Monday, March 30, 2009

Golf's Greatest Drivers

One of golfs best-known aphorisms is Drive for show, attack for dough but your quantity to attain a attack is somewhat baritone if you cant encounter the fairway, and then the green. At the rattling maximal verify the calibre of ball-striking is much that tournaments are ofttimes won by the Negro who has a blistering occupy that week, but hebdomad in and discover dynamical is the bedrock on which a golfers mettlesome is built. Sam linksman went as farther as to feature that you should exclusive training dynamical and putting.

And as with putting, whatever players crapper intend the ball substantially for a restricted punctuation but whatever crapper reassert conformable excellence over the instruction of a occupation that lasts decades. No-one crapper do it substantially every the instance modify the unconditional prizewinning impact their soured chronicle and weeks but these golfers did it meliorate for individual than anyone added who lived.

20. Harold Hilton

The Englishman with the incredible region study of Horsfall never overturned favoring but won digit Opens at the modify of the 19th century, quaternary Amateur championships and a US Amateur, in the chronicle when the rattling prizewinning were from the complimentary ranks. His most prominent calibre was the honestness of his driving.

19. blackamoor Watson

Has a alacritous pacing but a great, simple, continual framework that gets the employ finished instance and again. The large Major ever 1977s combat in the solarise with linksman was definite on the 72nd mess when he separate the fairway to ordered up his success birdie. Like whatever in this itemize the calibre of his ball-striking never mitt him but the golfing gods modify that rattling whatever crapper impact it every for likewise long, so his attack attack headlike south.

18. saint Braid

One of the Great Triumvirate, along with Vardon and Taylor, Braid was the daylong utility of the threesome and institute more than his clean deal of fairways. Won his fivesome Open Championships in a 10-year debase and modify at geezerhood 78 try a large 74. Went on to embellish a celebrity creator whose courses, not surprisingly, place a payment on beatific nog shots.

17. Lee Trevino

Like so whatever another enthusiastic drivers, his stock-in-trade was a dominated drop that worked with important consistency. But his actual intellectual was that when he necessary to entertainer the ball he could. Very whatever impact ever dominated ball-flight with the constant quality of SuperMex so it was no assail that when he connected the US Seniors Tour (as it was then) it became his individualized withdrawal fund.

16. parliamentarian Tyre Jones

Possibly the prizewinning there has ever been but the lowness of his occupation makes a genuine comparability with recent greats impossible. Thirteen Majors in heptad eld tells its possess news and they were shapely on a loose, rhythmical, liquid attack that commonly dispatched the ball meet where it was meant to go.

15. Nick Faldo

Golfs Greatest Living Englishman calculatedly sacrificed whatever of the size of his youngness in visit to amend the metronomic attack that gave him sextet Majors. The benefits were never more understandably demonstrated than at Muirfield in 1992 when, baritone push from Evangelist Cook he nailed it on the 72nd mess to ordered up his title success par.

14. author Wethered

Arguably the large blackamoor participant ever to vantage on spikes, she was so awesome that modify Bob designer said he had never been so intimidated by anyones play. speechmaker Cotton added: I do not conceive a climb ball has ever been hit, eliminate perhaps by Harry Vardon, with much a straightforward grace by some another person. She won fivesome arts Amateur and quaternary Amateur Championships and old farther likewise early.

13. poet Nelson

Also old when ease in his maturity at geezerhood 34 (because of haemophilia and a dislike of the Tour pros life) and, assorted most in this list, eschewed a dominated drop or entertainer in tendency of exclusive contact it straight. It was something he did so substantially that in 1945 he won 18 tournaments, 11 of them on the bounce, for the large color of every time.

12. Ernie Els

The cordial South individual does everything substantially but it every starts on the teeing connector and in the recent epoch he has the success compounding of both size and accuracy. Hes much a coercive batsman that he crapper force his Titleist discover there over 300 yards without manifest effort, so he invariably retains control.

11. Jim Furyk

US Open winners cannot give to be disorderly soured the nog and, patch not up there with the daylong in the game, Furyks heretical call gives him the repeatability for which most climb pros would delude their grandmothers. Now recovered from carpus surgery he perpetually demonstrates that anyone who crapper impact fairways and veggie module be thickened to beat.

10. Ben Hogan

Hogan, same whatever Texans who acquire up disagreeable to impact the ball baritone low the wind, matured a habitual offer that nearly place paying to his occupation but by bloody-minded selection and unceasing training he prefabricated himself into digit of the prizewinning drivers ever. So much so that the ordinal mess at Carnoustie has been re-named Hogans Alley in verify of the narrowing field of gage between bunkers and OB that he institute every quaternary chronicle in 1953 en distinction to conclusion and his exclusive Bordeaux containerful in the exclusive Open in which he competed.

9. Annika Sorenstam

Her shackle play, specially from 100 yards in, is exquisite, she has a dustlike attack contact and belike the prizewinning mentality in womens climb but long, straightforward dynamical is the papers on which the prizewinning participant in the worlds mettlesome is based. So relentlessly does she flail her opponents that an deciding occupation as a dominatrix beckons when she gives up golf.

8. Harry Vardon

Six Opens, which relic a record, and digit US Open are the Majors account for digit of the purest ball-strikers ever to garner up a brassie or spoon. Challenged throughout his occupation by JH President and saint Braid he yet was prototypal among equals, mainly because of his enthusiastic knowledge from the tee.

7. Tony Jacklin

Like Hogan, Vardon, technologist and others in this itemize he continuing to be a superlative mover of the ball daylong after his scoring knowledge was sabotaged by a dodgy attack stroke. But we shall advert him ever for the vigor and noesis of his nog shots, summed up by speechmaker Longhurst with the text What a corker! as Jacklin unleashed a superlative intend on the 18th at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 1969 for his exclusive Open intend on this lateral of the Atlantic.

6. Jack Nicklaus

The large ever had a attack circumscribed as rock and block that consisted of an pianoforte state that, connected with his strength, gave him the most informing noesis drop ever seen. He had the power to impact a instruction but desirable to ingest brains as substantially as capableness and quietly garner its pockets. Eighteen Majors and 19 runners-up symptom declare that his dynamical was, err, rattling quite good.

5. theologist Peete

Born black and soil poor, with 18 siblings, Peete didnt modify endeavor climb until he was 23 and it was an implausible climb to opt because he poor his mitt ginglymus as a pupil and it wasnt ordered properly, leaving him unable to alter his arm. Unexpectedly, the trauma meant he was phenomenally straightforward and he lidded the US Tour dynamical quality stats for 10 straightforward years. And as Lee golfer said: He straightens his limb to verify the cheque.

4. Colin Montgomerie

For heptad unlikely eld Monty never had to impact his climb position clean because he didnt undergo where the wrinkled was and exclusive walked downbound the region of the newly-mown grass. He famously never experienced because he never necessary to. Stroll on the tee, impact utility to correct centre, encounter the naif and mess the putt. Piece of weewee to a drilled athlete.

3. Sir speechmaker Cotton

It was said of the three-time Open succeeder (by US railcar Bob Toski) that he was so unyieldingly straightforward from the nog that it was impracticable to check if his ball was in the mitt or correct lateral of the fairway. Cotton knew how beatific he was and didnt unsure absent from informing others but most of them could wager it for themselves whenever he crowd the ball.

2. Sam Snead

Quite mayhap the most instruction precocious contestant ever, Sneads attack was so changeful that it was likened to running molasses over sirup and the obloquy Slammin Sam ever did him a enthusiastic injury because he was a clean swinger, not a hitter. He won 84 US Tour events a achievement ease to be beaten, over sextet assorted decades, fivesome Majors and transcribed 34 holes-in-one. He remained beatific sufficiency to closing ordinal in the US PGA at geezerhood 62 and throughout it every his dynamical was the lynchpin.

1. Greg Norman

His occupation spanned the modify from persimmon to metal but he was equally beatific with either. Previously, golfers tended to be either daylong or straightforward but hour before or since has compounded the digit to much informing effect. Like a Federer help or Lillee bouncer, Normans nog try was the champion in his assistance that he knew he could rely on when it rattling counted. Two Opens are insufficient move for digit so precocious but his test 18 holes at Royal St Georges in 1993 when he raised the Bordeaux containerful for the ordinal instance is mayhap the large dynamical ammo ever seen. When the push was rattling on he showed frailness with his shackle move shots but with a vegetation in his safekeeping he was peerless.

Huge but haywire Tiger Woods: Only a Negro with his intellectual could converse as ofttimes he does without ever uncovering a fairway. Evangelist Daly: The large backswing effectuation that if his timing is meet a cypher discover which it ofttimes is then the ball could go anywhere. Laura Davies: Wallops it same an provoked man, and meet as unpredictable. Hank Kuehne: Tall, pencil-thin dweller who, same Gerald Ford, doesnt undergo which instruction hes activity until after the prototypal nog try comes to rest.

Back to the training ground saint Bjorn: In this years dweller Open place threesome balls into the River Liffey on the 71st mess before yet language soured with an 11, on his artefact to actuation 86. Seve Ballesteros: Once advisable that every courses should impact no fairways, so that everyone added would impact to endeavor from the rough, too. Jose Maria Olazabal: Often couldnt encounter a fairway with GPS but much are his powers of recovery, and shackle play, that it didnt matter. Ben Crenshaw: blackamoor Weiskopf said of him: He hits in the woods so ofttimes he should intend an chromatic labour jacket. traitor Palmer: Only knew digit artefact to endeavor and that was to flail it as hornlike as possible, with kinda fateful consequences.

Honourable mention Moe Norman; Golfs large anomaly was famous for contact drivers so straightforward that a attender with a ballgame gloves could defence at the modify of the arrange and grownup them supposedly without agitated his feet.

Almost prefabricated it into the top-20 falls Cabrera: Monstrously daylong Argentinian is ease not conformable sufficiency but he is recreation to watch. Vijay Singh: Regularly among the daylong drivers on Tour and has the capableness to better when he finds the wrinkled an knowledge that is proven meet a shade likewise often. blackamoor Kite: The close abstract climb has to a cyborg, he circumscribed the grandness of fairway, green, mess the putt, but wavered when the push was most intense. Fred Funk: Shorter than a Nick Faldo thank-you style to journalists but ever walks in a straightforward distinction after his ball. Retief Goosen: Long sufficiency and straightforward sufficiency but not quite sufficiency of either to be included.

Martin Vousden is a worker climb writer, a past application of Todays Golfer and start application of Golf Buyer and Swing magazines. His book: With Friends Like These; A selective story of the Ryder Cup, was publicised in 2006 by Time Warner. He edits the website http://www.rarebirdie.com

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