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

sungho_kr

By sungho_kr
in Tour Talk

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Greatest Golfer (GOAT)  

222 members have voted

  1. 1. Tiger or Jack: Who's the greatest golfer?

    • Tiger Woods is the man
      1627
    • Jack Nicklaus is my favorite
      820

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brocks
brocks

For some reason, you have missed hundreds of posts that do accept that.  I've often said I can't even prove that Tiger would beat Vardon head to head, although I'd bet on him. What I CAN prove is

turtleback
turtleback

Here ya go, right our of Jack's 1996 autobiography.  He is giving the third of his three reasons (equipment and fitness being the other) for the decline of the superstar in golf (re

brocks
brocks

That's very unfair to Jack, since he played events well into his 60's.  It also distorts Tiger's record, since he played injured for several years. It would be more fair to look at the the period

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yourfraction Newbie

yourfraction

Posted
Posted
Lets put another point in there , you win 1 tourney and you are made for life , back then you needed a lot of wins to make the equivelent to the money they make today .
They also had personalities back then , look at the tour today they are boring robots void of smile , sorry the tour lacks a lad , you have to look to Europe now for any type of golfer with a personality , guess thats why the have the Ryder Cup ,

melraid Member

melraid

Posted
Posted
I go back to Nicklaus' era, and would have bet the ranch that nobody would ever approach what he accomplished. I've got to say, Tiger is better. Despite what some of us oldtimers say, the competition is actually tougher today. But don't sell Nicklaus short, in his prime, I don't think I ever saw him miss a putt he just had to make.

FG71 Newbie

FG71

Posted
Posted
Both, I think that greatness should be set in time. Jack and Tiger are both great But what about B. Nelson 13 strait !

Cheers
Frank

rob022574 Newbie

rob022574

Posted
Posted
I feel that Tiger has a built in advantage with superior driving skills, coupled with superior equipment. Nicklaus also had much stiffer competition back in his day, so my vote goes for Jack. This endorsement is not a knock on Tiger, just my opinion.

Hacksaw Member

Hacksaw

Posted
Posted
The toughest question in golf.

There is more depth in the top 50 today and Tiger is seemingly more dominant than Jack was. Just behind Jack, there were tremendous players such as Palmer, Player, Casper, Miller, Trevino and Watson. Were these players closer to Jack, then Tiger's cohorts (Els, Duvall, Singh, and Mickelson) to him because they were themselves better or because Jack was no Tiger?

hukdizzle Member

hukdizzle

Posted
Posted
Considering the timeframe I believe Tiger will surpass Jack in wins major and tour for sure and become a more "accomplished" player but with that said Jack played some of the most nail biting rounds of golf against the guys who are just as legendary as he is and still stayed on top for so long. It's impossible to really say but Tiger has this competetive drive that is overwhelming, he is physically and mentally driven more than any other competetor out there. Personally I pick tiger because of how he has been a dominating force his entire life it seems even playing the juniors.

Zachwright1 Member

Zachwright1

Posted
Posted
This is almost like comparing apples to oranges, just because of the fact they are from different era's. I personally think Bobby Jones is the best player to ever play even though he never turned professional. He didn't have nearly the technology the Tiger uses or even Jack, but he was just as dominate as either one of them. Jack may or may not have had tougher competition but Tiger is in my opinion more dominate than Jack. But, then again I never saw Jack in his prime. Basically they are both great in their own right.

rstyle Well Established Member

rstyle

Posted
Posted
For me it's Tiger but just because I never really watched Jack play but have been following Tiger from the beginning of his career.

Terrier Well Established Member

Terrier

Posted
Posted
This is almost like comparing apples to oranges, just because of the fact they are from different era's. I personally think Bobby Jones is the best player to ever play even though he never turned professional. He didn't have nearly the technology the Tiger uses or even Jack, but he was just as dominate as either one of them. Jack may or may not have had tougher competition but Tiger is in my opinion more dominate than Jack. But, then again I never saw Jack in his prime. Basically they are both great in their own right.

I tend to agree with the above.

Bobby is the best ever. Jack might be the best. Tiger will surely be the best. We can all parse words, stats, and all that crap. What did Bobby say before he died? When he saw Jack play? Something to the effect: "He plays a game with which I am not familiar." Jack's probably mumbling a similar quote to himself about Tiger... Tiger's just freakin' off the charts, insane good...we'll never see another better. Not quite sure the younger generation realizes how good Tiger really is...

marathongolf Newbie

marathongolf

Posted
Posted
Toss up. Tiger the better conditioned athlete, but Jack had the same drive to win, same ability to intimidate -and did it with equipment that didn't change dramatically between 1950 and 1980.

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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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  • Administrator
Posted
Toss up. Tiger the better conditioned athlete, but Jack had the same drive to win, same ability to intimidate -and did it with equipment that didn't change dramatically between 1950 and 1980.

Isn't the ability to adjust to changing equipment an indicator of greater ability, not less?

If anything, the shift in how the game is played is yet another obstacle Tiger's surpassed, to me. And we can say all we want about Tiger's competition not being on Jack's level, but if Tiger was winning majors at "only" the same pace as Jack Nicklaus, his competition might be as good as Jack's.

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Zachwright1 Member

Zachwright1

Posted
Posted
Isn't the ability to adjust to changing equipment an indicator of greater ability, not less?

Very good point!

This reminds me of the newer rocky movie. You just cant really accurately compare two different players from two different eras its a total opinion.

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