Who would be on yours and why?

Nicklaus - GOAT
Tiger - Most dominant golfer to ever play, IMO. Made golf global, ushered in the big purses and draws, and transcended from just golfer to true athlete. Took endorsements to a new level and drove highest levels of golf viewership and awareness. Big reason we have the Rory's, Day's and Spieth's on current tour.
Palmer - First player who really appealed to the masses, IMO. ushered in modern golf as we know it. Philanthropy work second to none.
Jones - really struggled with not having Hogan (at the expense of Jones) but gave the nod to Bobby. Was the first true great american golfer IMO (seem to have more following than Hagen). Instrumental in club advancement. Co-Founder of the Masters, the Greatest Sporting Event on the planet.

What say you?

Only position up for debate is the 4th.

Everyone should have Tiger/Nicklaus/Palmer in the 1st three spots.

The Hawk is definitely in my Mount Rushmore. But mostly for selfish reasons.

Really hard to argue those 4, that's who I would put in mine.

For arguments sake, you could definitely make a case for Sam Snead. From a pure numbers perspective, the guy has the most PGA tournament victories (82). PGATour.com credits him 140 total career victories across all tours. He won 7 majors (3 green jackets), and was a U.S. Open shy of a career grand slam finishing runner up 4 times. Pretty sure he's also the oldest to ever win a PGA tournament, not sure on the age.

Needless to say... he's my #5.

That's probably my four as well.

However, if you wanted to include an international player in there you could make a case for Seve. He had 50 Euro Tour wins, 3 Open Championship wins, and 2 Masters wins.

Jack
Tiger
Arnold
Gary

Although Bobby Jones is going to get no argument from me

I guess it depends on the criteria, but as for winning big tournaments I think it's
Jack, tiger, jones, and then hogan before Annie.

Arnie might get nod over the hawk only if you add good guy and golf ambassadorship.

Mr.Bond said:

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Jack
Tiger
Arnold
Gary

Although Bobby Jones is going to get no argument from me

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Gary Player? I would have him as #4 as well

I really wasnt keeping my 4 inclusive to AMericans. I just didn't think any others stacked up as well. But you could argue:

Harry Vardon
Byron Nelson
Sam Snead
Player
Seve

Nicklaus
Woods
Hogan
Hagen

Vardon? Get a grip!


I would put Hogan over Arnold as well.

Since we're doing this mostly for arguments sake, how is it that no one is proposing Byron Nelson.

Chances are his tournament record for consecutive wins will never be broken. People often point out that his career benefited due to the war years, but they forget that Hogan didn't really start becoming the dominant force in golf until Nelson started moving away from the game.

Jack, Tiger, Bobby, Ben

Arnie, Jack, Couples, Lefty

Tiger

Hogan

Arnie

Jack

Bobby Jones- Godfather of the Masters
Arnold Palmer- Made golf popular
Jack Nicklaus- The Greatest
Tiger Woods- second greatest

Alternate in case one of the four goes the way of Joe Paterno.

Kevin Na-

Jones
Hogan
Jack
Tiger

Love Arnie, he did a lot for the game. But he isn't Hogan.

My four go to the men who changed the face of golf at different eras:

Old Tom Morris - most modern green keeping concepts
Ben Hogan - GOAT to me
Arnie - populist changed demographic to lower incomes
Tiger - dominant and changed face to increased

Jack is the majors leader but that's really "it" (yes I know that means a ton) but it's like having Teddy on the actual Rushmore - he changed national parks so he gets the nod. I just don't think Jack impacted the game enough.

I do actually lean towards taking Jack out of the "Rushmore" and changing mine to:

Arnold
Tiger
Jones
Hogan

Tiger, Arnie, Jones, Jack

Favorite:
Arnie, Phil, Seve, Hagen

I'm surprised to see Seve mentioned.

Think I'd have Tiger, Jack, Arnie, and probably Snead. Hogan and Jones being a very close 5 & 6.

if you're looking at it from the individual's impact on the competitive landscape of golf, think you could make a pretty good case for Tiger's ex-wife

Francis Ouimet
Jack Nicklaus
Arnold Palmer
Byron Nelson

Tiger
Jack
Player
Hogan

Only 5 guys have won the career grand slam and these are 4 of them. Hogan's teaching on the swing are the basis for modern golf and he's a badass. Player won over 150 tournaments around the world and can still shoot in the 60's.

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I just don't think Jack impacted the game enough.

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GTFO! Not only the GOAT but still has a huge presence DECADES after retiring from professional golf. He has designed countless golf courses all over the world as well as very successfully promoted charities. There is no bigger name in golf, and I mean the history of golf. His major wins alone should put him at the top.

Quote:

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if you're looking at it from the individual's impact on the competitive landscape of golf, think you could make a pretty good case for Tiger's ex-wife

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POTD! You win!

Tiger & Jack. No question about those two.

Best of the rest, it just depends on what traits you want to emphasize.

• Jones
• Player
• Snead
• Palmer
• Hogan
• Nelson

and, dare I say, i think history will be kind to Mr. Mickelson.

Good post. Maybe a few others on the honorable mention list:

• Trevino
• Billy Casper (51 wins despite the 'Big Three')
• Jimmy Demaret (Augusta has tributes to Hogan and Nelson, but none to him - first guy to 3 green jackets plus 31 wins)
• Claude Harmon (last club pro to win a major and was considered as a good or sometimes better teacher than a player)

CapCityAg89 said:

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My four go to the men who changed the face of golf at different eras:

Old Tom Morris - most modern green keeping concepts
Ben Hogan - GOAT to me
Arnie - populist changed demographic to lower incomes
Tiger - dominant and changed face to increased

Jack is the majors leader but that's really "it" (yes I know that means a ton) but it's like having Teddy on the actual Rushmore - he changed national parks so he gets the nod. I just don't think Jack impacted the game enough.

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Wow... um OK.


Jack got the game on TV.
Jack is the one who started the Money coming into the tournaments.
Jack increased the payouts 7 fold from his first win.
Tiger won more money in his first year or 2 then Jack won in his entire career. That had ZERO to do with Tiger.
Jack won 18 Majors, and finished 2nd 19 times, in 37 majors Jack finished 1st or 2nd. More than half the tour does not make 37 cuts in a major, much less finish in the top 10.
Jack knocked off the champ Arnold, There was no champ when Tiger got here.

They asked Jack about Tiger after he won his 7th or 8th Major. Jack said, lets not give him the crown yet, let him get married, have some kids, battle some injuries, its a long way to 18, I promise you...

Jack basically took the best years of his golfing career off in the mid 70's to raise his kids. Playing the tournament minimums, he still won 13 or 14 times in a 2 year span.

Jack also played with old school blades and a ballata ball. His scoring records still stand and/or are still within a stroke on many courses.

Tiger brought in the extra viewers to TV. Jack brought Golf to TV, to say anything else is rather short sighted!

I don't think you can define golf by just 4 people.

I remember them calling Nicklaus a legend in his spare time.