Throughout golf’s rich history there have been many players that have had a lasting impact on the game.
However, these five players have had a more significant impact on the game at large than any of the others.
5. Jack Nicklaus
For much of Nicklaus’ career he was not a fan favorite, in fact, there were even times when the gallery actually rooted against him; booing his good shots and cheering his bad ones.
Nicklaus had the unfortunate luck of playing during the same time as Arnold Palmer.
Palmer was without question the most popular player of his time and possibly the most popular player of all time.
For the better part of Nicklaus’ career he was scratching and clawing to convert even a fraction of ‘Arnie’s Army’ to his side, a task that proved to be impossible.
Although Nicklaus was never able to match up to Palmer in terms of the outpouring of love shown from the gallery, he was a lot more successful on the course.
Nicklaus has a place on this list more so for the way in which he rewrote golf’s record books and still hold’s many records to this day including the record for all-time career major wins with 18.
Nicklaus’ legacy is associated with pure on-the-course achievements more so than really growing the game and its popularity; that task was left to Arnold Palmer during that era.
4. Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones is often referred to as the father of American golf.
Jones was American golf’s first true child prodigy and arguably the most naturally talented player to have ever picked up a golf club.
Before Bobby Jones came along, golf was a fairly new game in America, imported through the large influx of British, Scottish and Irish immigrants.
Golf was played and followed almost exclusively by the ultra-wealthy.
Even more so than being the first and only player to have won four major championships in the same calendar year, Jones’ lasting legacy has more to do with the way in which he popularized the game to the masses.
Jones' quest for the ‘Grand Slam’ introduced the game of golf to all sports fans whereas previously it was a game followed by the minuscule number of country club members in America at the time.
Before Jones the sports pages normally comprised of news about baseball, boxing and horse racing.
No one would have ever thought that a golfer’s quest for the ‘Grand Slam’ would headline every sports section in the country and give Americans something to cheer about during one of the worst times in our nation’s history; the Great Depression.
After winning the ‘Grand Slam’ Jones simply walked away from the game which is a large part of why he has evolved into almost a mythical character over the years.
If it were not for Bobby Jones, the game of golf would have had to wait another couple of decades before its popularity really started to spread across the country.
3. Arnold Palmer
Arnold Palmer was arguably the most popular player in the history of the game.
Palmer opened the game of golf up to a completely new audience.
The son of a Pennsylvania greens keeper, Palmer was by no means the prototypical privileged son that made up most of the PGA Tour during that time.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Palmer’s fan base grew, in large part, because people were not in awe of him; his fans viewed him as one of their own and adored every success he achieved.
Palmer’s fans were not the typical stuffy country club members; they were middle-lower income individuals who never had an interest in the game until one of their own had made it onto golf’s biggest stage and gave them some hope that they too could achieve great things.
‘Arnie’s Army’ consisted more of factory workers and tradesman than wealthy bankers and business owners.
Unwaveringly loyal yet extremely rowdy could best describe the character of ‘Arnie’s Army’
Palmer can also be credited with opening up an entirely new source of income for professional golfers.
If Bobby Jones is considered the father of American golf, Arnold Palmer could certainly be considered the father of the modern day endorsement deal.
Palmer’s first and only agent, Mark McCormack, was the founder and president of the international sports management powerhouse, IMG.
Although McCormack was the founder and president of IMG, Palmer singlehandedly built McCormack’s business through using his likable personality to draw the interest of every large company in America.
As other athletes began to see all of the endorsement deals falling into Palmer’s lap, McCormack’s client base grew by leaps and bounds.
Before Michael Jordan came along, Palmer was still raking in more money in endorsement deals than any other athlete on the planet and this was years after Palmer had essentially retired from competitive golf.
Palmer opened the door for the flow of massive endorsement deals for the likes of Woods and Mickelson. But, he also opened that door for athletes such as Michael Jordan, Lebron James, David Beckham and many others.
Most of Palmer’s on-course success came early on in his career before a blond-haired chubby kid from Ohio State University showed up on the scene and dominated the game for the next twenty years.
Jack Nicklaus surely stole the second half of Palmer’s career in terms of wins.
Even so, Jack can in some way be considered the unfortunate one for having played during Palmer’s era.
Palmer was so popular and had such a massive following that no matter what Jack did on the course, he was still always second best in the eyes of the fans.
Never before or since has a player walked up the 18th fairway to a more thunderous applause than Palmer.
To this day Palmer is still referred to as “The King.”
2. Fancis Ouimet
Francis Ouimet is often overlooked when discussing golfers who have had a lasting impact on the game.
If Bobby Jones is considered the father of American golf, Ouimet could be considered the grandfather of American golf.
Perhaps no single event had more impact on the history of American golf than Ouimet’s improbable victory over Harry Vardon at the 1913 US Open at Brookline.
Ouimet’s win at the 1913 Open as a 20-year-old amateur is arguably the biggest upset in the history of the game.
Prior to Ouimet’s US Open victory, golf was viewed a sport played by foreigners, similar to the way we view sports like cricket or rugby today.
Ouimet’s win almost single handedly popularized the game amongst Americans.
Ouimet’s win showed America that golf was not just a slow, boring game played by British aristocrats but a game that could be exciting and could be played and played well by Americans.
After Ouimet’s improbable win, America’s interest this European game began to take shape.
Had Oiment not won the 1913 Open and introduced the game of golf to mainstream America there might never have been a Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, etc.
1. Tiger Woods
It’s no surprise that Tiger Woods tops this list, just as he will likely top every list in golf’s record books.
Every other player on this list is in some way or another responsible for growing the game of golf.
However, they can be credited more for growing the game within American whereas Woods can be credited with expanding the game of golf to every corner of the world.
Woods is the most recognizable athlete on the face of the planet.
Woods is the richest athlete in the world and is one pace to become sports first billionaire.
Woods has also made many other people a tremendous amount of money along the way.
Due to the unprecedented growth in the popularity of golf, which can be largely attributed to Tiger Woods, massive television and sponsorship deals have followed which in turn has dramatically increased the sizes of the purses at every single PGA Tour event.
When Woods first arrived on the PGA Tour back in 1996, there were just nine players who earned a million dollars or more on the course.
Jump ahead 12 years to 2008 and there were 104 players who have earned a million dollars or more on the golf course; that is an increase of more than 1,000 percent in just 12 years.
Although Palmer can be credited with bringing sponsorships and endorsement into the world of golf, Woods can be credit for taking Palmer’s achievements in this area to the next level.
In 2007 alone, Woods earned more than $111 million, only $5.75 million of which was earned on the golf course.
Woods 2007 earnings nearly doubled that of the next highest earning athlete in the world, which happened to be Phil Mickelson who earned more than $60 million.
Never even in Palmer’s wildest dreams would he have imagined that two golfers would top the list of the world’s highest earning athletes.
Twelve years after Woods arrived on the PGA Tour the impact golf’s expansion around the globe is beginning to be seen in the changing face of the PGA Tour.
Now that golf has expanded to places such as Asia, India, China, South America, etc. we are beginning to see more and more international players becoming member of the PGA Tour.
As Tiger Woods’ legend grows so will the popularity of the game.
When Woods does finally step away from the game of golf he will have changed the game in two main ways.
First, he will have put a far more international face onto the PGA Tour due to his key role in the expansion of the game around the world.
Second, every golfer to come after Tiger Woods can bow down and thank him for the wealth and fame they will achieve through playing golf.
Private jets, mansions, fancy cars and tens of millions of dollars were not things typically associated with being a professional golfer before Woods arrived on the scene.
No one has had that kind of impact on the game of golf and perhaps no one has ever had that kind of impact on any sport.
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about 1 month ago
Good idea for a post. Good list too.
I'm not sure if they belong on the list or not, but I would add a couple of things:
1) Walter Hagen is the father of professional golf. He was the first pro golfer to earn a million dollars. He created a sensation when he refused to accept one of his British Open trophys unless he was allowed into the clubhouse. He also played on and captained the first 6 Ryder Cup teams. He really represented the dividing line between the old style aristocratic amateur golf and modern golf.
If I had made the list, I would have probably left off Nicklaus and made it
Ouimet
Hagen
Jones
Palmer
Woods
I would put Hogan and Nicklaus 7th and 6th respectively. Nice call on Ouimet. I might have forgot about him.
2) Nicklaus and Palmer together were instrumental in creating the PGA Tour in the mid-60's. I don't know what their exact roles were, but as the two biggest stars, I think they pretty much drove the process. Probably should be mentioned somehow in your Palmer and Nicklaus decsriptions, but you would have to read up on it first.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for the comment Lou.
You make a very good point about Hagan and I was very muich considering putting him on this list.
I opted for Nicklaus more so for his rewriting of the record books and how he is so much a part of how we evaluate great players today - when looking at Woods or anyone else, the first person that we compare them to is Nicklaus.
Hagan is a player I need to learn more about, got his biography on my list of books to read as I try to educate myself more about the game's history.
Thanks again.
about 1 month ago
An interesting article - but you need to retitle it to the five most influential american golfers of all time because alot of the list focuses on the growth of the sport in the US in the last century. However, I suppose you could argue that the sport has surged in popularity in US, particularly since the Second World War, and you would expect americans to dominate as a result. Not sure about Ouimet, he was, as you point out, influential in the growth of the game in the United States, but I don't think that makes him up with the most influential overall. Maybe you could do a top 10?!
In saying that I would have to go away and think for a while of other contenders, such as a few possibles, who would certainly make into the top 10. Seve Ballesteros would be one, Greg Norman as well, because I beleive they introduced big money into the game in the 1980s and added excitement and glamour to the sport, plus Seve ignited the Ryder Cup and helped bring golf to other countries, whilst Greg first mooted the idea of the world tour which I think is slowly taking shape.
You could also do a list of 10 most influential people in golf, past and present, which would have course designers e.g. James Braid, teachers e.g. Leadbetter and business eg. Mark McCormack. maybe I should have a go at writing that!
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