I 'm glad you are here to keep us all in line

Threads like this kinda grow into their own thing, happens all the time

Is he the best golfer ever?

Not yet

Sam Snead: 82 tour wins/7 majors

Jack Nicklaus: 73 tour wins/18 majors

Tiger Woods: 64 tour wins/13 majors

Well just going by stats, Tiger still has some tournaments and majors to win.  However, if you consider the fields nowadays compared with the fields Nicklaus and Snead competed against, it makes Tiger's accomplishments even more impressive.  It's also the manner in which Tiger wins.  

I have no doubt that Nicklaus would agree that Tiger now is better than Nicklaus ever was.  In fact, Nicklaus may have already said that.

Snead and Nicklaus mainly competed against a few top-tier professionals (although in Nicklaus' later days the competition did start to get tougher), whereas the tour nowadays has many more players capable of going on a 4 day hot streak and running away with it.

As for the differing opinions in this thread, it really comes down to what you think the definition of an athlete is.  What exactly an athlete is, is a matter of opinion to a certain extent anyway, so we'll never all come to the same conclusion  

Hey Tony: Is Tiger doing what he is doing in the same time frame as lets say Nicklus or is he putting up big numbers in a shorter time span, I do not watch golf and was just wondering?

That's the reason why Tiger can't be named best athlete ever.  With the exception of a few you are comparing apples to oranges.  Michael Jordan was a great basketball player yet an average baseball player.  Does that take away from him being an athlete.  Can Tiger consistently hit a 20 ft jumper?  Could Farve hit a curve ball?

Jordan was a horrible base ball player. The lore goies you can't teach one to hit a curve ball, they either can or can't. If they can you can teach em how to hit it better. The first curveball Jordan saw, he looked like Winfield swinging at a 60mph change up, saw nothing but change ups and curve balls after thatl, it's wht kept him outta the majors>

Jordan was a horrible base ball player. The lore goies you can't teach one to hit a curve ball, they either can or can't. If they can you can teach em how to hit it better. The first curveball Jordan saw, he looked like Winfield swinging at a 60mph change up, saw nothing but change ups and curve balls after thatl, it's wht kept him outta the majors>

That is what I am saying is the reason why you can not crown anyone as "Greatest Athlete".  It is just not possible.

Agreed, great discussion fellas

I 'm glad you are here to keep us all in line

Threads like this kinda grow into their own thing, happens all the time

Excuse me , didn't mean to be so focused , it can grow any way it wants to.

It is a great discussion and very interesting to see others opinions.  I even learned a couple things about guys I didn't know.

Hey Tony: Is Tiger doing what he is doing in the same time frame as lets say Nicklus or is he putting up big numbers in a shorter time span, I do not watch golf and was just wondering?

Tiger's doing it in a much shorter time span.  Nicklaus won his 18th major at 46, Tiger is 33 (I think) and has 13.

I know Tiger is bound to go down in history as the best golfer ever. I seldom watch except for the last round because there is no drama anymore, just tune in to see who is battling Tiger on the back 9. Im glad no one dominates fishing like that. Not to take away from Tiger he is awesome but I dont think he's the "best athlete " ever, Im sure there is no way he could tackle Barry Sanders, or cover Jerry Rice.

Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead played against the likes of

SEVE BALLESTEROS

Ben Crenshaw

NICK FALDO

Ben Hogan

Bobby Jones

Byron Nelson

Arnold Palmer

Gary Player

LEE TREVINO

Tom Watson

Name me 10 of today's players who could compete other than Tiger  

Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead played against the likes of

SEVE BALLESTEROS

Ben Crenshaw

NICK FALDO

Ben Hogan

Bobby Jones

Byron Nelson

Arnold Palmer

Gary Player

LEE TREVINO

Tom Watson

Name me 10 of today's players who could compete other than Tiger

I don't think there are more than 3 or 4 playing today who could compete with the likes of them.

There are a few, who in any given tournament, give Tiger a run for his money through 54 holes but come Sunday they either fall apart or he gets in the zone and is so good that no else's 'A' game is good enough. When you're in the final group with Tiger you've got to hope for two things: he screws up and you don't because there's no way you're gonna outplay him when he's on which is most of the time.

Other than Jordan, Tyson and Ali I don't think anyone has ever dominated the competition like he does.

How can you compare what Lance Armstrong has done in cycling to what Tiger has done in golf?    

  I don't think you can.      

You can't compare athletes from different sports

Someone asked if Tiger could hit a 20 ft jumper or hit a fast ball?

Could Jordon, Ali, or Armstrong drive off a tee or putt like Tiger?

How does one judge the best athlete?

You can't!

How can you compare what Lance Armstrong has done in cycling to what Tiger has done in golf?

I don't think you can.      

They both dominate in their respective fields.

Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead played against the likes of

SEVE BALLESTEROS

Ben Crenshaw

NICK FALDO

Ben Hogan

Bobby Jones

Byron Nelson

Arnold Palmer

Gary Player

LEE TREVINO

Tom Watson

Name me 10 of today's players who could compete other than Tiger

Well some of those guys are of an era before Nicklaus, and Bobby Jones was all but finished by the time Snead came around.

Regardless, the players you mentioned were definitely great players, but most of them weren't peaking at the same time.  Basically, although Nicklaus and Snead played against most of those players mentioned, they didn't play against them all at once, especially Snead.  Nowadays there are many more "second-tier" golfers, so to speak, capable of winning tournaments than there were in the past, and there are arguably just as many if not more first-tier golfers.  If it seems like there aren't as many great PGA golfers nowadays, it's because they pale in comparison to Tiger.

And to name some great golfers that Tiger has been up against...

Vijay Singh

Phil Mickelson

Ernie Els

Jim Furyk

Sergio Garcia

Retief Goosen

David Duval (before he began to suck)

Davis Love III

and some younger guys over the last few years...

Justin Rose

Adam Scott

Charles Howell III

Geoff Ogilvy

If you think about it, some of these guys I mentioned would be considered really great golfers if Tiger hadn't been cramping their style over the last few years  

Those youngsters better kick it in gear

Vijay Singh: tour wins: 31

Phil Mickelson: tour wins: 33

Ernie Els: tour wins: 16

Jim Furyk: tour wins: tour wins: 13

Sergio Garcia: tour wins: 6

Retief Goosen: tour wins: 6

David Duval: tour wins: 13

Davis Love III: tour wins: 19

SEVE BALLESTEROS: tour wins: 94

Ben Crenshaw: tour wins: 27

NICK FALDO: tour wins: 43

Ben Hogan: tour wins: 64

Bobby Jones: tour wins:

Byron Nelson: tour wins: 63

Arnold Palmer: tour wins: 94

Gary Player: world wide tour wins: 163

LEE TREVINO: tour wins: 87

Tom Watson: tour wins: 62

Seems Woods dethroned Ballesteros as the number one golfer in the world and when Nicklaus was asked about tiger's assault on his record this was his Answer:

Jack Nicklaus came to grips long ago with the likelihood that Woods would surpass most of his records, as indeed he has done.

"There isn't a flaw in his golf or his makeup. He will win more majors than Arnold Palmer and me combined," the Golden Bear famously back ihn 1996. "Somebody is going to dust my records. It might as well be Tiger, because he's such a great kid. He has the finest, fundamentally sound golf swing I've ever seen."

Since I know next to nothing about Golf, I asked my friend Bruce, an avid paleyer, he gave me some stuff to read Think I will take Nicklaus's opinion over anyone elses 8-)