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

[cougar2588]

i'll say tiger woods. while the media makes tiger out to be somewhat of an inconsistent golfer, he really isn't. every tournament he is in you can almost always find his name located somewhere on the leaderboard. the only problem is, if he isnt in 1st or 2nd, the media goes crazy over it and makes it seem like he is golfing terrible.

[dave s]

just read a fantastic and very well written article at ESPN.com on what Jack is up to today. Most already know that Jack's company designs courses around the globe. The article follows Jack on a couple day business trip and provides good insight to how he works and what he does.

Try to give it a read if you can. Fantastic article about how he balances the work/family equation.

dave

[tonydav]

Only saw Jack play a few times and I think he was getting past his prime (and I was still very young). So I'd have to go with Tiger.

[Garthmo]

I would say Tiger is the best golfer of all time. I'm still not convinced that it is a sport and that golfers fall under the "athlete" catagory. Yes I'll give him his props and admitt he may train as hard as a pro athlete and be in as good shape as a pro athlete and that definatly gives him an advantage in this game but I don't know..... just my opinion. I know people are gunna quote some definition that golf falls under a "sport" but do you really have to be great shape to play and compete? Just putting it out there. Not taking away from Tiger and the other players, they are amazing and spend alot of time training and practicing but....Ok I'll shut up now. sry for the rant

[mjl916]

i say tiger

[rgee27]

Tiger!! Awesome swing and mental game.

[pcitygolfer]

My heart would like to say Jack, but I think it is Tiger. For some time, I thought Tiger came accross as arrogant and I honestly did not care for him.

It's difficult to compare who is better during different eras. Perhaps the strongest argument for Tiger, is that the competition is so much stronger today and the number of professional golfers is also higher.

When you stop and think about how often Tiger finishes at the top week in and week out (even after his numerous breaks), what he is doing is absolutely incredible.

Both he and his caddie take the sport seriously and train like nobody else before. How many times are we going to watch "professionals" simply wilt under the pressure of his presence. He wins a lot of them, but a couple wins this year were basically handed over to him by others that could not handle the pressure.

Both Jack and Tiger were/are the greatest of their time. If the requirement is to pick one - I must now say Tiger.

[IT_golfer]

Tiger is in a league of his own. But, what is intriguing is the number of times Jack finished second in a major. He could have potentially won 25 of those things!

[TK LP]

It appears Tiger is lapping the field, he just seems to be playing a different game form the competition.

[Guest]

I wasn't alive when Jack was around, but Tiger is still the best. He will definitely pass jack's record 18 wins, its only a matter of time.

[Canadian Chris]

I'm going to go with Tiger myself. But it'd be interesting to see a Tiger in his prime VS Jack in his prime...

Granted, techological advances in the game would have to be taken into account as well, but I'm inclined to take Tiger...I laugh at the people who say he's not an athlete because pure and simple, the guy is ripped.

[MrKadash]

I'm going to go with Tiger myself. But it'd be interesting to see a Tiger in his prime VS Jack in his prime...

No problem. Ali and Marciano did it, heck - Rocky Balboa and Mason Dixon did it. Just throw the old computer simulation in there and see what happens.

[Jeepthrills]

I say Tiger. He is so mentally tough. I was watching a few minutes of Tiger at Torrey and they were talking about comparing the eras and many people say Jack played against tougher players in his day. However, if there were no Tiger Woods we would be talking about the great battles that Phil, Ernie, Duval and Vijay had the last 10 years. Tiger is just so dominant that it overshadows some of the all time greats of this era.

Jack did have one line that made me think that he is getting more bitter as he gets older. He said that "Tiger may not get to 18 because there is nobody to push him." That is an insult to some great golfers and more importantly to Tiger himself. Tiger is motivated by winning. I serriously doubt the lack of a true challenger will stop him. If he wants the record, and by all accounts he does, he only needs to look in the mirror for the motivation. The only two things that I could see getting in his way are a serious injury or family problems.

[ganjagolfer]

tiger has to win the 2008 open at torre pines or its forever settled that jack is better than tiger for all the world to know cuz then we can start discussing who is greater, tiger woods or ben hogan cuz ben was able to win a u.s. open on one leg while tiger wasn't able to win the u.s. open on one leg (hypothetically if tiger doesn't win the 2008 u.s. open)

[pat8]

as of right now, Jack's better, just because he has more tournament wins and majors. In the long run, though, I have no doubt Tiger will become the best (barring injury) , but until he has the wins, Jack gets the nod.

[Trogdor]

Tiger, but not by much.

[tnbama]

I am 43 yrs old now. I like Jack, I remember the Masters win when he was in his early 40's. I remember rooting for him to be the first player to win a major in his 50s' (didn't happen- but Jack had that goal for a while- then Jack Grout died...). I like the upright swing and the flying elbow- they are more like my swing. I just can't relate to Tiger at all.

[JackB1]

Jack, because he did it without the modern golf club technology