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

[JWL1957]

Billy Casper

I saw him play in person. He hit the biggest hooks I have ever seen. Damn good player.

[jamo]

Seve, no doubt about it.

It can't be Phil. Like I said in another thread (probably where senorchipotle got the idea for this thread) Phil has a flare for the amazing, but he hits more just plain bad short game shots that just about anyone.

Tiger is the opposite. He has the ability to do the dramatic, he is just much more consistently good. Not consistently amazing (though, come one, he's Tiger Woods, he does a lot of amazing) but consistently good. He is in the top of the PGA TOUR every year in scrambling stats, Phil is not.

Utley and Stockton were great, but they have developed part of their reputations because they are even better teachers.

Trevino was an artist when it came to the short game, but his execution (albeit great) wasn't as good as Seve's.

Seve just had the ability to get himself out of any situation, and he needed to because he so often hit it sideways. And have you ever played against Seve in Tiger Woods '05? He was the hardest to beat because he was never put of a hole.

[mck]

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.

without seeing many of these guys play in their prime it's impossible to really know. It's like the "who's better Jack or Tiger?" if I never saw Jack play in his prime how would I really know

[max power]

without seeing many of these guys play in their prime it's impossible to really know. It's like the "who's better Jack or Tiger?" if I never saw Jack play in his prime how would I really know

A lot of Jack to be seen on the Golf Channel and the internet.

[goob3r]

Seve by a mile. Then I'd put Phil second just on his ability to hit that unbelievable shot.

[sean_miller]

The guys who hit the greatest shots I've seen on TV are Seve, Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Davis Love III, Phil, Tiger, Dean Wilson (an up and down today), Larry Mize, Paul Azinger, Lanny Wadkins, Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw, Jesper Parnevik, Nick Price, Paula Creamer, Beth Daniel, and on and on and on.

In person the list is much shorter, not having the opportunity to see all the greats. I did enjoy following watching Mike Weir and Rod Pampling at the Alberta Open, but the best short game artists were guys I never heard of again because they got so many chances to show it off - missed a lot of fairways and greens.

[jamo]

One person who might not make this list but was/is a very good, and underrated, short game player is John Daly. I'm not a huge Daly fan, and like I said he might not be top 10 all time, but one could argue that his short game is what won those majors for him. He hit it a long way but when he got going sideways his short game was there to save him.

[bwdial]

One person who might not make this list but was/is a very good, and underrated, short game player is John Daly. I'm not a huge Daly fan, and like I said he might not be top 10 all time, but one could argue that his short game is what won those majors for him. He hit it a long way but when he got going sideways his short game was there to save him.

Definitely underrated because of his length off the tee and his girth at the bar. Daly had/has a feather soft touch around the greens.

Seve's definitely the best I've ever seen around the greens.

[uttexas]

In my mind short game= 120 yards and in.

My top eight (probably in order) Seve, Ray Floyd, Tom Watson (pre putter problems), Crenshaw, Tiger, Gary Player, Bobby Locke, Utley

[Chilli Dipper]

Seve Ballesteros was the greatest scrambler the game had ever (and probably ever will) see. Every other player is in a battle for second place.

[Acropo]

Seve Ballesteros was the greatest scrambler the game had ever (and probably ever will) see. Every other player is in a battle for second place.

Totally agree. He was amazing.

[Kieran123]

tiger woods

[sean_miller]

tiger woods

What a surprise - lol.

[Bigtank]

This was my problem with the other thread. It was stated that Tiger was the greatest of all time. I would give my vote to Seve, but no one has mentioned Hogan, Nelson, Snead. Just because we dont watch them on a weekly basis, we forget them.

[sean_miller]

This was my problem with the other thread. It was stated that Tiger was the greatest of all time. I would give my vote to Seve, but no one has mentioned Hogan, Nelson, Snead. Just because we dont watch them on a weekly basis, we forget them.

Why does no one mention Tom Morris (Sr or Jr), or what about Harry Vardon or Willie Anderson?

[$2 Nassau]

Too young to really remember Seve or Watson in their prime. I went with Tiger

[allin]

I have to say I don't have a basis for offering an opinion. I really don't even think if you take out putting Tiger is the best out there right now. I would love to see what a poll of pros 55-75 years old said. I do think Paul Runyon was an inspired suggestion, guys of his generation would have never said they were the best, so I discount his nod to another golfer on sand play. Seve was brillant, but so was Chi Chi. Remember the type of equipment and grooming now with course conditions more uniform and multiple wedges make valid comparisons almost impossible. I suspect that there were a bunch of British, Scottish, and Australian players I have never heard of who played the bump and run style with a flair we wouldn't dream of today.

[groovezilla79]

I think Luke Donald could easily be mentioned in this conversation if he keeps doing what he is doing. His short game is amazing, especially from the sand. If he keeps it up, he may be able to challenge the guys listed here for top honors.

As for right now, I would have to say my pick would be Seve followed by Watson and Trevino.