 or wedge in his hand is probably on par with Tiger holding a 5, 6, 7. Watching the ShotTracker at work is a hoot - often, Tiger is 30 yards behind guys off the tee. It's like a built in handicap.

[rjal4296]

Tiger has given back to the game... early on.

IMHO: Jack catered to the wealthy clubs and corporations.

[Jackslap]

I think Tiger is better simply because I have a man crush on him.

[lobsterzilla]

These other guys are striping drivers 330. John Doe with a 8, 9 or wedge in his hand is probably on par with Tiger holding a 5, 6, 7. Watching the ShotTracker at work is a hoot - often, Tiger is 30 yards behind guys off the tee. It's like a built in handicap.

wait ... what ? are we watching the same tourny's ? Are we talkin about the same Tiger?

[Hellfish]

Tiger just cause he is from my time