Breaking it down: Woods vs. Nicklaus
I can just hear it now. If Tiger Woods wins the PGA Championship
today at Medinah, my home phone will ring within seconds. On the
other end, a childhood friend from Massachusetts will be ribbing me
with the words:
”
Best golfer ever
… He’s the best golfer ever …
”
Over and over again.
Breaking it down: Woods vs. Nicklaus
I can just hear it now. If Tiger Woods wins the PGA Championship today at Medinah, my home phone will ring within seconds. On the other end, a childhood friend from Massachusetts will be ribbing me with the words: “Best golfer ever … He’s the best golfer ever …” Over and over again.
He does this because he knows that I’m a huge Jack Nicklaus fan and he gets a charge in knowing that my childhood hero’s long-standing PGA Tour records won’t be around for long, especially that coveted record of 18 Majors that Tiger has wanted to break since he was still in Pampers.
As good as Tiger is he probably will break the Golden Bear’s Major Championship wins record. I’m not denying it at this point, especially after witnessing Tiger’s recent tear on Tour since missing the cut at the U.S. Open. That was about the worst thing that could have happened for everyone else on Tour. That’s also another column for another time.
This week, instead of talking about records and statistical achievements, I decided to break down their games and compare them. Of course this isn’t comparing a 30-year-old Tiger against today’s 66-year-old Olden Bear. No, I’m taking Jack’s game in his heyday and comparing it to Tiger’s now.
Driving Accuracy
I’d give the edge in this category to Nicklaus. How many times did Nicklaus get in trouble as the result of an errant tee shot? Answer: Almost never.
Tiger Woods on the other hand often has so much trouble hitting it straight off the tee that he is forced to resort to hitting long irons instead in order to stay out of trouble.
While Jack was better with the longest club in the bag, it really doesn’t matter a heck of a lot since Woods can still smash a 3-wood close to 300 yards.
Driving Distance
Who was longer Jack or Tiger? It’s all anyone seems to want to know. Ask them and Tiger will smirk and say Jack probably was. Ask Jack and he will say they were probably about the same, which ought to tell you something.
No matter how modest Jack Nicklaus tries to sound when discussing the length of his tee shots during his prime, Nicklaus could flat out bust it. Nicklaus was the reason Augusta National was lengthened the first time around.
The best example of Jack’s length came at last year’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol, the site of Jack’s legendary 238-yard 1-iron shot at the 72nd hole in the1967 U.S. Open that carried onto the green and rolled 22 feet from the pin, which ultimately helped him break Hogan’s scoring record.
During the PGA Championship last August dozens of today’s top pros tried to duplicate the shot and couldn’t. In fact, no one came close. Nicklaus hit the shot into the wind – a thunderstorm was about to roll in.
In the final round last year, the eventual champion, Phil Mickelson, was in a similar position in the fairway and couldn’t get home with a 3-wood, even after tapping his club on the marked plaque as a gesture to Nicklaus. With today’s equipment, Nicklaus probably could have hit the shot with a 2-iron. That puts it all into perspective.
Long Irons
The 1-iron that hit the stick at Pebble in the 1972 Open. The previous mentioned one at Baltusrol. Nobody was more accurate than Jack Nicklaus with the long irons. As Gary Player was best known for his bunker play, Nicklaus was known for hitting long irons. It’s his signature shot but that’s not to say Tiger isn’t awesome either. Look at the awesome ones he hit in the British Open last month. Still, the edge goes to Nicklaus.
Chipping
How many times have we seen Tiger pump his fist after sinking a dramatic shot from around the green? Tiger has a knack for chipping in at the most opportune moments and is often more dangerous from the fringe and apron area as he is from the putting surface. Chipping was never Jack’s forte, probably because he hit so many greens in regulation and didn’t practice these shots much. Woods wins this category hands down.
Bunker Play
Chalk up another one for Tiger here too. Tiger hasn’t holed out a lot from the bunker but he always seems to get up and down from the sand, meaning that he more often then not leaves his bunker shots inside of five feet from the hole. Nicklaus on the other hand would usually leave himself between five and 10 feet from the hole on these types of shots. Of course, he would usually make the putt, but that’s another category. Advantage: Woods
Putting
Tiger has a flare for the dramatic and has made a lot of lengthy putts when the red camera lights are on and the tournament is on the line, especially in a Major. With that said, no one has made more clutch putts than Nicklaus, period. In fact, many pros would probably say even to this day if they needed one guy to make a 10-footer for par Nicklaus would be him.
How many times has Jack ended a round with a birdie? He even ended his career in the British Open with a birdie at the 18th hole at St. Andrews just a few years back.
Nicklaus was also the best lag putter of all time. If he had a 50-footer it seemed like nine times out of 10 he would leave himself a second putt no more than a few feet. Remember the 1986 Masters? I’d be hard pressed to recall Nicklaus (Remember, this is in his prime.) three-putting once when he was in contention. Yet Tiger seems to do so three times a round, which sheds light on his overall talent. Imagine if Tiger didn’t ever three-putt, he’d win ever week by 10 strokes. Anyway, the advantage he goes to Nicklaus.
Mental Tenacity
When Nicklaus won his first U.S. Open in 1962 against Arnold Palmer in the King’s own backyard, the young rookie from Ohio was heckled all week on most every shot. When it was over, Nicklaus was asked about the pro-Palmer crowd and responded as if he didn’t know what anyone was talking about. He was so focused in what he was doing that week that he didn’t hear any of the name calling, etc. Tiger Woods is the same way. Mental tenacity is what gives a player the ability to play and stay in “the zone.”
Tiger doesn’t seem to ever leave that zone until he hoists the trophy on Sunday afternoon. I would say that this is the category that makes a talented golfer on Tour a great one. This is what all Hall of Famers have regardless of sport. Both Woods and Nicklaus have it. It’s debatable which of the two is tougher mentally. Anyone over 35 would probably give the nod to Nicklaus on this one. Anyone under 35 would most likely vote for Tiger. Since Woods is so focused to the point that he must wear a red shirt on Sundays to jump-start his off-the-chart mental intensity, I’ll give him a slight advantage over Jack in this category.
Conclusion
Tiger Woods plays like a machine. Jack Nicklaus in his prime is probably the only golfer in history that could challenge Woods. Unfortunately, these two will never be able to square off against each other in their prime. So we will never know. I will say that a 58-year-old Nicklaus did beat the then 23-year-old Woods in the 1998 Masters – the year Tiger first defended the title. Jack, coming off hip-replacement surgery that year, took sixth and Tiger finished eighth. But Tiger has beaten Jack just about ever other time they competed in a tournament together before or since. Then again, Tiger is still the one chasing Jack’s records. It’s not vice versa.
So who is the better golfer? I guess I’ll be waiting by the phone to find out.
