Gotta-Grip Golf Blog

The argument over who is (or will be) the greatest golfer ever is far from over. tiger is still playing of course, but greatness is hard to define with simple statistics. Is Barry Bonds the greatest homerun hitter of all time? If it's proven he used steroids, is the answer the same?

I'm leaning towards Tiger but probably in the "will be" camp. My view of the stats to date is based on the first twelve years of each player as a Professional. With Nicklaus, 1961 through the 1972 season and Tiger, 1996 through the 2007 season.

In those years, Jack played in 232 PGA individual events (as opposed to team events, etc), won 45 and 11 majors. Tiger played in 215 events, won 61 and 13 majors. Jack turned Professional at 21, Tiger, also at 21.

Jack's remaining PGA results (not counting the Senior Tour) was as follows...362 tournaments, 28 wins, 7 majors. Obviously, like any good athlete, Jack's percentages tailed off with age, as I expect Tiger's will. One distinct difference I see moving forward is Tiger's attention to physical fitness. Jack early in his career dealt with some weight issues, but later on stayed fairly trim although I'm not aware that he worked on his overall fitness.

My bet would be that Tiger will surpass all of Jack's records, based on the fact he is already slightly ahead of pace and maintains a physical regimen that should enable him to remain competitive longer. Lots of things can happen but irrespective of any of them, I consider myself lucky to have been around to see both of them in person and in their prime.