Who is on Golf's Mount Rushmore?

[dbuck]

Nicklaus, Woods, Player, Hogan - all have a career slam.  Not in order but Woods and Nicklaus have TRIPLE slams to put that in perspective.

I could certainly argue Arnie or Bobby Jones instead of Player or Hogan.

Edited January 7, 2019 by dbuck

[JetFan1983]

It feels a bit weird not having Ben Hogan on there, but I’m going with Jack, Tiger, Arnie and Bobby Jones. 

I would have preferred we just left it as the Six Grandfathers though 🤔

[The Recreational Golfer]

Someone mentioned a female Mt. Rushmore.

Joyce Wethered, Glenna Collett-Vare, Patty Berg, Mickey Wright.

[lastings]

  On 1/10/2019 at 4:07 PM, The Recreational Golfer said:

Someone mentioned a female Mt. Rushmore.

Joyce Wethered, Glenna Collett-Vare, Patty Berg, Mickey Wright.

Expand  

Annika, Annika, Annika, Annika

[Beastie]

  On 1/17/2019 at 10:04 PM, lastings said:

Annika, Annika, Annika, Annika

Expand  

Correct 

[Bo the Golfer]

Jones, Hogan, Nicklaus,  Tiger. Tough to leave Arnie off but that's my four. 

[uitar9]

If its majors

• Jack Nicklaus, 20 combined wins in pro and amateur majors.
• Tiger Woods, 17.
• Bobby Jones, 13.
• Walter Hagen, 11.
• John Ball, 9.
• Ben Hogan, 9.
• Gary Player, 9.
• Arnold Palmer, 8.

If its wins

• Billy Casper. PGA Tour wins: 51. Most wins in a year: 6 (1968) ... 
• Byron Nelson. PGA Tour wins: 52. Most wins in a year: 18 (1945) ... 
• Arnold Palmer. PGA Tour wins: 62. Most wins in a year: 8 (1960) ... 
• Ben Hogan. PGA Tour wins: 64. ... 
• Jack Nicklaus. PGA Tour wins: 73. ... 
• Tiger Woods. PGA Tour wins: 80. ... 
• Sam Snead. PGA Tour wins: 82.

Nicklaus, Tiger, Hogan, Snead/Jones

and I don't want to discount the women-just not as up on the greats:

Kathy Whitworth 88 and 6 majors

Mickey Wright 82 and 13

Annika Sorenstam 72 and 10

Louise Suggs 61 and 11

Wikipedia can't be wrong

and they have all done so much for golf

[iacas]

@uitar9, not all wins or majors are created equally.

[Vinsk]

[uitar9]

I'll even take a stinky, questionable major or tour win,lol

[SloopDanB]

Dean Martin, Bill Murray, Jack Lemon & Phil Michelson. Hey, it’s MY Mount Rushmore!! 

[mywong23]

there should be several tiers to this Rushmore Hall of Fame...

but at the peak:  Arnie, Jack, Tiger & Ben

because you're asking who's synonymous with golf; 

like who do you think of when golf is mentioned...

not who has the most majors or wins...(those are different evaluations)

 

[PeaceFrogg]

Bobby, Arnie, Jack and Tiger.

Impact on the game carries a lot of weight for me, hence the reason Palmer is on mine despite several players winning more majors.

 

[DocP]

Jack, Tiger, Arnie and Ben.  My first of the mountain would be Jones.

 

[ChrisP]

Think one for each generation which is why I am for Bobby, Ben, Jack and Tiger.

[ladders11]

Tiger is the best player ever. Jack has the most major championships. Those are my 2 and I see 99% agree on this thread. It's a bit muddy from there we have Snead, Palmer, Jones, Hogan - there's quite a history. Hogan only played 3 majors after his accident; Jones only played once a week. Those were different times altogether so we can't really measure their ability but their impact. 

Tiger is the easiest to put up there based on his ability, results and impact altogether. Anyone thinking of leaving him off should go to their local library and get fitted with a set of 14 history and sociology books.

[iggywriter]

Hard to really capture the history of the sport with four names. If I had to pick, it'd be: 

Bobby Jones - The most dominate player of his generation; perhaps the greatest to ever play the game. Still relevant on tour today with the Masters, the brand that carries his name, and the Scholarship partnership between Emory and St. Andrews. 

Arnold Palmer - He made the open relevant again. American's were simply not traveling to the UK to play in Golf's oldest, and most important championship (with the exception of Snead & Hogan, no American won the tournament from 1934 - 1960). Palmer brought glamour and style to the game, and looked better in a polo than anyone since. 

Gary Player - I'm surprised to see his name missing from so many lists. Player was one of the most dominate golfers of his generation, and has basically served as a global ambassador to the game. He won 9 Majors (including the Career Slam), and has been a force in course design. 

The last name is tricky. We could put Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, or any other number of greats on the list here. But I want to really go back to one of the most important, historic figures of the game: 

Donald Ross - Practically invented American course design; Oakland Hills, Pinehurst #2, East Lake, Scioto, etc. Anyone who has gotten the privilege to play one of his courses can't help but fall in love with him; I've played two (perhaps three; there's some debate as to whether or not he designed River Rouge in Detroit as no records were kept, but the course has a familiar Ross layout). 

Another way of looking at this question would be to think about the four greatest courses, from design perspective, and have them represent golf. For me, those four courses would be Royal Dornoch, St. Andrews, Pinehurst #2, and Pebble Beach. 

[3jacker]

Pretty easy to go w/Tiger, Jack, Arnie.

Then it gets tougher.  Bobby?  Hogan? 

I think one of those 2 gets next billing but not entirely sure which.  Lean towards Hogan as he got even more  publicity. And played for a living.  And built a club company.  

But Bobby was more lovable.