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

[ganjagolfer]

its a tough argument to say tiger is the greatest when he doesn't play a one iron. jack played a one iron. even god can't play a one iron to give a hint of jack's greatness.

[BASHERBAKER69]

Tiger gets a lot of hype in this media world!

[COG Golf]

I feel that both are amazing athletes and the best in the golfing world but Tiger has only been playing for seven years and we really need to wait a few more years before we can make a comparison against Jack.

[mad5427]

Part of me wants to say that Jack is because we don't truly know if Tiger will continue playing at this level for long enough to break all records.

My opinion is that Tiger will break all the records and it will be within the next 5 years. That still leaves him with some years of being competitive. Hell, at his current rate, he could break records within the next two years.

So, I have to go with Tiger. Anytime people freak out and are shocked when somebody LOSES you know they are truly special.

[BASHERBAKER69]

Tiger should save his magic for the Masters..lol- if Duval wins this weeks in New Orleans we can expect him to be there too.

[Faelcrom]

Given the no. of tournaments Tiger has won in the 12 years he has been on the scene, and the no. of tournaments he has already won, I say he is will catch Jack. It's a matter of when....not if. Barring any major mishap, such as injuries holding him back.

[ganjagolfer]

jack has made it to rushmore, not yet for tiger but maybe someday

[Ruari]

jack has made it to rushmore, not yet for tiger but maybe someday

I'm sure Tiger's looking forward to a round at Rushmore - he relishes a real test but his schedule is so busy...!

[hartmabd]

They are both pretty unbelieveable...........but with the way Tiger is playing right now, I don't know how anyone can argue this discussion.

[Elvisliveson]

They are both pretty unbelieveable...........but with the way Tiger is playing right now, I don't know how anyone can argue this discussion.

Because, Tiger has not yet matched Jack's career major win total yet, nor has he even ever come from behind in the 4th round to win one yet; that's why it's still debatable.

[cmudd]

Tiger's unreal. I never saw Jack in his heyday, but it's hard to believe he's better than Tiger. The intensity and focus that Tiger plays with is unmatched.

[under_par]

Yes Jack is the best of his time and Tiger's is at his so we are living in Tiger's time and that means he is the best right now. Down the line someone will be even better but as for the greatest that is really hard to say. If needed I would say Tiger because if you look at the current competition that Tigers has now not only with the fellow pros but the lenght of the golf courses.

So Tiger it is :)

[9989randy]

Jack was great but Tiger's in another league, he dominates the game and has no competition. It was Jack vs. Arnie, Jack vs. Lee Trevino, Jack vs. Tom Watson. Tiger blows away everybody. He should break all records. He will probably win a grand slam in the next 5 years.

[Ruari]

Tiger's unreal. I never saw Jack in his heyday, but it's hard to believe he's better than Tiger. The intensity and focus that Tiger plays with is unmatched.

As you (and others) say: you never saw Jack in his heyday. Intense and focused - you bet. As were Gary Player, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo and - the daddy of them all for intensity - Ben Hogan. He made Tiger look like laughing boy.

Be careful of using words like 'unmatched' when you didn't actually see these guys. Jack on a charge was awesome - his eyes became coldly focused. Yes, he would acknowledge the crowd's applause but you could see that he was thinking of something else entirely. His game. The next shot. How he would win, from two, four, or more shots back. You have the opportunity to see what Jack was like - he wasn't from the pre-TV era and there are plenty of videos about. His first victory was the US Open in 1962, when he beat Arnold Palmer - then known as 'the king'. His first British Open win was a return from a serious lesson and setback on previous ventures and my, was he ever determined at Muirfield in 1966. His comeback to get into a playoff at St Andrews in 1970 was a sight to see but one of the best was a Major he didn't actually win: the 1977 'duel in the sun' at Turnberry. Watson pipped him after the two of them finished streets ahead of anyone else, having been at it hammer and tongs, head to head, for two days straight. Jack shot 65-66 in the last two rounds and lost to Watson's 65-65. Hubert Green finished third, 10 shots further back. But the greatest has to be The Masters in 1986. This was the old gunfighter refusing to lie down. That 65 in the final round - which really came to life on the back nine, when he was five shots back - was unbelievable. Not only was the play just fantastic, you watched the years just fall off him as he got the bit between his teeth, his ears pricked to the sound of battle, and the old warhorse came out for one last, great fight. I still shake my head in disbelief that anyone could have done that - and at the age of 46, when he hadn't won a tournament for two years and against the galaxy of new stars: Ballesteros, Nick Price, Greg Norman, Watson, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, all of them. He came home in 30, including a bogey at the 12th. He eagled the 15th, then birdied 16 and 17, and all the marks of the years fell off him as we watched. Fantastic, awesome, unbelievable. Remembering it makes me short of breath and I have to blink to keep my eyes clear. I'm older now than he was then and yes, there's some nostalgia, a lament for lost youth and a golden day when Jack slipped on the mantle of legend. It fitted like a glove. And you didn't see it, cmudd? You poor, unfortunate thing.

[Ruari]

Jack was great but Tiger's in another league, he dominates the game and has no competition. It was Jack vs. Arnie, Jack vs. Lee Trevino, Jack vs. Tom Watson. Tiger blows away everybody. He should break all records. He will probably win a grand slam in the next 5 years.

I've said before and I'll repeat it now. The measure of Jack's greatness - of anyone's greatness - is the opposition. Arnie, Trevino and Watson (and Player) were all outstanding, multiple Major champions themselves, who simply would not be blown away. They beat Jack but he beat them more often.

Tiger is outstanding and he does blow everyone else away but I just don;t see that he has the same standard of challenge. Ernie won two of his Majors before Tiger turned pro. Mickelson may be no. 2 in the world but he's so far back that he really isn't pushing Tiger the way Jack's rivals did. I would truly like to see it but I think we'll have to wait a while for the youngsters - Scott, Rose, et al - to mature. Maybe this year, maybe next, but I would like to see the opposition rise to the challenge the way Jack's contemporaries did.

[Elvisliveson]

Tiger's unreal. I never saw Jack in his heyday, but it's hard to believe he's better than Tiger. The intensity and focus that Tiger plays with is unmatched.

Again, if you never saw Jack play then you're in no position to say he can't match Tiger's intensity and focus. I can tell you Nicklaus never lost head to head battles in Majors with the likes of Rich Beem, Zach Johnson and Angel Cabrera. When it came to crunch time on Sunday, nobody was better than Nicklaus. Tiger has yet to prove he can have that big Sunday at a major coming from behind. He me very well be the better player, but objective evidence right now would suggest that Tiger's "intensity and focus" was at least matched by Nicklaus.

[polodinks]

i say tiger woods cause of his abilitys over alot of golfers hes just the man of golf but hes not my favorite golfer my fav is arnold palmer

[duckdive117]

both best of there times