Who is on Golf's Mount Rushmore?

[onthehunt526]

I say one player each through the main 4 eras. The pioneers of each era that are the cornerstone of that era.

late 19th-early 20th Century: Harry Vardon I mean we still use his grip and he kind of won 6 Open Championships.

1918-1960: There once was a lawyer named Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. He was a pretty good amateur golfer. He won this thing called the Grand Slam as it was known in 1930. Many say he was the greatest amateur golfer of all time. He gave the world this golf course amongst the tall pines of Georgia. You may of heard of it, it is called the Augusta National Golf Club.

1960-April 12, 1997: Jack Nicklaus... 18 majors, enough said.

April 13, 1997-present: One word, Tiger.

 

[Vinsk]

29 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

I say one player each through the main 4 eras.

Bobby Jones certainly a powerful figure to the world of golf. But the ‘amateur’ thing is just a technicality really. He chose to stay as an amateur. If Jack, Tiger or many others remained as amateurs....they would be the greatest amateur of all time.

[RussUK]

Bobby Jones, Arnold palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Peter Aliss (just because of what he brought to golf on tv)

[onthehunt526]

5 minutes ago, RussUK said:

Bobby Jones, Arnold palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Peter Aliss (just because of what he brought to golf on tv)

We could do a Rushmore of Golf Commentators and Peter would definitely be on it. Along with Venturi, Miller and not Brandel.

[RussUK]

9 hours ago, onthehunt526 said:

We could do a Rushmore of Golf Commentators and Peter would definitely be on it. Along with Venturi, Miller and not Brandel.

If Brandel was on it he would just be poking his head round the corner.

[Dunit507]

On 1/1/2021 at 12:53 AM, turtleback said:

It would be interesting to see what criteria was used that ignored the 2 GOATs in whichever order.

That would be Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.  One too many, if you limit yourself to the traditional 4.

Nobody said we have to stick with the traditional 4. This was the first thing that came to my mind. If we want to go with 4 I think you go with Jack and Tiger and then you have a difficult decision. You should also represent the women’s game with at least one of those spots. I’m open to anyone being up there but Jack and Tiger are non negotiable in my mind.

[onthehunt526]

2 hours ago, RussUK said:

If Brandel was on it he would just be poking his head round the corner.

Well he can poke his head around the corner without Peter, Henry, Ken, and Johnny. But you could argue Jim McKay or Jack Whitaker could be on the golf commentator Mt. Rushmore.

Joe Buck and Brandel can can be on golf commentary’s “Scrapheap” with Troy Aikman telling them that they are doing a good job.

Honestly you could argue that Annika belongs on there or Mickey Wright, Babe Zaharias, Louise Suggs, Nancy Lopez, Dottie Pepper, Juli Inkster... it would be an argument you’d have with yourself for a while. 
 

It’s one of those things, who transcended golf in their generation. Vardon, Jones, Nicklaus, Woods in my opinion. With Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, and Arnold Palmer getting an honorable mention. Arnie would almost be on golf’s Mt. Rushmore if it weren’t for Jack and Tiger.

Edited January 3, 2021 by onthehunt526
Finished my thought

[woodzie264]

3 hours ago, Dunit507 said:

...If we want to go with 4 I think you go with Jack and Tiger and then you have a difficult decision....

I’m open to anyone being up there but Jack and Tiger are non negotiable in my mind.

Agreed. And I’d be one of those who would include Bobby Jones. Still not sure who goes up as the fourth...

[onthehunt526]

1 hour ago, woodzie264 said:

Agreed. And I’d be one of those who would include Bobby Jones. Still not sure who goes up as the fourth...

If you want to just include “Modern” golf, You’d have to make a case for Hogan on there, but you could argue others. I don’t know that you could include Norman, Seve or Faldo. But you could also make the case for Mickey Wright or Nancy Lopez or Annika too.

[Billy Z]

Why does there only have to be four? How about Mt. Golfmore with 12 legends?

[Double Mocha Man]

30 minutes ago, Billy Z said:

Why does there only have to be four? How about Mt. Golfmore with 12 legends?

They've already said this year, based on the rock formation, that there's not room for another face.

[turtleback]

17 hours ago, Billy Z said:

Why does there only have to be four? How about Mt. Golfmore with 12 legends?

I dunno.  The fact that on the ACTUAL Mount Rushmore there are 4?  I was under the, perhaps mistaken, impression we were talking about a Mount Rushmore of golfers, not just a list of top golfers.  Otherwise it is like having a 'top ten' list with 27 names.

[Keep It Simple]

I decided to go with the 4 player names in golf I believe are most recognized by non-golfers.  This to me is a testament of their impact on the game.

Tiger Woods    Jack Nicklaus    Arnold Palmer    Ben Hogan

Ben Hogan may seem questionable given my criteria but is on my list because any non-golfer who decides to try golf, ends up liking it and wants to improve, will discover Ben Hogan (likely through Ben Hogan 5 Lessons) if they weren't already familiar with the name.  

[Dunit507]

On 1/3/2021 at 9:47 AM, woodzie264 said:

Agreed. And I’d be one of those who would include Bobby Jones. Still not sure who goes up as the fourth...

Maybe Snead? Idk I think something can be said for 82 wins but there are certainly arguments to be made for others as well.

[TourSpoon]

The four that I came up with were Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, and Tiger Woods. 

 

Now a golf anti-Rushmore of Golf's biggest jerks would be more fun:

Rory Sabbatini, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Curtis Strange

[Double Mocha Man]

5 minutes ago, TourSpoon said:

The four that I came up with were Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, and Tiger Woods. 

 

Now a golf anti-Rushmore of Golf's biggest jerks would be more fun:

Rory Sabbatini, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Curtis Strange

Why Bubba and Curtis?  What don't I know?

[TourSpoon]

16 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

Why Bubba and Curtis?  What don't I know?

First, I hijacked this topic so I am just starting trouble. Second, Bubba rubs me the wrong way for some reason. I just think he's a whiner. I have followed him around and he can get really jerky. I used to be a Curtis fan but he just comes off so arrogant. Ask me how great I am and I will tell you kind of guy. 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

1 minute ago, TourSpoon said:

First, I hijacked this topic so I am just starting trouble. Second, Bubba rubs me the wrong way for some reason. I just think he's a whiner. I have followed him around and he can get really jerky. I used to be a Curtis fan but he just comes off so arrogant. Ask me how great I am and I will tell you kind of guy. 

 

Okay, good answers.  I respect them.  But only because I am a troublemaker, too.