Greatest short game player of all time... who is it?

[senorchipotle]

Borne out of a discussion in another thread, i decided to give this topic it's own page. This is somewhat subjective, but i think results in terms of scoring can be applied to this question.

personally, i think it's hands down tiger woods, but it seems that other feel differently.

[ilikefishes]

Paul Runyan

[GaijinGolfer]

Phil. He can pull of trick shotgame shots that most players cant even imagine.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Another vote for Paul Runyan.

[NZGolfer]

Does it include putting??? If it didn't then I would say that it would be Phil but if it did include putting then its definately not Phil.

[RC]

For creative shots, Seve. Heck, he could win closest to the pin contests against other pros from bunkers -- they with their normal sand wedges, and he would use a 3 iron to lure them into the bet. He was a magician pitching the ball around the greens.

[TourSpoon]

For creative shots, Seve. Heck, he could win closest to the pin contests against other pros from bunkers -- they with their normal sand wedges, and he would use a 3 iron to lure them into the bet. He was a magician pitching the ball around the greens.

I was thinking of the 3 iron when I read this topic. He invented the word creativity.

[Shindig]

Any particular reason that Stockton and Utley aren't listed here? If pressed, I'd have to choose between the two of them.

[Stretch]

Utley would probably pick Seve too.

[senorchipotle]

Phil. He can pull of trick shotgame shots that most players cant even imagine.

yeah, but it doesn't pay off for him very much. you never see tiger make a 8 on a hole, but for phil that's pretty common.

[max power]

Of people I've seen play live during my lifetime it's gotta be Tiger-but I'll go with Watson based on the footage I've seen, at least during his prime. Or maybe Seve-his skill had to be borne out of necessity, based on some of the spots he put himself into. Wonder if Phil is a Seve fan?

[James_Black]

For creative shots, Seve. Heck, he could win closest to the pin contests against other pros from bunkers -- they with their normal sand wedges, and he would use a 3 iron to lure them into the bet. He was a magician pitching the ball around the greens.

+1

seve was brilliant.

[JWL1957]

1st place: Tie with Seve and Watson (Watson kept it simple) ( Seve was a genius )

2nd place: Tiger ( Gets the edge over Phil, keeps it simple and deadly)

3rd place: Phil (Phil over does it by turning basic shots into high risk failures)

4th place: Peter Thompson ( most underated short game ever IMO)

5th place: Trevino ( Chipped with a SW most of his career. Even used a lady's sand wedge to win the Open)

6th place: Gary player, (one of the best bunker players ever, had a great overall short game.)

[normdamarine]

Gary Player hands down...

[senorchipotle]

For creative shots, Seve. Heck, he could win closest to the pin contests against other pros from bunkers -- they with their normal sand wedges, and he would use a 3 iron to lure them into the bet. He was a magician pitching the ball around the greens.

well, i wasn't lucky enough to see seve, lee, etc. with any kind of appreciation for what they were doing. plus they would have been well past prime.

[RC]

Just to let you know some history, when Seve would practice around the greens and from bunkers, other pros would actually stop and watch. The rest of us would just watch in awe. I am and was not a particularly impressed Seve fan because his all around game was a bit unreliable, but he played with touch and imagination unlike any one I every watched.

[sean_miller]

Billy Casper

[The Recreational Golfer]

A long as bunker play is on thread, here's what Paul Runyan said in The Short Way to Lower Scoring : "My sand technique evolved in part from observing how John Revolta played these shots. Among the golfers of that era, I would rank myself second, along with Sam Snead [!], out of bunkers. But Revolta led the class by a big margin. His skill from sand simply left me aghast."