Top ten golf player
 

1. Jack Niclaus (1940- )
ALSO KNOWN AS THE “GOLDEN BEAR”, HE IS REGARDED AS THE GREATEST GOLFER OF ALL TIME BECAUSE OF HIS RECORD WINNINGS IN MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS. HE HAS A RECORD OF 18 PROFESSIONAL MAJORS IN A PGA TOUR CAREER WHICH LASTED 25 YEARS, 1962 TO 1986. ON THE CHAMPIONS TOUR, HE WON 8 OF THE TOURS MAJORS FROM 1990-1996. THESE RECORDS STILL STAND TODAY.

2. Tiger Woods (1976- )
TIGER WOODS (1976- ) - WOODS HAS WON FOURTEEN PROFESSIONAL MAJOR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS, WHICH IS THE SECOND HIGHEST OF ANY MALE PLAYER AND 65 PGA TOUR EVENTS, WHICH MAKES HIM THE THIRD OF ALL TIME. HE CURRENTLY HAS THE MOST MAJOR CAREER WINS AND CAREER PGA TOUR WINS THAN ANY OTHER ACTIVE GOLFER. WOODS IS THE YOUNGEST PLAYER TO ACHIEVE THE GRAND SLAM. HE IS ALSO THE YOUNGEST TO WIN 50 TOURNAMENTS ON TOUR.

3. Ben Hogan (1912-1997)
HOGAN IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS PROFOUND INFLUENCE ON THE GOLF SWING THEORY AND HIS BALL STRIKING ABILITY. HE WON 64 PGA TOUR WINS, WHICH MAKES HIM THE 4TH OF ALL TIME AND 9 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP WINS.

4. Bobby Jones (1902-1971)
JONES WAS ONE OF THE BEST GOLFERS TO COMPETE NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY. HE IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS “GRAND SLAM” WHICH CONSISTED WINS IN ALL FOUR MAJOR GOLF TOURNAMENTS OF HIS ERA IN BOTH THE U.S. AND BRITAIN IN A SINGLE YEAR 1930. HE RETIRED FROM THE SPORT AT THE AGE OF 28.

5. Arnold Palmer (1929- )
PALMER WAS NICKNAMED “THE KING”. HE IS ONE OF GOLF’S MOST POPULAR PLAYERS. IN THE 1950S, WHICH WAS THE TELEVISION AGE, PALMER WAS GOLF’S FIRST TELEVISION STAR. HE HELPED POPULARIZE THE SPORT AROUND THE WORLD. IN HIS CAREER, PALMER WON SEVEN MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS. IN THE MASTERS CHAMPIOSHIP HE WON FOUR TIMES, THE U.S. OPEN ONCE AND TWICE IN THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP.

6. Sam Snead (1912-2002)
NICKNAMED “SLAMMIN SAMMY”, SNEAD WAS ONE OF THE TOP GOLF PLAYERS FOR FOUR DECADES. HE WON 82 PGA TOURS, WHICH MAKES HIM THE 1ST OF ALL TIME, AND 70 OTHER EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD. HE NEVER WON A U.S. OPEN DESPITE WINNING SO MANY OTHER CHAMPIONSHIPS.

7. Byron Nelson (1912-2006)
NELSON IS BEST KNOWN FOR WINNING 11 CONSECUTIVE TOURNAMENTS AND 18 TOTAL TOURNAMENTS IN 1945. IN THE PGA TOUR HE WON 52 WHICH MAKES HIM THE 6TH OF ALL TIME.

8. Gary Player (1953- )
PLAYER, A SOUTH AFRICAN, IS REGARDED AS ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN GOLF’S HISTORY. HE HAS WON NUMEROUS TOURS AND CHAMPIONSHIPS. HE WON THE PGA TOUR 24 TIMES, MAKING HIM THE 25TH OF ALL TIME. PLAYER IS ALSO A WELL KNOWN GOLF COURSE ARCHITECT.

9. Walter Hagen (1892-1969)
HAGEN HAS WON A TOTAL OF ELEVEN MAJORS, WHICH MAKES HIM THIRD BEHIND JACK NICKLAUS AND TIGER WOODS. HE HAS WON THE U.S. OPEN TWICE AND WAS THE FIRST AMERICAN TO WIN THE BRITISH OPEN AND WON IT FOUR TIMES. HAGEN WON THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP FIVE TIMES, THE WESTERN OPEN FIVE TIMES AND A TOTAL OF 45 PGA WINS THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER.

10. Gene Sarazan (1902-1999)
GENE SARAZAN (1902-1999) – SARAZAN IS ONE OF FIVE GOLFERS TO HAVE WON ALL THE MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS IN HIS CAREER WHICH ARE, GRAND SLAM, U.S. OPEN, PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, BRITISH OPEN AND THE MASTERS. HE WON HIS FIRST MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1922 WHICH WAS THE U.S. OPEN. AT AGE 20 HE WON HIS FIRST PGA CHAMPIONSHIP. IT IS KNOWN THAT HE WAS A RIVAL OF FELLOW GOLFER BOBBY JONES.

Great Player Short List
 

Good food for thought, golf player. Since we're talking 'all time', how would you rank Harry Vardon?

There was, of course, no Masters Tournament in his time, and transatlantic travel constraints made American Tour travel, e.g., to the U.S. Open and PGA, very difficult (and vice versa for the American players wishing to play The Open Championship). And, obviously, we cannot compare golfers across the decades in terms of money won: Inflation and the immense premium now paid to athletes in all sports render such comparisons meaningless. Given the subjective nature of the list, should we go beyond 'majors won' and also consider the importance of the golfer during his time and his influence on golfers in succeeding generations?

Also, what of the female golfers? Kathy Whitworth is the leading all-time winner of tournaments on both the PGA and LPGA Tours. True, she would not have compiled the same record on the male Tour, but does that preclude her from a place on the 'all time greats' list? Maybe so.

Re-Joyce!
 

Bob Jones was once asked who he thought was the greatest golfer of all-time. Without hesitation, he replied, "Joyce Wethered".

I love Arnie but is he really a #5?

Oh and you guys are really dating yourselves. I knew Yoda was 600 years old, he played with Mary Queen of Scots and all but Drewit too?

Tom In a Bottle
 

Only by sheer will did I not throw the hat of Old Tom Morris into Father Time's golf ring. And the hat of Young Tom, too!

:laughing9

Well I won't hold myself back!

Young Tom had the finest record ever. Better than Tiger, Jack or Ben!

I'm searching for an article that backs this up as well.

I'll get back to you soon!

That is like saying Frankie "the fish" Gamberdella (the stickball champion of Redhoek Brooklyn circa 1952) was the greatest slugger of all time!He was you know!

It reminds me of my brother who at the conclusion of practically every race in the Olympics would say of the gold medalist "there is probably a goat herder somewhere that can beat him!" Heck they played for fashion accessories back in Young Tom's day. Here we have Tom wearing a handsome belt made from the finest Morrocan leather!

Drewit, you know full and well that Joyce could not "even" beat the man who claimed her to be the best!

I'll go out on a limb...seeing there is ample company!

Who else could beat Sam Snead 12 times out of 14 matches?
Who else won 6 of his first 13 tour events?
Who beat Hogan and the boys on more than one occassion like a taiko-drum?

Okie, didnt they make you disavow Bobby Locke prior to receiving your citizenship? Somebody call Home Land Security. Code S.A.

One can only imagine how great his record might have been.

Pleasure.

Actually more than anything they played for money ;)

Never heard of Frankie the fish, but pretty much everyone who has played beyond beginner status has heard of the Morrises. Add to the fact that they played the same arena as Tiger & Co will play next July and my comparison more than stands up to your ridicule.

Have you any idea at all of Young Tom's records?

Young Tom was a "belter!"
 

To be honest I only know that he won four Opens in a trot.His lasting contribution is that he retired that silly belt! :laughing9 I love that Claret Jug. Make your case GP...until then the ridicule stands...with all faux humility! :laughing1

Frankie the fish is the greatest slugger we have never heard of, much like Young Tom is the greatest golfer than we have seldom heard of! I confess Frankie the Fish is not real, but he could have been! Kinda like Tommy could have been the best ever! Now don't get y'r knickers in a twist, laddie!

Before there was Tiger Woods - before there was anybody else in golf history, for that matter - there was Young Tom Morris. A prodigy of such accomplishment that he was a legend in his own time. So accomplished was Morris that he was responsible for the creation of the Claret Jug, the now-traditional trophy for the winner of the Open Championship.
But Morris' life was all too brief: He died tragically, on Christmas Day, at the age of 24.

Morris' father - Tom Morris Sr., a k a Old Tom Morris - had won four Open Championships himself, the last in 1867, one year before his son's first British Open title.

But Young Tom Morris had been winning tournaments before that. His first big win, according to the World Golf Hall of Fame, was an exhibition match in Perth at the age of 13. At 16, he won a big professional event at Carnoustie.

When he won the British Open in 1868, he was only 17 years old. Young Tom won again in 1869 and 1870. At that time, the winner of the tournament was presented with a "championship belt," officially called the Challenge Belt. The rules stipulated that anyone winning the belt three straight years got to keep it. Morris did just that, and the belt was his permanently.

Which left the tournament organizers with a problem: They no longer had anything to present to the winner.

There was no tournament in 1871, but by 1872 the now-famous "Claret Jug" was ready, and Young Tom Morris won that trophy in its first year.

Three years later, Morris was playing an exhibition match when he received word that his wife and child had both died during childbirth. Morris himself died mere months later, on Christmas Day, 1875, at the age of 24. The cause is not known, but most people at the time blamed it on a broken heart.

Young Tom Morris would be outlived by his father, Old Tom Morris, by more than 30 years.


more to come!

I would heartily recommend the book "Tommy's Honour" for anyone interested in learning more about Young Tom.

Was she one of Morrison's students?

Not to knock the King, but I'd put Snead up there at #3 or #4, if nothing else, the longevity of his career is worth a few spots!

Id move Sam to #5 personally. Cant go ahead of Jones or Hogan I dont think.

Wait One Cotton Pickin' Minute!!!!
 

In his book entitled "This Game of Golf" (1948 ), Sir Henry Cotton listed Lady Heathcoat-Amory or the former Miss Joyce Wethered as the player that stood far ahead of his or her contemporaries in both medal (stroke) and match play.

This book was obviously written before Hogan began his domination.

Here is Joyce Wethered's swing animation. I think the Stack and Tilt guys can claim her as an early proponent, backswing wise anyways.

http://www.hickorygolfers.com/swings...ed/jwdrive.htm

Striking matches
 

In their round together at the Old Course at St. Andrews in August 1930 in which Bob Jones teamed with Miss. Wethered against Roger Wethered (Joyce's brother and a fine amateur in his own right) and Dale Bourne, then recently crowned English Champion, Jones remarked, "I have never played golf with anyone, man or women, amateur or professional, who made me feel so utterly outclassed. It was impossible to expect that Miss Wethered would never miss a shot-but she never did. I have no hesitancy in saying that, accounting for the unavoidable handicap of a women's lesser physical strength, she is the finest golfer I have ever seen."

I have many pictures of Joyce Wethered at Impact and they all have better aligments from a G.O.L.F. point of view. But if she is timing a flip with a Sweep Release, as presented in the pictures supplied by O.B. (Keeler), she is doing it better than anyone else ever did.

Jones and Wethered would reunite for a match at East Lake in August of 1935. Playing the 6600 yard course and playing on Bermuda greens for the first time, Wetherd posted a 74 despite two three putts. After battling illness for weeks before the match, Jones shot a level par 71.

Early Forums
 

No she was not. She had only one formal lesson from Tom Lyle, the professional at Bude, a seaside links in Cornwall. Spending time with her older brother Roger, the 1923 British Amateur Champion, the two played constantly and studied many long hours into the night the techniques of Harry Vardon, J.H. Taylor and James Braid.

That is greatly appreciated Drewit.

Thank you.

Lady Luck
 

I have the Henry Cotton book you mentioned. I chuckled when I first read his lavish praise of "The Lady" She was pretty good for a sweetspot throwing gal! I take Bob Jones' ringing endorsement in the same vain as Sir Henry's. The question is could she take them (7 Open Championships combined)from the tips with the chips...down? I think not! I do enjoy Henry Cotton's insights though.

Top Ten
 

Shouldn't Young Tom Watson be on that list?

Sports Illustrated without Illustrations
 

SI's Top Twenty All-Time Greatest Golfers

20. Billy Casper
19. Old Tom Morris
18. Lee Trevino
17. Gene Sarazen
16. Babe Zaharias
15. Seve Ballesteros
14. Young Tom Morris
13. Harry Vardon
12. Annika Sorenstam
11. Tom Watson
10. Walter Hagen
9. Gary Player
8. Mickey Wright
7. Byron Nelson
6. Arnold Palmer
5. Sam Snead
4. Ben Hogan
3. Bobby Jones
2. Tiger Woods
1. Jack Nicklaus

Seriously, Lee Trevino behind Seve?

I believe I once heard Moe Norman state something to the effect that Tiger Woods was not the best golfer. He was the best scorer, but not the best golfer. He went on to say that Tiger's inability to have control over the driver was the main problem. Of course, in Mr. Norman's vernacular it was much more interesting and colorful.

Greg Norman Forgotten
 

Did Sports Illustrated forget Greg Norman? Wasn't he ranked #1 for about six years in his prime. I think he won two British Opens. Greg should be in the top twenty based on the Majors he didn't win.

How about these chops!!
 

Cary Middlecoff: 40 tour wins, 3 majors in only 17 years.

Vijay Singh: 34 tour wins (58 total), 3 majors in 16 seasons.

Phil Mickelson: 37 tour wins (45 total), 3 majors in 19 seasons.

Nick Faldo: 9 tour wins (40 total), 6 majors.

Peter Thomson: 6 tour wins (81 total), 5 majors (all British Opens).

Ray Floyd: 22 tour wins (66 total), 4 majors.

Bobby Locke: 15 tour wins (72 total), 4 majors.

In my opinion Faldo should be on that list. I do not think that Old or Young Tom Morris could hang with him.

Mickelson and Singh have done it in the "tiger era" so they should also get some credit.

I think the list should probably be broken out a little, pre-television, woman and men.

I would also think that todays players are probably a little better than a 100 years ago given the amount of people in the world that now play golf.