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The Mount Rushmore of Golf (1 Viewer)

BobbyLayne

BobbyLayne

Footballguy
Tiger voted for himself

:lmao:

I don’t disagree with him, just cannot imagine anyone else doing it. OK, maybe Jack, but just thought it was funny because most everyone else wouldn’t even think of it. Arnie never would have, Byron would have never even thought about doing it.

Nominees (the 16 most impactful in my mind, feel free to add your own) for the Mount Rushmore of Golf:

Harry Vardon

Walter Hagen 

Bobby Jones

Gene Sarazen

Byron Nelson

Ben Hogan 

Sam Snead

Gary Player

Arnold Palmer

Jack Nicklaus

Lee Trevino

Tom Watson

Seve Ballesteros

Nick Faldo

Phil Mickelson 

Tiger Woods

Thiught about Tom Morris Sr, Young Tom Morris, James Braid - but I just can’t see it. Phenomenal stories all, but didn’t have a global impact the way Jones & others who came after did.

Billy Casper was a just miss, along with Ray Floyd, Nick Price and Vijay Singh.

Also gave serious consideration to Rory, Spieth, Koepka and other modern era golfers, but until they write more chapters, not yet.

I’ll go with Jones, Hogan, Nicklaus & Woods.

It pains me to leave Arnold off the list, because he was Ali before Ali, there is no Michael Jordan if there is no Palmer. Greatest brand ambassador ever & loved by all.

But the four I chose had both longevity of success and briefer periods of such utter dominance, they are without equal. IMHO

OK go!

 
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matuski said:
Gilmore

Kevin Costner

Rodney Dangerfield

and I need Will Smith to caddy.
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I'm going to give you a little advice. There's a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball.

 
belljr said:
Hogan

Palmer

Nicklaus

Woods

My initial pass
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I was super close to making it these four. On second thought, Arnold’s revitalization of the modern Grand Slam might be a greater accomplishment than Jones winning the original impregnable quadrilateral. Because once he got past qualifying, those match plays were mostly a cakewalk.

Still hard to beat winning 7 of his last 13 majors.

 
BobbyLayne said:
I was super close to making it these four. On second thought, Arnold’s revitalization of the modern Grand Slam might be a greater accomplishment than Jones winning the original impregnable quadrilateral. Because once he got past qualifying, those match plays were mostly a cakewalk.

Still hard to beat winning 7 of his last 13 majors.
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Ask me tomorrow I may change.

Hogan is tough to drop because of his swing analysis and bigger comeback than Tigers current one, relatively speaking

Byron is underrated imo

But agree with your Arnold assessment

 
I think Woods, Nicklaus, Arnold are somewhat givens. 

Then I have a tough time.  Hard to imagine Arnie not involved, he brought ratings to golf and made it mainstream as Tiger did today (although obviously less media).

 
wikkidpissah said:
Big 3 & the Ruth, Bobby Jones. /thread
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My issue with Player's inclusion is 80% of his wins came versus inferior competition (Sunshine Tour and Australian events.) 24 PGA Tour wins is 25th all-time.

Still, only five guys own the modern Grand Slam so he's in the conversation.

 
BobbyLayne said:
My issue with Player's inclusion is 80% of his wins came versus inferior competition (Sunshine Tour and Australian events.) 24 PGA Tour wins is 25th all-time.

Still, only five guys own the modern Grand Slam so he's in the conversation.
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my bad - not the old Big 3. Woods/Nicklaus/Palmer(who must be included for his impact on sports marketing)/Jones

 
If i had to seed those 16 nominees (wins/majors):

1. Tiger Woods (80/14)

16. Harry Vardon (7/7)

9. Tom Watson (39/8)

8. Gary Player (24/9)

4. Ben Hogan (64/9)

13. Lee Trevino (29/6)

5. Arnold Palmer (62/7)

12. Nick Faldo (9/6)*

3. Bobby Jones (9/7)**

14. Seve Ballesteros (9/5)***

6. Walter Hagen (45/11)

11. Gene Sarazen (39/7)

7. Byron Nelson (52/5)

10. Sam Snead (82/7)

15. Phil Mickelson (43/5)

2. Jack Nicklaus (73/18)

*Does not account for his 30 wins on the European Tour.

**Jones is commonly credited with 13 majors - including his 5 US Amateurs and the 1930 British Amateur which completed the Grand Slam. His 13 majors is a stat that Jack Nicklaus started aiming for in high school, and his 1975 PGA was hailed as the one that made him golf's all-time leader in majors won.

***Won 50 European Tour Events, making him the all-time leader on that Tour.

 
Jones

Nelson

Palmer

Nicklaus

I really can't argue against including Tiger but I just not a fan so he's not in my top 4.

 
The two men that are most profitable would be Arnie and Tiger. They created millions of dollars and fans.

 
tommyboy said:
The two men that are most profitable would be Arnie and Tiger. They created millions of dollars and fans.
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Two most beloved or likeable would be an interesting debate. Don't think Hogan, Nicklaus or Woods would be shoe-ins for that subcategory.

Arnold, without question. There was only one King.

Probably Jones, because he was such a magnificent sportsman. Twice called a penalty on himself in the U.S. Open (1925 & 1926.) The first time resulted in a playoff loss (to Hagen, who argued vehemently he should not sign for the higher card), the next year he won it. Founded the Masters.

But good case for Lord Byron or Slammin' Sammy as well. Phil wants to be Arnie, and he has his legions, but i always found him disingenuous, even when I saw him as a 20 year old amateur. Trevino was always good for a laugh. 

 
Jack, Tiger, Palmer, Jones 

Watson is first out mainly because he yelled at me as a kid and I hold a grudge. 

 
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ETA:  fun trivia.  Snead remains the oldest player to ever make a PGA Tour cut, in the 1979 Greater Greensboro at 67 years old.  He also became the first player to shoot his age in a PGA tournament (67, also in 1979).  And he remains the only male player to ever win an LPGA event (by five shots, in the 1962 Royal Poinciana Plaza Invitational, at 49 years old).

 
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bigmarc27 said:
Jack, Tiger, Palmer, Jones 

Watson is first our mainly because he yelled at me as a kid and I hold a grudge. 
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Yeah, though about a thousand from this discussion, I asked John Mahaffrey for a golf ball when it was just me and him at the practice range area at Muirfield in Columbus, OH. 

I must have watched him for 15-20 minutes ...just he and I.  If you have ever been there, the range is way off from everything else.  It was after his round and there couldn't have been anyone around for a thousand yards.  I can't remember why the hell I was over there ...I think I was just trying to get a brand new Macgregor Tourney "range' ball. 

I said, "You think I could get one of those range balls signed from you Mr. Mahaffrey?".  Poorly worded, but I was nervous.  He said, "Not mine to give kid."  I should have followed up with a signature request ...anything, but I was mortified.  He never really made eye contact and had a ####ty look on his face.  Maybe he had a bad round, I don't remember.  

#### him forever.  Plus, he's a balding, fat-headed nobody.  

 
Binky The Doormat said:
Yeah, though about a thousand from this discussion, I asked John Mahaffrey for a golf ball when it was just me and him at the practice range area at Muirfield in Columbus, OH. 

I must have watched him for 15-20 minutes ...just he and I.  If you have ever been there, the range is way off from everything else.  It was after his round and there couldn't have been anyone around for a thousand yards.  I can't remember why the hell I was over there ...I think I was just trying to get a brand new Macgregor Tourney "range' ball. 

I said, "You think I could get one of those range balls signed from you Mr. Mahaffrey?".  Poorly worded, but I was nervous.  He said, "Not mine to give kid."  I should have followed up with a signature request ...anything, but I was mortified.  He never really made eye contact and had a ####ty look on his face.  Maybe he had a bad round, I don't remember.  

#### him forever.  Plus, he's a balding, fat-headed nobody.  
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This was at Sawgrass in like 1989 or so (Tom Kite won, Chip Beck second I think) which would’ve made me like 8 years old. Watson threw one in the trees like 15 ft from us and he was already kind of whiny by the time he got there. They start backing people up but by now there’s hundreds of people around and we (myself and my grandpa) can’t move until people behind us make room. So we’re waiting there until the crowd behind us gives some room and since Watson sees our feet aren’t moving he points at us and basically screams something like “MOVE, ONE FOOT THEN THE OTHER, REPEAT UNTIL YOURE OUT OF MY WAY.”  I have a pretty vivid recollection of my grandfather and a few other people saying something back and someone behind us saying “we were standing here first #######, aim for the fairway” which got a laugh. 

 
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bigmarc27 said:
This was at Sawgrass in like 1989 or so (Tom Kite won, Chip Beck second I think) which would’ve made me like 8 years old. Watson threw one in the trees like 15 ft from us and he was already kind of whiny by the time he got there. They start backing people up but by now there’s hundreds of people around and we (myself and my grandpa) can’t move until people behind us make room. So we’re waiting there until the crowd behind us gives some room and since Watson sees our feet aren’t moving he points at us and basically screams something like “MOVE, ONE FOOT THEN THE OTHER, REPEAT UNTIL YOURE OUT OF MY WAY.”  I have a pretty vivid recollection of my grandfather and a few other people saying something back and someone behind us saying “we were standing here first #######, aim for the fairway” which got a laugh. 
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I love this.  

 
BobbyLayne said:
good point from the comments (alluded to my @belljr)

https://twitter.com/WeeIceMon/status/1044709562815836160
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Yep. Almost died

In the crash in February 1949 Hogan threw himself across the legs of his wife Valerie to protect her. His injuries were a double-fracture of the pelvis, a fractured collarbone, fractured left ankle, chipped ribs and near fatal blood clots. A surgeon was flown from New Orleans by US Air Force plane to save his life.

To return to golf 11 months later and withstand the physical stresses of winning a major championship entitled the Hogan comeback to be known as the greatest in sporting history.

 
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Galileo said:
That's a hell of a stat line for a 10 seed...
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IKR  :lmao:

I was thinking I got it wrong. But those 1939 & 1947 US Open collapses stick in my mind. Never won it. That missed 30" putt in '47 was....it's just hard to imagine. 

But man was he amazing, still competitive on the big tour in his 50s and did well on the Senior Tour beating guys 15 years younger than him.

 
bigmarc27 said:
This was at Sawgrass in like 1989 or so (Tom Kite won, Chip Beck second I think) which would’ve made me like 8 years old. Watson threw one in the trees like 15 ft from us and he was already kind of whiny by the time he got there. They start backing people up but by now there’s hundreds of people around and we (myself and my grandpa) can’t move until people behind us make room. So we’re waiting there until the crowd behind us gives some room and since Watson sees our feet aren’t moving he points at us and basically screams something like “MOVE, ONE FOOT THEN THE OTHER, REPEAT UNTIL YOURE OUT OF MY WAY.”  I have a pretty vivid recollection of my grandfather and a few other people saying something back and someone behind us saying “we were standing here first #######, aim for the fairway” which got a laugh. 
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I was a volunteer at that event.  :shock:

I think in 1988 (or might have been 1987) Jim Nantz ran over my foot with a golf cart on the range. When I looked up (I was bent over rubbing my foot), Dante Pastorini was in the cart with him. I was completely star struck & said something stupid like "No it's fine, I'm good, barely hurts." Half hour later they sent a girl over with two passes to a swanky clubhouse tent, which I parlayed into a chance meeting with Kim Alexis a few days later. Now THAT was a good year. 

 
BobbyLayne said:
IKR  :lmao:

I was thinking I got it wrong. But those 1939 & 1947 US Open collapses stick in my mind. Never won it. That missed 30" putt in '47 was....it's just hard to imagine. 

But man was he amazing, still competitive on the big tour in his 50s and did well on the Senior Tour beating guys 15 years younger than him.
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Honestly surprised by the lack of mentions here.

Thought maybe I had it wrong, but the first GOAT list I found has him at 5 and includes Hagen ahead of him.

 
In my seedings I weighted heavily for closing out majors. I probably hold that too much against Snead & Mickelson for never winning the US Open when they each had multiple chances. Palmer had an epic collapse in 1966 at Olympic and gift wrapped that one for Billy Casper, but he already had his 7 majors by then.

Arnold's charge at Cherry Hills (final round 65, drove the first green after hitting it out of bounds on the same hole twice in earlier rounds) is the greatest comeback in major championship history IMO. 7 shots back and he won going away. That victory started the whole modern era of chasing the Grand Slam. He won the Masters two months earlier, and three weeks later lost the Open Championship (nee British Open) by one shot.

Absolutely cemented his place in history, and he won 3 more majors after that. The 1960 US Open is arguably the best major ever, though personally I'd pick the 1986 Masters. Nicklaus was an amateur and finished 2nd, Hogan was older than dirt and in contention up until the last few holes. But Palmer's 6 birdies in 7 holes to start the final round was seismic.

 
BobbyLayne said:
I was a volunteer at that event.  :shock:

I think in 1988 (or might have been 1987) Jim Nantz ran over my foot with a golf cart on the range. When I looked up (I was bent over rubbing my foot), Dante Pastorini was in the cart with him. I was completely star struck & said something stupid like "No it's fine, I'm good, barely hurts." Half hour later they sent a girl over with two passes to a swanky clubhouse tent, which I parlayed into a chance meeting with Kim Alexis a few days later. Now THAT was a good year. 
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I’ve been to the Players probably 3-4x now. It’s always a good time. Done the Masters twice (one of which included Sunday), Tour Championship at East Lake twice, and the Heritage at Hilton Head. Surprisingly, I probably had the most fun at the Heritage. Sunday at the Masters was the most memorable. 

 
bigmarc27 said:
I’ve been to the Players probably 3-4x now. It’s always a good time. Done the Masters twice (one of which included Sunday), Tour Championship at East Lake twice, and the Heritage at Hilton Head. Surprisingly, I probably had the most fun at the Heritage. Sunday at the Masters was the most memorable. 
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I’ve always heard this is a great, first class event. Players bring their families & just want to relax because they’re coming off Masters week.

I volunteered at Pensacola 1983 and Sawgrass 1985, 1987-89 (was on deployment in ‘86.) I always worked the 8th hole, and many of the same crew worked the same spot every year. We’d go back 2-3-4 weeks later to play a complimentary round together. We also had to pay for our own uniforms & take a weeks vacation.

One year (1986) we decided to also have a reunion round at Sawgrss CC across the highway (one of the volunteers home ) They held the PLAYERS there before the Stadum Cpurse was built, great links course. Probably the hardest course I ever played.

 
Jones, Nicklaus and Tiger are locks. Zero question. 4th one is harder. Palmer if off the course impact is weighed heavily. Snead for volume of wins. Hogan in the mix. I have Player a notch below. 

 
BobbyLayne said:
In my seedings I weighted heavily for closing out majors. I probably hold that too much against Snead & Mickelson for never winning the US Open when they each had multiple chances. Palmer had an epic collapse in 1966 at Olympic and gift wrapped that one for Billy Casper, but he already had his 7 majors by then.

Arnold's charge at Cherry Hills (final round 65, drove the first green after hitting it out of bounds on the same hole twice in earlier rounds) is the greatest comeback in major championship history IMO. 7 shots back and he won going away. That victory started the whole modern era of chasing the Grand Slam. He won the Masters two months earlier, and three weeks later lost the Open Championship (nee British Open) by one shot.

Absolutely cemented his place in history, and he won 3 more majors after that. The 1960 US Open is arguably the best major ever, though personally I'd pick the 1986 Masters. Nicklaus was an amateur and finished 2nd, Hogan was older than dirt and in contention up until the last few holes. But Palmer's 6 birdies in 7 holes to start the final round was seismic.
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Dan Jenkins' story about the '60 US Open

 
BobbyLayne said:
I’ve always heard this is a great, first class event. Players bring their families & just want to relax because they’re coming off Masters week.

I volunteered at Pensacola 1983 and Sawgrass 1985, 1987-89 (was on deployment in ‘86.) I always worked the 8th hole, and many of the same crew worked the same spot every year. We’d go back 2-3-4 weeks later to play a complimentary round together. We also had to pay for our own uniforms & take a weeks vacation.

One year (1986) we decided to also have a reunion round at Sawgrss CC across the highway (one of the volunteers home ) They held the PLAYERS there before the Stadum Cpurse was built, great links course. Probably the hardest course I ever played.
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Yeah the Heritage is a blast, I’d highly recommend it for anyone. I went with my wife who didn’t care much for sports, as well as my mom and her husband. Everyone had really the best time. We ate at the restaurant by the lighthouse and were seated right next to Aaron Baddely, his wife, kids, and extended family.  We ran into Snedeker a few times and he happened to win that weekend in a playoff. He also signed our badges which was nice.  I’m a Clemson alum so we followed around DJ Trahan for awhile and there’s just a sea of orange with him since the tourney is in SC. We stayed on the beach and would just lay out in the sand at night for a bit, no one for hundreds of yards in any direction.  Sunday was on Easter that year so everyone was in seersucker the last day.

We got in late Thursday and saw the last 3 days, it’ll be one of those weekends I talk about forever. Top notch all around. 

 
The only problem with the heritage is you have to stay in Hilton Head.  :scared:

 
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