Tiger Woods-the most dominant athlete ever?

Sorry guys, I'm not having it. Golf is a past time, a recreational activity played by old guys, and young guys on their days off

Sure the top guys are good at it, it's all they do

here's my vote for most dominant athlete, world class ability, attitude, and just look at the honours


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Giggs


http://youtube.com/watch?v=hrOyedpeZnk

I hope Trevor holds on today.

You know, I think Tiger gets so much run because like Jordan he's an international marketing icon. Federer can't be considered more dominant because he's never won a major on clay. It's tough to give someone "most dominant" or "best-ever" recognition. There are many other athletes who have dominated their respective sports and eras. These folks are just a few. It's Wikipedia (except for Ruth) but I'm lazy:

Cael Sanderson was 159-0 with four NCAA national championships at Iowa State. He wasn't as good internationally but he dominated DI wrestling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cael_Sanderson

Edwin Moses was the best 400-meter hurdler in the world for more than a decade. He won two Olympic golds -- 1976 and 1984 -- and would have won a third if not for the 1980 boycott. Moses won 107 consecutive finals and 122 in a row overall.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Moses

Wrestler Dan Gable went 118-1 at Iowa with three NCAA championships. His only loss came in the national championship match of his senior season. Counting high school, Gable won 182 matches in a row. Gable won gold at the 1972 Olympics without surrendering a single point.
http://www.dangable.com/aboutdg.html

Discus thrower Al Oerter set the standard in his event for more than 20 years. Oerter was a four-time Olympic gold medalist (1956, 1960, 1964, 1968) who set that meet's record three times. Oerter, at age 43, threw what would still be a world record in the discus during a commercial shoot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Oerter

Martina Navratilova won an amazing 18 Grand Slam singles titles and 31 Grand Slam doubles titles. Navratilova's 167 singles titles and 177 doubles titles are both open era records. She also owns a 74-match winning streak, the longest in women's tennis history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martina_Navratilova

Babe Didrikson legitimized women's athletics in the 1930s. She was an All-American basketball player. She set five world records at the 1932 AAU Championships on her way to six gold medals. Didrikson won gold in the javelin and 80-meter hurdles at the 1932 Olympics. She tied for first in the high jump but judges awarded the medal to a teammate because they disapproved of Didrikson's head-first jumping style. Didrikson began playing golf in 1935 and was the first woman to ever play in a PGA event in 1938. She dominated women's golf in the 1940s. The Associated Press named her the Woman Athlete of the 20th century. SI also honored her as such.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Didrikson

Wilt Chamberlain destroyed his competition at every level of basketball. Wilt scored 100 points in an NBA game. He won seven NBA scoring titles, 11 rebounding titles, nine field goal percentage titles and one assists title. Wilt was just as dominant in college, setting single game scoring (52) and rebounding (31) marks in his first varsity start.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain

Babe Ruth was the original duel threat. Ruth batted .342 with 714 home runs and 2,211 RBI in his 21 Major League seasons. Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927, a record which stood for 44 years. His 714 home runs were a career record until the woefully underrated Henry Aaron broke the mark 39 years later. You want dominant? Ruth's 60 homers in 1927 were 14% of total homers in the AL. A modern day player would need to hit more than 300 home runs to equal that feat. As a starting pitcher, Ruth finished with a 94-46 record (67%) with a 2.28 ERA. His 1.75 ERA in 1916 led the league. He owns the MLB record for longest World Series complete game (14 innings) and he pitched 13 consecutive scoreless innings in that game, a 2-1 win. Ruth's World Series record of 29 2/3 scoreless innings stood for 43 years.
http://www.baberuth.com/index.php

I'd put him in the top 5 or so ever. If he gets to 19 wins in majors or wins the grand slam, he'll have a very strong case for best ever.

Of course, at the same time Federer could hang even with them in terms of grand slam numbers.

swede wrote:

i dont think he can be a stand alone person

with him are some that people have mentioned in lance armstrong, and roger federer

what about donald bradman? he did alright...
think about the achievements rod laver did, they were out of this world when put in todays context.

Don Bradman! *gets down on knees and bows towards Bowral* See, I had a post (that I lost) where I mentioned cricket (basically cause I didn't know who A Rod was until "baseball" was mentioned). People say cricket is baseball on valium, I think it's the other way around (sorry baseball fans) Shane Warne, despite being a complete tosser, was/is a phenomenal cricketer as was Glenn McGrath (if we're talking recent players). Gilly is an out and out legend and I'm guttered he's retired :( Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Vyv Richards, Dennis Lillee... the list is endless.

Rod Laver is a legend too. Lou Hoad, Ken Rosewell, Andre Agassi.

PJ Saluki mentioned Martina Navratilova - talk about an incredible record!

Maybe we need to break this down into sport categories

c'mon

you cant really call golfers- even the best in the world- " atheletes" ,-
not in the true sense of the word.

:rolleyes:

Tone wrote:

Rod Laver is a legend too. Lou Hoad, Ken Rosewell, Andre Agassi.

PJ Saluki mentioned Martina Navratilova - talk about an incredible record!

Rod Laver/Agassi... only men in recent history to win a major on all surfaces... Martina Navratilova... most dominate female tennis player.

Tennis is a great example of a sport with all the elements of athleticism... hand/eye coordination, technique, mental toughness, and physical agility. And like golf, there is no team to carry or hide behind. It's you and only you in the fight...

LikeAnOcean wrote:

Just about anyone can condition themselves to have the strength to perform a sport, but only a select few have the mental skills to make it to the top.

I disagree with this. I don't think it's just the mental skills that separate the great athletes from the rest.

Golf is hard but it doesn't require an excellent physique and you don't have to be in perfect condition. An athlete, however, does need speed, strength, agility... And also the mental skills.

I don't get how everyone is saying that Golf isn't physical. you swing and hit the ball. that's physical. it's not like playing chess...that's mental. you have to physically swing properly every single time or the ball goes wayward. is it as physically exhaustingly as playing linebacker? of course not....not even close. but it's not "mental" to have a perfect swing ever time, it's physical.

of course I understand what everyone is saying: there's no running or contact between competitors in golf like there is in most sports. Golfers just walk, stop, swing and hit the ball, then walk again. but isn't that exactly what David Ortiz does?

Look at the last couple of No. 1 golfers in the world. Tiger is a physical specimen. David Duval was in great physical shape but lost his nerve. Golfers are learning that they need to be in shape to extend their careers and maximize their potential. There's way too much competition to be a slob and expect to win consistently unless you're just a freakish athlete, a la Babe Ruth. Sure, you have guys like Angel Carbrera (last season's U.S. Open winner) who can suck down heaters on the course and compete, but NFL QB Dan Marino (Marlboro Lights) and MLB's Mark Grace (Winston) were known puffers and they still did alright. Look at Charles Barkley, a Hall of Fame NBA player. Guy could dunk on 7-foot centers but can't hit a golf ball to save his life. People who don't believe golf is a sport aren't going to change their minds. Those of us who do believe golf is a sport won't change ours.