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

[iacas]

Considering Tiger's knee issues and the fact that his swing relies so heavily on athleticism, will he still be around at 50+? I wonder....

I don't think Tiger's knee is an issue any longer, and I personally don't care if he's around at 50+. He'll have done what he needs to do by 40. Then it wouldn't bother me one bit if he retired.

[twnuck]

You have to say Jack is the greatest UNTIL Tiger overcomes him - which I think he will before his career is over. So, at this point in time it's Jack but I highly expect Tiger to be the greatest before his career is over.

Todd

[Widgeonus]

Tiger is da man...

[plainsman]

control over power.

[hurley9192]

at this point...18 > 12

[lewisgl]

Until Tiger breaks Jack's record of 18 majors I go with Jack. I think Tiger will catch Jack and at that point will be the greatest, but not until then. Tiger has all the tools to get it done, no question about that. Jack did some great things with a body that wasn't in anywhere near as good a shape as Tiger's, and with pretty ancient golf equipment and with a relatively weak short game. I think Tiger has a stronger all around game because of his awesome short game, but as someone else already mentioned, Tiger has some work to do yet to surpass Jack.

[gaz d]

Tiger,because i wasnt around for the 'jack' era.

[golfmonke]

Definitely Tiger, Tiger has a much better short game!

[fairwaysngreens]

Johnny Miller said on TGC that because of times changing, technology changing, ect, if we paired up ben hogan, fat jack, and tiger, anyone could be the others on any given day. They are fairly evenly matched.

[Heathbeef]

Tiger and I got off on the wrong foot.

[Golfer7945]

For me Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time based on his win percentage.

take a look at the stats for tournaments entered and compare that with tournaments won!!! Then for fun take a look at the level of tournaments that Tiger chooses to play.

What say you? Forum Fans I look forward to the replies

[mstuk]

For me Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time based on his win percentage.

If that's your yardstick mate I say go and look at the record of Robert Tyre Jones junior and weep

[Flexin]

Tiger.

James

[Golfer7945]

Originally Posted by Golfer7945 View Post
For me Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time based on his win percentage.

take a look at the stats for tournaments entered and compare that with tournaments won!!! Then for fun take a look at the level of tournaments that Tiger chooses to play.

What say you? Forum Fans I look forward to the replies
If that's your yardstick mate I say go and look at the record of Robert Tyre Jones junior and weep

With all do respect the question compares Tiger and Jack. I realize that Bobby Jones was a great golfer.

[EbonyGentleman]

Tiger is the best in today's game. But....

"Jack's record is still...the one to beat."

RBS: The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

[Benefactor]

Why does this discussion always come down to those two? First of all, since major wins are apparently the sole measuring stick by which great players are measured, how the hell can Tiger be better than Jack as of right now? If Tiger retired or died tomorrow, he'd be 6 majors short....not even close to Jack. How the hell could he be the best? With that said, I don't think it's either of these two players who is the best player ever. If you define the skill of a player, or the greatness of a player as the gap between him and his contemporaries, then I can see no reason why Bobby Jones isn't the best player ever. He retired at the age of 28 with 13 majors. Neither Tiger nor Jack can claim that. He had nothing left to prove in the game. He had dominated it so throughly that it wasn't worth playing in those tournaments anymore. Does anybody really believe that if Jones would have played until his disease made him unable to do so, or until his play had otherwise deteriorated that he wouldn't have 25 majors or possibly even more? I know that sort of goes against the argument that I already made, but it really speaks to the domination of the game that Jones displayed. He is the preeminent golf prodigy. Tiger Woods is basically a manufactured golfer, Jones was a 100% natural prodigy. He wasn't trained from the time he was two to become a golf killing machine. Simply put, he was the best of all time and as far as I am concerned there is nothing Tiger can realistically do to remove him from that position.

And yes, I'm counting the US Amateur for Jones and not for Tiger. In Jones' day many of the best players in both America and Britain were Amateurs so to win those tournaments you had to go through many of the best players of the day. It had profound significance to win it back then. For quite a while now, that hasn't been the case. Tiger has been the beneficiary of the fact that no players have really stepped up and challenged him in majors. Everybody goes on and on about the depth of the fields these days, and it's true, they are much deeper than ever before. So theoretically there are more players on any given week who can step up and win. However, in practice, that hasn't happened, especially in majors. Where are the thorns in his side? Where are the Gary Players, the Johnny Millers, the Lee Trevinos, the Tom Watsons, the Ray Floyds, the Seves? Nowhere to be found.

[joey1234]

id go with tiger, just becasue I wasnt around for jack...

[outrider2288]

benefactor makes a great point... this convo should include the likes of Jones...
I voted for Tiger jus becuz i wasn't alive for Jack, but i believe that if Jack was given the same circumstances as Tiger he would be better, of if Tiger had to play agaisnt the caliber of players the Jack did, he may not win as often