Golf All-Skills team
 

Jack Nicklaus picked his all time All-American golf team for Golf Digest this month. His only rules were the players had to be from the US, he had to pick a different player for each skill, and he couldn't pick himself for anything. I don't have the magazine in front of me so I might get one wrong, but his team was:

Driving - Ben Hogan
Fairway Woods - Hale Irwin
Long Irons - Sam Sneed
Mid Irons - Byron Nelson
Short Irons - Johnny Miller
Sand Shots - Ray Floyd
Chipping/Pitching - Tom Watson
Putting - Tiger Woods

What would the team look like if we picked current players from anywhere in the world, and you can use the same player for more than one skill?

I think Tiger is the obvious choice for long irons, chipping/pitching, and putting. If his recent play is any indication, he may be the choice for driving also.

What's your list?

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

I am confused that Tiger is on there for putting. I thought he was a notoriously streaky putter.

My Modern Team
 

Sonce I haven't seen any of the old guys except for highlights, I'll pick a list of guys still on the PGA tour.

Driving - Kenny Perry
Long Irons - Tiger
Mid Irons - Toms
Short Irons - Furyk
Sand Shots - Daly
Chipping/ Pitching - Mickelson
Putting - Faxon

If I could choose international I would change

Long Irons - Sergio
Mid Irons - Vijay
Short Irons - Luke Donald

And then I might move Furyk to the bunker and put Tiger on the pitching/chipping

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

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I am confused that Tiger is on there for putting. I thought he was a notoriously streaky putter.

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Nicklaus' explanation was that Tiger makes putts that he absolutely has to make more often than anyone else.

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

Just pick someone from OOT for driving. That forum is loaded with guys who can drive 330 and hit a lot of fairways as well as greens on short par fours.

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

Its hard to believe watson isn't on there for his ball striking.

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

I so seldom see tour players hit fairway woods, or long irons, or even mid irons these days. I'm not sure who the best are.
The only certain pick for me is putting- Tiger Woods.

But if I had to pick:
Driving- Joe Durant
fairway woods- Loren Roberts
long irons-Davis Love (this eliminates the need for Loren)
mid irons-Chad Campbell
short irons-Jim Furyk
Sand shots- Fred Couples (wish Olazabel were American)
Chipping/Pitching -Phil Mickelson (wish Olazabel were American)
19th Hole- John Daly

It's surprising to me that I couldn't fit Dimarco or Toms in anywhere.
Good ole' SEC boys. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

i'm too lazy to think of my choices for everything else, but I know that I'd choose


pitching/chipping - MICKELSON

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

Current - international (at this exact moment)

Driving - Sergio Garcia
Fairway Woods - David Toms
Long Irons - Vijay Singh
Mid Irons - Tiger Woods
Short Irons - Tiger Woods
Sand Shots - Jose Maria Olazabal
Chipping/Pitching - Tie between Mickelson and Olazabal
Putting - Ben Crane
Clutch Putting - Tiger Woods, Els runner up

All-World, All-Time team
Driving - Ben Hogan
Fairway Woods - Hale Irwin
Long Irons - Sam Snead
Mid Irons - Tie between Nelson and Miller
Short Irons - Miller
San Shots - Gary Player
Chipping/Pitching - Seve Ballesteros
Putting - Nicklaus/Woods

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

Toms couldn't have been put in the fairway woods slot? He's hit a few pretty good ones.

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

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Toms couldn't have been put in the fairway woods slot? He's hit a few pretty good ones.

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Yep. Shoulda put him there. Although that 4-wood at PGA was headed for trouble if it hadn't found the pin!

Bit of useless info on Toms:
At LSU, he carried a horseshoe in his bag that he said had been blessed by some voodoo witchdoctor lady in New Orleans. Said he didn't really believe it, but wasn't taking any chances! Thing must have weighed 3 lbs. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Playing in a practice rd. in Milwaukee- Toms, Mike Heinen, Sonny Skinner and myself. We slip off #10, Toms hits weak drive in left rough, about 200 out.
Sonny says we need to get a game, and whoever hits it closest to the hole is his partner [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] We agree.
Toms holes it! Heinen and I are 1 down.
Same round, Heinen holes 4-iron for d.eagle. We win dinner.

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

"Long Irons - Sam Snead"

Isn't Jack Nicklaus widly considered the best long iron player ever?

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

[ QUOTE ]
i'm too lazy to think of my choices for everything else, but I know that I'd choose


pitching/chipping - MICKELSON

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll take Tiger over Mickelson around the greens any day of the week.

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

I saw Nicklaus hitting one-irons at a clinic once. Unbelievable. I didn't see Snead play until he was in his mid-fifties, but he still hit great long irons. I'd rank Nicklaus above him, but you'd really have to ask players who saw them both in their prime. Aren't too many around now: I'd be curious what Byron Nelson thinks.

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

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I saw Nicklaus hitting one-irons at a clinic once. Unbelievable. I didn't see Snead play until he was in his mid-fifties, but he still hit great long irons. I'd rank Nicklaus above him, but you'd really have to ask players who saw them both in their prime. Aren't too many around now: I'd be curious what Byron Nelson thinks.

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I'd also be curious what Nicklaus thinks. He wrote a little bit about his long iron play, but didn't give any comparison to Snead.

One other thing I found interesting in the story was that he said until recently he would have picked Arnold Palmer as the best putter ever. I didn't even know Palmer was considered a great putter.

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

No I don't think Palmer was. He found a way to get the ball in the hole. Casper was regarded as the putter in that era I think.

Re: Some Miscellaneous Thoughts
 

Would be interested to see where Runyan would rank for pitching and chipping. Taking out Snead in the PGA and winning as much as he did hitting it as short as he did was remarkable. He was short by any standard in any era and got it up and down from anywhere all the time.

Casper not mentioned at all in putting. (I mentioned him briefly above) Maybe because Tiger is mentioned by Jack and properly so.

Trevino not getting mentioned for driving or irons of any kind. Surprising, although Hogan is hard to argue with obviously, etc... Trevino had control of the golf ball all the way through the bag really.

Re: Some Miscellaneous Thoughts
 

"Trevino not getting mentioned for driving or irons of any kind. Surprising, although Hogan is hard to argue with obviously, etc... Trevino had control of the golf ball all the way through the bag really. "

Trevino was mentioned in the Golf Digest story. It sounded like he was second to Hogan in driving in Nicklaus' opinion.

If I remember correctly, control was the exact word Nicklaus used.

Re: Some Miscellaneous Thoughts
 

and I didn't even read the article yet, just the posts.... [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Loved watching Trevino hit the ball.

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

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Putting - Ben Crane

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WTF? is that supposed to be funny?

George Low, end of thread!

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

I give you the name of a guy who has led the tour in putting recently, and you give me the name of an old hustler. Spot on.

Re: Golf All-Skills team
 

I havent followed much of the stats recently, I was not aware Ben was leading the putting stats, often you will see someone whoo does not appear to be that great on top of that stat, you see guys like Furyk, Faxon, insert name of other very good putte here, almost never #1 even though they are much better clutch putters(example, Tiger, I dont think I have ever seen him on top of this stat)