Gary Player vs Arnold Palmer

[Hawkeye77]

1 hour ago, Golfnutgalen said:

 

Everyone agrees they're more important than regular events - especially true for the US Open back then. 

 

The disagreement comes in when you start only caring about majors. 

Maybe that’s the disconnect - Nicklaus titled a chapter in his ‘67 book “Majors - the ones that matter” and he was singular about them and I think that may be true about certain players in any generation and no doubt The Open is “it” for a lot of UK and Ireland and others more than some other majors.  Then there are those that can win them vs. those that certain players can stare at and just know those guys have no chance. 
 

God forbid I say this but maybe it’s more of a depth of field kind of thing these days and just more gross numbers of guys who care “more”. 

Edited April 19 by Hawkeye77

[redfirebird08]

4 hours ago, Golfnutgalen said:

 

So good and those guys didn't care about majors like they do now. Casper played a full schedule and made hay. Led the tour 4 times in wins in the mid 60s smack in the middle of Palmer and Nicklaus' prime. 

 

I still find it hard to rank him above Trevino though. If majors are worth 10 regular events then they're neck and neck. But most people seem to place more importance on majors than that despite what they say.

 

My own view is if a major is worth more than 10 regular wins then you basically place no value on those regular wins in the first place. 

 

I couldn't rank Phil in the top 10 myself if he had only a few regular wins. Might as well throw Koepka and Faldo in there too then. 

Hall of Fame says 15 regular wins are equal to 2 majors. So a major is equal to 7.5 wins for Hall of Fame consideration & voting. They also treat The Players Championship as equal to the majors. That’s pretty big for guys like Fred Couples, Sergio Garcia, & Adam Scott. 

[CCTxGolf]

On 4/18/2024 at 12:23 PM, Golfnutgalen said:

We all have out interesting pet peeves and one of mine has to do with Arnie being underrated nowadays. It's bizarre really considering how popular he used to be.

Who in the heck is underrating Arnie?! He is the most beloved figure in Golf and one of the most beloved in all of sports history. 
 

Im not sure who you are referring to that doesn’t give Arnie his due respect. Maybe because he is no longer with us you don’t see him at the Master anymore? 

[tiderider]

7 hours ago, Duct Tape said:

Pretty compelling list TR. Well done.
 

For sure some tough choices there too. 

i really should replace sarazen with phil ... i always had phil around 11-14 with faldo and/or trevino/nelson/seve, but that 6th major at 51, coupled with all those 2nd place finishes in the US, kind of demands that ... with 45 wins, no less ... 

[tiderider]

1 hour ago, CCTxGolf said:

Who in the heck is underrating Arnie?! He is the most beloved figure in Golf and one of the most beloved in all of sports history. 
 

Im not sure who you are referring to that doesn’t give Arnie his due respect. Maybe because he is no longer with us you don’t see him at the Master anymore? 

i'd like to know that myself ... i'll go and give them a good talking to for arnie's sake ... 

[tiderider]

5 hours ago, Golfnutgalen said:

 

Sure, but not as much as they do now. Casper like many didn't play the Open in his prime.

he had a perfect game for it ... 

 

[Shilgy]

21 hours ago, tatertot said:

That's a different story altogether.

 

I'm no fan of Player's, I was solely defending the incident at The Open.

Gotcha…but missed my point that may have been poorly worded.  Don’t you think for a Tom Watson to call out a player with the pedigree of a Gary Player saying “we’re tired of this s***” it’s not just the Skins game incident but a pattern of behavior?  I don’t think he would have called him out publicly like that over just one silly season event.

[Shilgy]

20 hours ago, StoutKing said:

A guy told me - and keep in mind both were well before my time - that Gary's caddie dropped a ball at the Open.  He played it and won.  The next day the R&A found his actual ball.  Supposedly he's not in some 'hall of fame' type deal with the R&A because of it.  That's what I was told by an old timer anyway.

That’s not exactly a secret….google it and you will see many sources saying the same.

 

In my opinion…

[naval2006]

I’m more than late to this thread.  The kind of discussion I enjoy the most; and a lot of interesting contributions to this debate, indeed.

 

I don’t know how comparable these two are.
 

Arnold Palmer made golf a TV sport.  His game was explosive; his charisma, unique; and this combination of charm and victory has never happened again in golf. Even his lost tournaments were epic. Arnie was a celebrity with a killing resume in pro golf. 
 

Gary Player not only won 9 majors, he owns something cherished by but almost impossible to achieve by every pro golfer: the Grand Slam. GP is the first case of international globetrotting players: he didn’t spend full seasons in the US competing because he played all over the world so it’s a bit useless recounting PGAT wins. The guy has proved enough in the Majors.  He belongs to the ultimate 5-guy club in pro golf, fair enough. 
 

One more thing on the bunch of best ever after Jack and Tiger. Lists are mostly personal but nobody can agree on an ultimate definitive list. In my case I do need to add one of the greatest ever that never played the PGAT since it was not lucrative during his times because of travel expenses and low purses: Peter Thomson. 
 

And Bobby Locke shouldn’t be skipped either. The thing with these guys was post war golf was too local, traveling was often unaffordable for pros and even though they knew the value of Majors there were no sponsors or managers so playing a Major overseas looked like a dream in most cases.  

[tatertot]

Didn't Arnold pretty much reintroduce Americans to The Open? His playing on 1960 Open made it "cool" and showed Americans it was worth the effort.

[mosesgolf]

1 hour ago, tatertot said:

Didn't Arnold pretty much reintroduce Americans to The Open? His playing on 1960 Open made it "cool" and showed Americans it was worth the effort.

IMO it has Hogan's 1953 visit that reignited it and Arnold just took it to another level.  Then Jack came along and elevated the Open to new heights.