Who Is Your All-time Favorite Golfer?

[dfreuter415]

We all know that when the all-time greatest golfer conversation starts, inevitably the conversation comes down to Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. I've seen them both and would have a hard time deciding, only because Jack's career is over, and Tiger is only 37. To me, right now Jack is number one, but in the end, it could be Tiger.  Enough said.

What I would like to start is a conversation about is who is your all-time favorite golfer, and why. As we know from every other sport, being the best does not always translate to popularity. For instance, my all-time favorite NFL player is Bobby Lane. He is in the Hall of Fame, but in no way has ever been considered the best at his position. What I loved was his Errol Flynn, "swashbuckling" style, and charismatic nature.

So, in the replies to this post, could you just let us know who was you favorite golfer and why.

For me, my all-time favorite is Arnie Palmer. I was 10 years old when Arnie birdied 17 & 18 at Augusta to win his second green jacket in 1960. After that I was hooked. Not only was he from Western Pennsylvania, (as am I), but he won 62 tour events and 7 major championships. On the course he had that "go for broke" mentality that we saw in Tin Cup...

During the Los Angeles Open at Rancho Park in 1961, Arnold Palmer teed it up on the par-five eighteenth hole. He hit a good drive but hit his next four shots out of bounds. Finally he hit his 10th shot over the green, chipped on for 11 and putted out for a 12. When he was later asked how he made 12, he reportedly quipped,  "I missed a 15-footer for an 11."

The manner in which Arnie interacted with his army of fans is still unsurpassed. I have personally witnessed him signing autographs for well over an hour after practicing at the range until everyone present had been taken care of. Arnold Palmer is widely known for his unfailing sense of kindness and thoughtfulness, and his philanthropic outreach is one of the best examples of this. The Arnold Palmer Charities are wide ranging and include cancer research and treatment, hospitals for women and babies, and the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve is an environmental, educational and recreational area near his hometown of Latrobe, PA.

[saevel25]

When i first starting watching golf i really liked Greg Norman, and Nick Price

Now i am a fan of the youngsters, Bubba and Rory.

[Ernest Jones]

Tom Watson. One of the greatest links players of all. Plus he was just a really great Champion, lots of good qualities and NO bullshit.

[MJK3122]

I would have to say Phil Mickelson.  I like his go for broke attitude and interaction with fans.  My family, like the OP's is from Western PA and im just too young to have seen Arnie in his prime.  Phil, at least to me, seems like the Arnie of this generation.  He just does it his way.

[MS256]

I started playing golf 9 years ago and before that I never even thought about golf and had probably only watched a handful of golf shots in my life (just the time it took to change the channel).

Of course at the time I started playing and watching golf Tiger was the man to watch so that's who I watched the most. I was almost imediately much better at golf than I should have been so I fell in love with the game and watched all of the golf I could watch.

I was always attracted to any athlete that could beat you by getting in the zone and with a will to win, and especially when everything was on the line. I had watched Michael Jordan for just that reason and had watched very little NBA before Jordan and have watched very little NBA since.

I saw the same thing in Tiger. He could hit shots or make putts with regularity when everything was on the line that he (or anyone else) probably couldn't pull off 10% of the time without the pressure of everything on the line.

The zone always intrigued me. I always wondered why I hit 80% to 90% of my home runs in the last innings of close games, and wondered why I couldn't keep that same magic all of the time. I still wonder why my best golf shots are when I am losing a match and in trouble with a nearly impossible shot.

That's why I watched Tiger (and still do) hoping to see glimpses of that magic that he use to have fairly regularly.

Bubba Watson is my next favorite player just because he thinks the same way I do on the course and would rather curve the ball one way or the other than to hit a standard shot (even when it doesn't make sense).

Niether Jordan nor Tiger would be my favorite people away from the game but I always kept my favorite athletes in a separate category from my life heroes.

[SCfanatic35]

I have a bunch of favorite golfers.  My first favorite was Payne Stewart. I liked the way he dressed in those Plus Fours and the hat, whatever it was called.  Then my next favorite was Davis Love III, no idea why, I just liked the way he played.  Next it was on to Phil Mickelson, and now I like Bubba Watson and Jason Dufner.  I think my main reason for liking all of these guys is they always seemed to be having fun on the golf course.  They seem to have an attitude that is different than most of the golfers out there.

[cipher]

Hogan.  Quiet Strength.

And...

“You can probably swing a little faster if you try hard enough.”

“I didn’t need a three” when asked why he didn’t go for the green in two on a reachable par five.

“… the more I practice, the luckier I get.”  when told he was lucky to narrowly miss a few bunkers out there.

‘A lot of people don’t understand modesty. Not everybody wants publicity, you know.’

“I try to hit it on the third groove.”

“Your away.”

[Derrick Parker]

Sam Snead, Arnie, Lee Trevino, back when I was younger. Now it is Phil, Wade Simpson, Bubba Watson. I like em all.

[onephenom]

I like arnold palmer a lot. Great golfer, but I love his classy attitude. I try to emulate him on the course! (of course, the delicious drink doesn't hurt either). I've learned a lot from him about golf and life.

someone before mentioned phil because of his go for broke attitude... that's why i love him! that's how i like to play for sure.

[BuckeyeNut]

My all time faves are guys like Nelson, but Jack is #1 in my book.  Go Bucks!!   he's a buckeye and the greatest that ever lived.

[Roblar]

Hogan -- he's the first golfer I heard about from my relatives who golf, the first thing I did when I started was read Five Lessons, he's got a good mystique about him, and I bought myself a complete set of Hogan clubs when I started out (...and I still play Apex Plus irons and Riviera wedges).

Much harder to say if I limit it to currently playing golfers.  I kind of like Snedeker best, I guess.  Can't really say why.  ('cause he plays fast and seems to implode on Sundays?  ...and I keep hoping he'll pull off an awesome Sunday?)

[hammerhead]

Freddie Freddie. Couples that is. What I would give to have that swing.

[marvin]

Born in 1980s, the first golfer I heard about was Phil and Tiger. But now I'm a fan of Luke Donald. I try to emulate his fluid swing and his short game as well.

[dfreuter415]

Originally Posted by MJK3122

I would have to say Phil Mickelson.  I like his go for broke attitude and interaction with fans.  My family, like the OP's is from Western PA and im just too young to have seen Arnie in his prime.  Phil, at least to me, seems like the Arnie of this generation.  He just does it his way.

I agree.

[David in FL]

Calvin Peete.

One of the first really successful African Americans to play on the tour, long before Tiger came along.  Didn't take up the game until later in life....in his 20's if I remember correctly, and an extremely straight hitter of the ball, albeit with a very contrived swing as a result of a serious injury to his elbow as a child.  He's the one that convinced me that I could play this game to a reasonable level without hitting it a long ways, if I could just keep it in play.

Pretty well known as a quiet, family oriented, down-to-earth guy.  A refreshing lack of showmanship, even for back then.

[colin007]

Hmmmmm....this is tough one for me....let me think.......TIGER FREAKING WOODS!!! He's the bees knees....

[JaxBomber17]

Love watching Tiger, Phil, Ian, and Luke, but my favorite golfer is by far Keegan Bradley. At the Wednesday practice round at the Masters last year, he pulled his drive on 17 left. He put a second drive in the fairway, and sent his caddy over to pick the first one up, but my buddy and I needled him a bit, so he came over and decided to play the first one. Off some pretty trampled-down turf, he got his 8-iron up so fast it looked like a sand wedge, over a stand of trees, to just left of the green. It was a pretty cool moment, and I've been a big fan ever since.

[shortgame]

TIGER, Luke Donald, Phil, Keegan, Nick Watney, Sneds!