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

[heather stevenson]

I seem to remember a man who could barely walk after his car crash and leg operations in the middle of a huge rainstorm winning a major now that was huge compared to Tigers win. The man was Ben Hogan and he his winning after the horrific car crash was a miracle.

[Guest]

Tiger FTW

[heather stevenson]

do you really think TIGER"S driving has no weakness...boy you are sick or brainwashed.
driving acuracy 165th on tour
driving distance 45th on tour
overall driving stats 206th on tour that's pretty sick for no weakness

[Cesar]

do you really think TIGER"S driving has no weakness...boy you are sick or brainwashed.

Stats can be misleading. How many times have you seen Tiger hit a poor drive into the boonies when the tourney was on the line and he needed to hit a big drive in the fairway? Maybe to reach a long par 5 in two? Bottom line is that the guy hits the shot he needs to hit when he needs to.

[biscuity]

I saw Jack play several times, including the 1972 US Open at Pebble Beach.

I've seen Tiger play several times, including the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach that he won by 15 strokes. I don't think Jack ever won by 15 strokes, certainly not a US Open. That is total domination against the best field of golfers ever.

Overall I would say Tiger is the greatest player because his short game is so good.

But if you could take Jack at his prime and have him play 4 rounds against Tiger it would be a very close match. They both have the mentality to take it to the next level. Jack charged around the golf course with an aura that is rarely seen, Tiger has it too.

[caleb7mm]

I voted tiger, I think i like him better for the age reason. Im 30 and have been playing for about 5 years. My dad is the oposite.

[JCDot33]

Whenever someone tries to make a comparison between two athelets it is always tough to say, "Who is better" ...

The advances in professional sports over the last 30 years are so monumental that it's really hard to fairly compare two people.

What could Jack do if he had today's equipment in his prime ... would Tiger be as good if he had to play persimmon drivers? What if Jack's trainors knew as much about conditioning and strength as Tiger's does today ...

It is always so unfair to try to compare two athelets from different eras ... We can look at stats, we can count Majors won, we can count championships won ... but you can just never say fairly who is/was better.

I did actually vote for Tiger because I think that he has had more impact on the game than Jack did ... Tiger has brought golf to many more people (think about it ... Jack is a white guy, playing what is perceived as a "whiteguy's sport") Tiger has made golf "cool to play" and has sparked a rebirth in the sport, and that is good for golf!

[SwedishTiger]

For me Tiger Woods is the perfect symbol for modern golf

[chrt396]

Ya know...we all know Tiger is a great golfer and a role model to many young kids out there. However...with that said, I feel that Jack N. was the epitome of class. He brought a certain mystique to the game of golf. As a matter of fact...the first lesson that I ever took was from his video tape that was titled..."Golf. Play it my way!" It was a great tape and it launched me into the golf world with a lot of enthusiasm. I was sitting there in front of the TV with a note pad and pen taking pages and pages of notes. Arnie, Lee and Jack were the heroes of that time in life!

[telrod11]

Love to see them play each other in Jack's Prime.....

[dakmon]

I'll go with Tiger on this, even though Nicklaus is my favorite of all time. Mentally I would say they are equal, but Tiger is far better conditioned.

[PEZGolf]

Stats can be misleading.

To answer your question, I can think of two important instances:

1. Opening tee shot on the Friday matches at the last Ryder Cup, when Tiger hit a 5 metal into the River on the left at the K Club in Ireland, and looked at partner Jim Furyk as if to say, "It is ALL up to you, now, partner." They lost the match. 2. Final drive in the singles match last year vs. Mike Weir. Weir hit over the lake at Royal Montreal into the middle of the fairway. Tiger splashed his tee shot into the lake. Winner of the match=Mike Weir. Granted, Tiger's successes have greatly exceeded his failures, but you asked about the failures, and there are two for the record.

[heather stevenson]

You Tiger fans are brainwashed to thinking he's perfect in every way. My opinion is that his putting is the best and it covers up for lot's of mistakes.

[Newc]

Jack will always be one of my favorites and though I am not a big fan of Tiger's antics (slamming clubs always seems to bug me) I can't deny that Tiger is something special. He's just one of those guys that was born with a little extra talent and it shows. He will go down, statistically, as the best golfer ever.

But Jack will always be at the top of my personal all time greats list.

[bleedcubbieblue]

I has to be tiger, he's just more dominant in his era. plus the competition is much better in the modern game.

[driftmaster]

Jack will always be one of my favorites and though I am not a big fan of Tiger's antics (slamming clubs always seems to bug me) I can't deny that Tiger is something special. He's just one of those guys that was born with a little extra talent and it shows. He will go down, statistically, as the best golfer ever.

Ditto!!!!

[SailorJerry]

Jack was super, Tiger is superb.

[jjb333]

Haven't seen much of Jack as I'm a young'n but it seems hard to imagine a better golfer than Tiger Woods.