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

[BradMatejo]

Tiger is unstoppable

[GreatExpectations]

I go with Tiger - but only because I grew up watching him I guess. The record books say otherwise.

[sean_miller]

I have a couple Jack Nicklaus books and can't ever see myself buying one with Tiger on the cover, so my mind's made up on who I "prefer".

But, don't forget all the events Tiger's won that didn't even exist in Jack's day. All any athlete you can do is compete against the players in their era, with the equipment and training that exists at the time, in the events held during their career. "What ifs" and projections are mostly personal opinion.

Tiger has made a lot of clutch putts in his day. He needs to start sinking more of them to get back on track. "What if" Lanny Wadkins could putt. "What if" Tom Watson hadn't forgotten how to putt for about a decade. "What if" Freddy Couples could have sunk some of those putts at this year's Masters?!?

[chef35ca]

I have a couple Jack Nicklaus books and can't ever see myself buying one with Tiger on the cover, so my mind's made up on who I "prefer".

"What if" Phil could make well informed decisions on course?

[max power]

"What if" Phil could make well informed decisions on course?

He'd have at least a couple US Open titles.

[jeck]

I didnt follow golf on Jacks time, so for me its Tiger all the way. :)

[basscat348]

If jack had the clubs nowdays then ????

[max power]

If jack had the clubs nowdays then ????

Then everybody else would have had the clubs as well. Modern clubs narrow, not widen the gap between journeymen and the top pros. The one big change Jack could/should have made that might have resulted in more wins/majors would have been a stronger focus on his short game. That's according to Jack himself.

[arube1]

Hard if not impossible to compare players from different era's, different clubs, balls, the use of steroids....

[Mo Co Kid]

it's a different game, but Jack in his prime is the best, lucky to see him at Baltusrol in 80.

[impactfix]

Being relativley new to the game of G.O.L.F, i think i'd have to say Tiger based on the fact that i havnt seen enough of Jack's playing. Unfortunatley.

[max power]

Here's an idea. If you have never seen either Jack or Tiger play, either through age or failure to watch TV or use the internet, and find yourself unable to make a determination of the skill level/accomplishments of either Jack or Tiger-then don't post in the "Jack or Tiger: Who's the Greatest" thread.

[jp19]

pretty impossible to compare from two different eras, but id have to go with tiger.

[JWL1957]

"What if" Phil could make well informed decisions on course?

Yeah.....no kidding. It is almost too painful to watch some times. But thats Phil..... always dancing in the middle of rush hour traffic.

[jhcarson]

I'd go with Tiger on this. He may still be trailing in majors but his total victory tally, especially at his age, is ridiculous and his win percentage dwarfs anybody else's. Now if he can only get back to pre-divorce form...

[Acropo]

Here's an idea. If you have never seen either Jack or Tiger play, either through age or failure to watch TV or use the internet, and find yourself unable to make a determination of the skill level/accomplishments of either Jack or Tiger-then don't post in the "Jack or Tiger: Who's the Greatest" thread.

Well said!

It's a bit like me venturing opinions on baseball players - I know nothing about them, never seen them, only what I'm told. Having said that, there are oppportunities to see films, videos, books, etc, if one is really interested and wishes to be informed.

[max power]

Well said!

Exactly-if you've only seen Tiger play, I don't understand the rationale behind posting in here that "Tiger's the best, never saw Jack." There are tons of ways to see footage of Jack, tons of ways to read about his accomplishments, etc. If you can't be bothered to learn about 1 of 2 golfers in a comparison you have no ability to say who's better. The thread title isn't

"If you're 15-30 years old and you grew up watching Tiger please register for TST and post in here about how awesome Tiger is"

[jamo]

Will do. Thanks.