The Mount Rushmore of Golf is a polarizing topic. Picking four all-time greats from a sport that has at least a dozen of them? It’s hard to satisfy everyone, and that includes Jack Nicklaus. The 18-time major winner revealed his Mt. Rushmore of Golf, and suffice it to say it left a few extremely unhappy.
His first choice was Bobby Jones, one of the most influential and consequential figures in the history of golf. Jones founded the Augusta National and spearheaded the Masters. The next in line was Ben Hogan.
Hogan’s impact, other than his all-odds-defying U.S. Open triumph in 1950, just 16 months after a near-fatal car crash, is in modern-day swing. The book, titled ‘Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf’ was the bedrock for many of today’s swing theories.
After picking two greats from two eras, Nicklaus named Tiger Woods. The 15-time major winner brought athleticism, eyeballs, and big money to the PGA Tour. But more than that, it’s the creativity of his shots, the boldness of his execution, and the flamboyance of his celebration that made Tiger Woods one of the most consequential sports figures of the modern era.
Finally, Nicklaus picks… well, himself. “I’d like to join them. Myself, that’s four,” the 84-year-old said. The place of the 18-time major winner in the annals of golf history is not up for debate. And there is no surprise in Nicklaus picking himself.
Back in 2018, Tiger Woods was asked the same question. This was his response: “Ok, well, probably (Sam) Snead, (Bobby) Jones, (Jack) Nicklaus… me.” So, rarely has anyone questioned Jack Nicklaus for choosing himself over others. However, not everyone was happy with Arnold Palmer’s exclusion. Some also pointed out the lack of diversity in his choices.
Fans want Arnold Palmer on Jack Nicklaus’s list
Ben Hogan or Arnold Palmer? There is little doubt about which of the two was more popular. Palmer was golf’s first celebrity, one who walked with a retinue of fans and an aura worthy of a movie star.
One user wrote, “gotta have Arnie too….everyone was in Arnie’s Army when I was growing up..he brought the average players into the game.” Palmer couldn’t manage a grand slam like Hogan, Nicklaus, or Woods. But the King’s popularity was transcendental, somewhat a precursor to what Woods would achieve in the early 2000s. Another user tweeted, “I’d trade out Hogan for the king… Arnold Palmer has to be one of the four..!!”
However, some users noted where golf would be if not for Old Tom Morris. One of them sarcastically tweeted, “Yeah right, only America (sic) had good golfers……..” Not everyone was looking at history, though. A few of them wanted Seve Ballesteros as well. “[H]e brought eyeballs to the game from people who would have never watched it without his presence,” one user opined.
But without casting any doubt on the Spaniard’s legacy, it’s hard to fathom who Ballesteros would replace on the list. Either Nicklaus had to replace himself with Ballesteros or snub Woods in favor of the five-time major winner.
Some also lamented the lack of female golfers on the list. Without replacing anyone, they wanted one more spot to be added and given to LPGA Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak. Beth Ann Nichols of Golfweek reported that around 350,000 South Korean women played golf when Pak debuted on the LPGA. The figure will reach over 1 million by 2020. “She literally changed the face of women’s golf – making it a world-wide sport,” one user tweeted.
The uproar over Jack Nicklaus’s Mount Rushmore is not surprising. Like the Greatest of All Time debate, ultimately, it also boils down to personal favorites and flexible parameters. Do you judge by numbers or the broader impact on the game? Do they always align? The answers are always varied. But Jack Nicklaus made his choice. And so did the fans.
