The Best Putter?

[Craig Sweet]

I don't think I've seen anyone putt like Tiger....simply amazing.

What planet is he from?

[A.G._Crockett]

I don't think I've seen anyone putt like Tiger....simply amazing.

What planet is he from?

Not this one...

[JNC Lyon]

The Greatest Golfer of All Time

[Peter Ferlicca]

This guy likes to save the drama till the last minute every time, he makes golf exciting.  I'm glad he is back on tour; you are always glued to your seat when Tiger is in contention.   Unbelievable!

[TEPaul]

"The Greatest Golfer of All Time"


AND, all time to come!

[Jeff_Mingay]

Just stunning... and inspiring.

To answer the question posed, here: Tiger Woods 

[Kalen Braley]

From week to week, I can't imagine a better putter.

Although the best putting performance over 18 holes I've ever seen was Goosen at the US Open at Shinny on Sunday...

[Mike_Cirba]

...he may be the greatest athlete of any sport, ever.

Think how many times he has done the seemingly impossible, under the most dramatic and intense circumstances!

He's either an alien, or someone sent here on a mission.

Either way, I'm really glad I'm around to witness him.

[C. Squier]

It's like watching Jordan in his prime.  Unfortunately, MJ ruined basketball for me, I just can't watch it anymore.  I hope when Tiger hangs it up, he can pass the torch to someone 1/4 worthy of it. 

[David Stamm]

"The Greatest Golfer of All Time"


AND, all time to come!

Oh come on, Tom. You saw wee Bobby in his hey day!

[Jeff_Brauer]

I sat with and Sam Snead once and he told the story of he and Bobby Locke doing some kind of exhibition tour where Locke beat him badly, mostly because of putting. Said he was phenomeal and closed out Sam in one of the matches with a 100 foot putt.  What killed Sam was that from 100 feet away, and over a huge ridge, he came up to check the grain by the cup and then proceeded to sink the putt!

I don't know how much of that is a Sam Snead tall tale but its possible that the greatest putter of all time may not be Tiger but someone like Locke.  It would be hard to compare, too given the differences in green quality.

[Warwick Loton]

Here's a short clip of Gary Player demonstrating Bobby Locke's technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYTz2Mjp2N4

... and one of Player using that technique in a tournament:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9mokpFs_gI&NR=1

Must have been something to see Locke in action, and to try to figure out if he really put side-spin on his putts.

[Bob_Huntley]

I sat with and Sam Snead once and he told the story of he and Bobby Locke doing some kind of exhibition tour where Locke beat him badly, mostly because of putting. Said he was phenomeal and closed out Sam in one of the matches with a 100 foot putt.  What killed Sam was that from 100 feet away, and over a huge ridge, he came up to check the grain by the cup and then proceeded to sink the putt!

I don't know how much of that is a Sam Snead tall tale but its possible that the greatest putter of all time may not be Tiger but someone like Locke.  It would be hard to compare, too given the differences in green quality.

Jeff,

In 1946 Locke played Snead in a 15 match series in South Africa and won 12 of the matches.

In 1947 Locke played a limited schedule in the US and won a bunch of times, I think he won the Detroit Open by 14 shots, the biggest margin of victory until Tiger's 15 stroke win at the 2000 US Open.

I had the privilege to play with Locke at the Durban C.C. in 1963, I thought I had seen everything then but Tiger seems his equal.


Bob

[Jim Nugent]

I think he won the Detroit Open by 14 shots, the biggest margin of victory until Tiger's 15 stroke win at the 2000 US Open.

Bob, Locke won the 1948 Chicago Victory event by 16 strokes.  That is still the PGA record, I believe.

He is also credited with the saying, "you drive for show but you putt for dough."  Sounds like Tiger was a case study this past week at Bay Hill. 

[JNC Lyon]

"The Greatest Golfer of All Time"


AND, all time to come!

I was careful not to say that.  Another golfer will come along after Tiger who hits its farther, makes more putts, and wins more tournaments.  He'll be to Tiger what Nicklaus was to Jones and what Jones was to Vardon.  Tiger is only the best so far.

[Cliff Hamm]

Nicklaus was phenomenal.  His putt at the 16th at Augusta in 1986 and the 17th at Baltusrol in 1980 come immediately to mind.  But I must admit Tiger is above phenomenal.  It says it all when he has a 16 foot putt and you sit there expecting him to make it and would be surprised if he didn't.  Simply amazing.

[tlavin]

He's certainly the best putter on tour now.  He's surely the greatest putter of his generation.  He may even prove to be as great a putter as Nicklaus, who made putts whenever he needed to make them, to win an event, to crush an opponent, to turn the tide in a match.  Tiger is just unfathomably terrific.  When I watched the play yesterday, I was again impressed by the relentlessness and the predictablity of his gut-crunching play.  He needed to shoot 67 to win, so he shot 67.  He needed to make birdie on the final hole, so he piped the drive, dropped a baby fade beneath the hole and sunk the putt with the confidence of a true champion.  

Perhaps this isn't the best spot to mention this, but O'Hair needed to shoot 73 in order to lose.  He needed to dunk the ball on 16 to bail out Tiger.  He needed to hit his second shot on 18 to the fat part of the green, leaving a too-long putt that he needed to miss, in order to be a part of Tiger lore, much in the manner that Craig Ehlo and others wound up being on posters with Michael Jordan, with the ball headed for the rim and the defensive player well out of position...  I feel for O'Hair, but I'm thrilled with another Tiger win.

Augusta beckons.

[Greg McMullin]

While it's probable that Tiger is the greatest of all time is it not premature to make this claim? I pose this question based on the fact that he still has not equaled or surpassed the records set by Nicklaus?

[Cliff Hamm]

I am a huge Nicklaus fan and yes, Tiger needs to surpass Nicklaus in majors to 'officially' be declared the greatest of all time.  That being said, having watched professional golf for 40 plus years Tiger is the best barring the unfathomable.

[tlavin]

While it's probable that Tiger is the greatest of all time is it not premature to make this claim? I pose this question based on the fact that he still has not equaled or surpassed the records set by Nicklaus?

Of course, it is premature.  It may be hard for people to withhold this sort of judgment when we're in the middle of witnessing his heroics, but we would all do well to remember that Tiger still has work to do in matching Jack's sterling record.  There is the matter of the number of majors, which one might fairly assume Tiger will top, but more pointedly in my judgment, is the fact that Jack was a dominant player for so long, for so many decades, winning the Masters at 46 and doing well in Senior play as well.  Tiger and Jack have a lot of similarities, but perhaps the most striking commonality is their unwavering confidence and concentration, the unerring ability to remain focused on the goal, shot-by-shot until the winning putt hits the bottom of the cup.  I think Tiger has a chance to be as great as Jack Nicklaus.  To me, that's an amazing statement, because Jack was that great.  It's even more amazing to think that he may prove to be better.  The mind boggles...

[Glenn Spencer]

Lets put this Nicklaus stuff to rest, it is insulting to Tiger.

All the Nicklaus supporters chime in with famous putts that Nicklaus made on the last green of a PGA tournament or the back nine of a major and then the Tiger guys will put up theirs. I bet Tiger has three times as many.

[tlavin]

Lets put this Nicklaus stuff to rest, it is insulting to Tiger.

All the Nicklaus supporters chime in with famous putts that Nicklaus made on the last green of a PGA tournament or the back nine of a major and then the Tiger guys will put up theirs. I bet Tiger has three times as many.

Insulting to Tiger?  Even Tiger wouldn't think that!  He had Nicklaus posters on his wall growing up.  Tiger is phenomenal.  Tiger is predominant.  Tiger has a record that is obviously unmatched by anybody in his generation.  And his record may one day eclipse Nicklaus' record.  It probably will, if he remains healthy and continues to compete into his 50's.  There's no need to rush to judgment here; Tiger is a young man and we are still in thrall of his awesome talent.  To suggest that he has a ways to go to be on the same level with Jack Nicklaus is surely not an insult.  It is a recognition of the absence of certain "numbers" on his golf resume and an observation that he still has a couple decades to go.  For all of us golf fans, I hope he continues to play even if and when he shatters the last of Jack's records.

[Glenn Spencer]

Lets put this Nicklaus stuff to rest, it is insulting to Tiger.

All the Nicklaus supporters chime in with famous putts that Nicklaus made on the last green of a PGA tournament or the back nine of a major and then the Tiger guys will put up theirs. I bet Tiger has three times as many.

Insulting to Tiger?  Even Tiger wouldn't think that!  He had Nicklaus posters on his wall growing up.  Tiger is phenomenal.  Tiger is predominant.  Tiger has a record that is obviously unmatched by anybody in his generation.  And his record may one day eclipse Nicklaus' record.  It probably will, if he remains healthy and continues to compete into his 50's.  There's no need to rush to judgment here; Tiger is a young man and we are still in thrall of his awesome talent.  To suggest that he has a ways to go to be on the same level with Jack Nicklaus is surely not an insult.  It is a recognition of the absence of certain "numbers" on his golf resume and an observation that he still has a couple decades to go.  For all of us golf fans, I hope he continues to play even if and when he shatters the last of Jack's records.

Playing record and majors? Surely, Terry. Check my post, I am speaking of the putts. I think comparing Nicklaus' clutch putting to Tiger's is an insult to Tiger. I am curious to know, but I highly doubt if we all come up with both, Nicklaus will hold a candle to Tiger on the greens.

[tlavin]

Lets put this Nicklaus stuff to rest, it is insulting to Tiger.

All the Nicklaus supporters chime in with famous putts that Nicklaus made on the last green of a PGA tournament or the back nine of a major and then the Tiger guys will put up theirs. I bet Tiger has three times as many.

Insulting to Tiger?  Even Tiger wouldn't think that!  He had Nicklaus posters on his wall growing up.  Tiger is phenomenal.  Tiger is predominant.  Tiger has a record that is obviously unmatched by anybody in his generation.  And his record may one day eclipse Nicklaus' record.  It probably will, if he remains healthy and continues to compete into his 50's.  There's no need to rush to judgment here; Tiger is a young man and we are still in thrall of his awesome talent.  To suggest that he has a ways to go to be on the same level with Jack Nicklaus is surely not an insult.  It is a recognition of the absence of certain "numbers" on his golf resume and an observation that he still has a couple decades to go.  For all of us golf fans, I hope he continues to play even if and when he shatters the last of Jack's records.

Playing record and majors? Surely, Terry. Check my post, I am speaking of the putts. I think comparing Nicklaus' clutch putting to Tiger's is an insult to Tiger. I am curious to know, but I highly doubt if we all come up with both, Nicklaus will hold a candle to Tiger on the greens.

Fair enough, Glenn.  I don't know how one could divine the answer to this query.  Surely, anybody who wins as often as Jack and Tiger sinks a lot of BIG PUTTS.  I watched Nicklaus a fair amount over the years and it always seemed to me that he made every putt that mattered.  I have the same feeling about Tiger.  We may be in "distinction without a difference" category here, or it may simply be a matter of opinion.  Either way, I think they are both superlative.

[McCloskey]

Certainly Tiger is brilliant with the putter, and probably the best clutch putter ever.   What I can't understand is what do all those spike marks around the hole do when Tiger putts, just lay down.   He makes these putts on the last hole of a tournament after all the players have waded through, and not once have I ever seen a spike mark influence one of his putts, unless they directed the ball in the hole.   Seems uncanny to me.