Is Tiger the Greatest Athelete Ever?

[Dead Presidents]

He's got my vote

[jt4545]

Jim Thorp

[frankb03]

For anyone that plays golf, you know how hard it is to win one event, let alone 7 of 8. Would anyone be surprised if he won the Grand Slam this year? By the time he's done, he will go down as the greatest athelete ever without a doubt. IMO, golf is the hardest sport to conquer which makes Tiger even more unreal.

I play easy courses from the white tees, and I struggle...lol...he plays extremely difficult courses from the tips and smashes them all.

Great thread!

Anyone that plays golf knows how hard the game is to play. There's so many facets to playing golf. The pro golfers are amazing. They routinely hit the ball 350+ yards. I struggle to hit the ball 225 yards and hit it straight. What makes Tiger so great is he's head and shoulder above the other pros in the golf.

I've been lucky to see 3 of the greatest athletes in their sports. Tiger Woods, Michael Jordon and Wayne Gretsky.

[frankb03]

Ask Tiger woods to simply dunk a basketball. Ask Michael Jordan to birdie a hole. Who has a better shot of doing it?

Height has nothing to do with athletic ability. With practice Tiger would be a better basketball player than MJ would a golfer. Golf is an infinite times harder than basketball. There's no comparison.

Most guys with average athletic ability would be able to master playing basketball far easier than playing gold.

[molta02]

bo. jackson.



edit: tiger is probly the best when you take everything into account, but bo jackson has to be in any conversation about an 'athlete'

[frankb03]

Give me a break...

Don't short change Wayne Gretzky's athletic ability. His accomplishments are amazing The fact that he did them on skates only makes them more incredible.

I'm with Chado here. Most guys have never played hockey and are clueless about hockey. Of the 4 major sports it's the most demanding and it requires enormous athletic ability. What these guys do on skates is amazing.

[frankb03]

With that said, many pro athletes from other sports have turned to golf after their career was over and done pretty well. Alot of guys have won events or become great scratch golfers.

Many? I disagree! How many retired pro athletes from the 4 major sports have excelled in golf? VERY FEW! I'd bet the one that have played gold and played it well long before they started playing professional sports.

[RDOG55]

Have you ever seen some of these Pro-Am's? Some of these guys are shooting -6 or -7 under par. If they played 7 days a week like Tiger does, they could compete. Tiger couldn't do that anywhere else but the golf course and maybe the XBOX 360 game!

If that is true then why is Tiger so far ahead of the other people who do play 7 days a week? Pro-am courses are no where near PGA Tour tough either.

[frankb03]

Have you ever seen some of these Pro-Am's? Some of these guys are shooting -6 or -7 under par. If they played 7 days a week like Tiger does, they could compete. Tiger couldn't do that anywhere else but the golf course and maybe the XBOX 360 game!

I think you are mistaken here. The -6 and -7 you see at pro-am events are NET scores. That's their score less their handicap.

My handicap is about 14. If I shoot a 80 My gross score is +8. However, my net score is -6.

[wayne1218]

Many? I disagree! How many retired pro athletes from the 4 major sports have excelled in golf? VERY FEW! I'd bet the one that have played gold and played it well long before they started playing professional sports.

frank, follow along. VERY FEW?

Very few is VERY FEW more than any golfer that has retired and gone on to another major sport. Can you name just one golfer that has done that? Probably not.

[wayne1218]

Height has nothing to do with athletic ability. With practice Tiger would be a better basketball player than MJ would a golfer. Golf is an infinite times harder than basketball. There's no comparison.

Most guys with average athletic ability would be able to master playing basketball far easier than playing gold.

I highly doubt it. Tiger can play hoops for 50 years and he still would have no shot in the NBA. Unlike golf, he would have much taller and better players in his face all day. In golf, well, nobody is in your face.

[wayne1218]

I think you are mistaken here. The -6 and -7 you see at pro-am events are NET scores. That's their score less their handicap.

My handicap is about 14. If I shoot a 80 My gross score is +8. However, my net score is -6.

No, not mistaken. Guys like Rick Rhoden (MLB) and Jack Wagner (Soap Actor) are scratch golfers and in that tourney out west, there is no handicap. The best scores win.

[sar1957]

There was a time when the winner of the Olympic decathlon was considered the world's greatest athlete (Jim Thorpe, Bob Mathias, Bruce Jenner, Daley Thompson---the more well-known winners). Just to throw another name out---didn't Dave Winfield start @ 3 Div 1 sports, football, baseball, & basketball while @ Minnesota? Tiger will probably win 25 majors (or more) & 100 or more tournaments, but the greatest athlete of all-time he's not & I am a huge Tiger fan. Didn't Hale Irwin start in the secodary in football for Colorado? Tiger's a better athlete, but when he was @ Stanford, what other sport could he have at least made the team for? And I said to myself I wouldn't get in on this discussion...........

[Three Jack]

Unquestionably yes he is. Better than any other athlete ever.

[Three Jack]

I'm no fan of tennis really but what Roger Federer has done is equally amazing (IMO). He too plays a solo game but it not only involves skill, it also involves a ton of athletic and physical ability too.

In a major, what does Federer play...6 matches? So he needs to be better than 6 individuals. Tiger plays the field every day, different conditions every week....

Not taking away from what Federer does as he is one of the greats, if not greatest TP (I will say I am not a tennis fan), but what Tiger has accomplished, and what he is in the middle of currently, is un-wordly.

I am sure someone else has said thin in the htread, but I did not read the whole thing.