cwebbie

I agree 100% i think the thing that is so hard to measure is the ability to handle pressure. I don't buy the notion that Mickelson would have won 10 majors had he played in Jack's era, although he'd probably have a bunch more regular tour wins. There are a lot tour pros today that have enough faith in their games to win a tour event but there are fewer pros that have enough confidence to say, close out a major after leading the first 63 holes. One of my biggest frustrations as a diahard golf fan is the amount times Ive watched these great players fail to play their best when it matters most. When Nicklaus was in his prime the fields were certainly weaker as a whole, but you can look at the hole by hole scores in the majors back then and see that his small group of rivals were more than capable of standing up to the pressure of not only winning a major championship but of beating the best player along the way. I'm not saying that sometimes that doesn't happen today. It does. But in my opinion the clutch factor is going to account for the idea that no matter how much better your swing is over the players of yesteryear, if you make bogey on the final four holes your probably going to lose the championship of 25 years ago every bit as often as you lost it last Sunday.

I had not read that about Nicklaus. So, I did some research about his character off the course. I found out that while he never officially apologized for that quote, he clarified it by saying black kids tended to grow up in environments geared to sports that required more athleticism than typically attributed to golf. He went on to add that golf would benefit greatly from more ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. He said all this before Tiger won his first Masters. More important than his words are his actions. I learned that Nicklaus has always insisted on nondiscriminatory selection policies at any county club in which he controlled, something they are still having trouble living up to at Augusta National. Moreover, as most of us know, Nicklaus has continued throughout its exisitence to be deeply involved in The First Tee. There isn't a golfer around who does more than Nicklaus for an organization aimed at exposing an expensive game to those that otherwise couldn't afford it. Thus, Jack is doing what he can to make sure the next generation's next top 50 will be better than the players of today. I'd say that's pretty darn classy.

One thing we can all agree on is that Jack Nicklaus is a 100% class act. Therefore, it'd be hard to picture him saying today's players aren't fit to hold his jock strap. Maybe he was just being gracious.

1. Dustin Johnson -12 2. Charl Schwartzel -10 3. Mattao Montassaro -9

I've no doubt somewhere in the AOL archives youcan find a bulletin Board posting where Tiger fans were already talking about how Tiger only needs 16 majors to tie Jack's record unless Jack's fans figure out a way to stop counting US Ams. Seriously though, it's pretty obvious that today's players don't place winning the US Am on the same level with the four majors and haven't since Tiger and Phil left collage. I don't know the actual data but it seems like the best players are not waiting as long to turn pro as they used to. [quote name="turtleback" url="/t/58954/will-tiger-break-jacks-major-record-2012-edition/72#post_728598"] Just like the understanding, by Jack among many others, that as time passed competition got tougher and tougher - right up until the time Tiger started threatening Jack's record at which time the meme became that there were no great players in Tiger's era. Now the competition is getting tougher again. Until Tiger starts wining majors again. [/quote] Nicklaus is a class act. What else is he gunna say? 'Back in my day there were at ileast a few guys that could overcome the pressure of winning majors. Arnie, Gary, Tom, Lee, and Seve didn't just show up and play for second--they came at me with total confidence that they could win, unlike today's 'superstar athletes' that seem content to settle for second place money.' Jack's humility would never let him come out and say something like that, but I wouldn't be a surprised if that's what he's thinking,

was there an official deadline for entering the contest posted before the thread was suspended? If not, it would be great if that could be communicated. The contest closed an hour before I got a chance to enter, but a good while before the tournament started. Thanks

And yet here's another example of a guy backing into a major because player after player got his pipes burst by the pressure. You say there are five times as many champion golfers in today's game (players that can execute on the back 9 on Sunday). I see a whole lot of guys that play great until they have to). Three years ago Tom Watson outplayed all but one of these modern day "athletes" at 60 years old.

I never said Tiger isn't a great golfer. Tiger is the greatest golfer of this era. I said he isn't the greateat of all time. I believe sportsmanship, i.e character, is an important factor to consider. BTW sorry my agenda smells So bad. Guess it needs changing.

Which major is it you figure wouldn't give Tiger Woods a special exemption in the event he fails to qualify on performance or by being a former winner? The point is that Four majors would be a hell of a career for any pro but a good deal of why it's so hard to win multiple majors is the idea that qualifying for them becomes more difficult as a player gets older. We saw it with Ernie Els at Augusta and DL3 had to go to sectional qualifying this year. Tiger will not have to deal with this issue.

When you consider the fact that Tiger can playin all four majors without ever again having to qualify, you'd have to think sooner or later he'll beat Jack's record. Even if he does , it doesn't make him the greatest of all time. For that to happen Tiger would have to get back to where he was in the early 2000s. Or, Mickleson is going to need to win five more majors. You can say today's tour players are better than the players of Jack's era, but you can't make any real case Tiger had the kind of rivals Jack did during his career. I love Phil M as much as anybody but even he is mot going to claim his accomplishments even come close to that of Arnold Palmer. Nor can he stack up favorably to gary Player or Tom Watson. It's not Tiger's fault he dominated in an era when no other player could stand out in terms of winning majors. But it is what it is and we have to give Jack credit for winning in an era full of other proven winners. There is also the very real possibility that Jack would have won 100 times and had 25 majors had there been the same focus on Golf as a sport then as there is now (ironically thanks in large part to Jack and tiger's achievements). Jack has said that he had no idea how important the four majors are in golf because in his day golf did not enjoy the kind of crossover appeal that it does now in the sports world. He has said that once his golf design business began to prosper he more or less lost focus on his golf game. This makes you wonder how many more majors a fully invested Jack would have won considering he came in second something like 25 times! Most important in the comparison is character, which matters more in golf than any other sport. It's not about the personal life stuff; it's about on the course behavior and how great Jack is at representing the game of golf. Jack wasn't one to pump his fist up and down in a kind of in-your-face bravado. Jack played his best and hoped his opponent did the same. In rare instances when Jack came up short he accepted defeat with class--the sign of a true champion. Tiger seems to getting better at this since his "accodent," but in terms of his place in golf history the damage is done. All this amounts to Tiger eventually passing the 18 major milestone, but he'll still have miles to travel to eclipse the greatest golfer to ever live.

This is a good idea. I've been using two rubber bands and an alignment rod to hoist my Iphone for a couple of years now. It'd be better to have a more stable holster. My question is why does it have to cost 20 bucks. Also, your $8 aliginment rods seem steep. I guess when you consider the $124 Plane Finder and the $100 Bender Stick, there most be a market out there that will buy at that price point. Kudos for resisting the urge to pay Nick Faldo 10 bucks a unit to put his name on the box. Although, the same people willing to pay $20 a unit would probably pay $30, especially if they know it's being used by a guy from TV. So you might consider ringing Sir Nick's agent. But, For those "job creators" who have $20 nurning a hole in their pockets, My advice is to go with the two rubber bands and $2 alingnment rod method and donate the $18 remaining to the First Tee. The game of golf will thank you for it.

Ben Crane -- (-12) Fran Molinare - (-10) Paul Goyos - (-10)

1.Dustin Johnson -14 2.Sean O'hair -12 3.Pad harrington-12

I saw the other day that the average PGA Tour Pro was scrach at 13-15 yr old. In this day and age +2 may put you in the running for a collage scholarshilp. That'd give you a few years to develop some heart on the golf course. Because it's all about heart. Lots of people can make birdies, but not a lot of people can make a birdie putt to halve the hole. Fewer still can do it In front of strangers. A fraction of these can do it for the morgage week after week after week. Then, these, the chosen, have to go to the practice tee every day with the knowledge there are a thousand or so upstart champions waiting on the fringe that have been groomed from their first plastic 3 club starter set to releave you of your tour card. Point is that in today's game, to get a life inside the ropes, you might be better off becoming a sports psychologist. Because these guys are good.

now days it cost an armand a leg for a large bucket of balls. So going to the range just to pound your club into the dirt seems a silly. Not saying there aren't people out there chopping up balls, but they are by no means the majority. Most hit balls with some sort of serious intent. If there is someone who made it to single digits without ever going to a practice range I'd love to hear about it.