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

[crp6]

Jack -- all those wins with inferior technology compared to what's available today.

[iacas]

Jack -- all those wins with inferior technology compared to what's available today.

God, I HATE that argument. Jack's opponents had the same "inferior technology" and it's pretty widely agreed upon that "technology" has leveled the playing field, which is an argument

against Jack.

[JWL1957]

God, I HATE that argument. Jack's opponents had the same "inferior technology" and it's pretty widely agreed upon that "technology" has leveled the playing field, which is an argument

Ok..........how about Jack today with modern equipment? I think he would be even more scary.

[golfro]

Ok..........how about Jack today with modern equipment? I think he would be even more scary.

i think he would be just about on par with how others play with modern equipment...

[sean_miller]

i think he would be just about on par with how others play with modern equipment...

If he still had to play the "Tourney" ball he'd have trouble making the cut.

With a decent ball he'd drive all the par 4s and have wedges into the par 5s. He'd only need 4 clubs (driver, 1 iron, sand wedge, putter) but he'd carry them all just to balance the load for his caddie. On the par 3s he just look really hard at the ball and point his 1-iron at the flag - the ball would fly to green on a wave of pure awesomeness. Then he'd end up in a playoff with Tiger that would take so long they'd have to flip a two headed coin - Jack on one side and Tiger on the other since they're co-presidents of the entire world. What?

[JWL1957]

If he still had to play the "Tourney" ball he'd have trouble making the cut.

BS........ wouldnt need a putter. He'd hole out the 1 iron this time with the better ball.

[max power]

Ok..........how about Jack today with modern equipment? I think he would be even more scary.

Actually the opposite. Modern equipment would narrow the gap between Jack and the field. Modern equipment is more

forgiving -it helps the golfer who isn't hitting it flush every time. Jack was hitting it flush.

[pbuckeye]

I vote for Tiger since he was able to keep his head in the game for a long time (a moot point now) despite the media frenzy, money, wild fan following. All these factors were maybe a little toned down in Jack's time, so less distraction for him.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Jack -- all those wins with inferior technology compared to what's available today.

That would make Old Tom Morris the greatest golfer ever.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Tough to compare these two as they are playing in two completely different eras. Same reason you can't compare Babe Ruth to Albert Pujols.

Not nitpicking here, but Babe Ruth had

two career paths that would have led him to the Hall of Fame. They decided he would have more impact, both on the field and at the gate, hitting home runs every day than pitching shutouts every fourth day. You can make an argument that there have been better hitters than Ruth, but not that there has been a better overall player. Lou Gehrig-Albert Pujols makes more sense to me And yes, I am in full agreement that you can only say who was the best of their era. True, today's athletes are bigger, stronger, better trained, etc., and by objective standards outperform their forebears, but we will never know how yesterday's premier athletes would have fared if born into today's world, or if todays' stars were transplanted to a former time with all the disadvantages, how they would do.

[bwdial]

Not nitpicking here, but Babe Ruth had

I laughed the other day when Scott Van Pelt commented (when all the hoopla was going on about A. Rod's 600th home run) that Ruth hit over 700 home runs in the era when they used a balled up sock as a ball.

I wonder what Ruth would have done with the modern ball and lighter bat.

[max power]

I laughed the other day when Scott Van Pelt commented (when all the hoopla was going on about A. Rod's 600th home run) that Ruth hit over 700 home runs in the era when they used a balled up sock as a ball.

I think Ruth's rapid home run improvement came about the same time as did what we would consider the "modern baseball". Either way-he hit 714 playing as a pitcher for the first part of his career. Could easily have had 800-850.

[Acropo]

That would make Old Tom Morris the greatest golfer ever.

Quite possibly so - although he reckoned his son was better.

[JWL1957]

I guess that my biggest complaint about Tiger's era is how everyone folded up around him when he put the pressure on ( with the exception a very few). I do not mean to knock Tiger's game.....we all know how damn good he is. But it has been almost embarrassing to watch the faces of the other good players when they have been paired with him in the final rounds. Jack had the same mystic, but at the same time he also had 3 or 4 guys that loved handing his butt to him. I have to agree with everyone who thinks that the overall field of players is deeper with talent than 30 years ago. But I disagree that todays players are tougher than 30 years ago.

I also remember everyone saying 20 years ago that Jack's record would never be broken because of the parity in talent that was coming up at the time. I guess we didnt see Tiger coming did we? :) Even if Tiger breaks the record......it wont be safe. There will always be that special player every now and then.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Regarding players from different eras, I'm reminded of the story about Ty Cobb being asked, long after his career was over, what he thought he would hit against "today's" pitchers. He replied, "Probably .310." "Is that all?" he was asked. "Yes," he said, "but you have to remember, I'm 63 years old."

[KingMe]

like one guy said, it's hard to compare different eras, but I think if you took Tiger and put him in that era and Jack in this era, assuming they were both living in the era not just placed one day, I think Tiger would do better than Jack. I think Tiger has more pure skill

[Easy]

I guess that my biggest complaint about Tiger's era is how everyone folded up around him when he put the pressure on ( with the exception a very few). I do not mean to knock Tiger's game.....we all know how

Spot on there. Players this era just buckle under pressure, seems like there more focussed on the paycheck than the glory.

[JohnQVegas]

Tiger is the man. End of story.