They couldn't help but to feed the Bear

This just in....Nicklaus is pretty good. Okay that obviously doesn't come as a shock to many of you as evidenced by his landslide victory.

The numbers Jack compiled in his career read almost like a misprint. He is indeed the Babe Ruth of golf. He once went almost six (!) years without missing a cut. It was a string of 105 tournaments and it was second only to Lord Byron Nelson himself, who had a string of 113. This string is truly unbelievable. You would think that over that many tournaments, he would have had one bad weekend at least. His putting sucked, he had the shanks, no iron control, something. Nope, he just kept hitting it and hitting it.

He was not only consistent in making the cut. He made a habit of winning too. He registered 70 victories on the PGA tour and has over 100 total victories. And when it came to the big ones, nobody can carry Jack's bag. Check out some of these career highlights (from pgatour.com):

• Six Masters, five PGA Championships, four U.S. Opens, three British Opens and three PLAYERS Championships.
• The only player who has won all four major championships on the PGA TOUR and SENIOR TOUR.
• From 1962-1969 finished in top 10 in 122 of 186 events (66 percent); 1970-79 finished among top 10 in 121 of 171 events (71 percent).
• In remarkable three-year period from 1971 to 1973, finished in top 10 in 45 of 55 events (82 percent).
• Won two U.S. Amateur Championships.
• Posted a 17-8-3 Ryder Cup record.
• In 1961, he was a member of the victorious U.S. Walker Cup squad, won the Western Amateur, NCAA Championship and Big Ten title and finished fourth in the U.S. Open.
• Co-holds, with Arnold Palmer, the PGA TOUR record for most years winning at least one TOUR event, 17 (1962-78).

I guess the thing I like most about Jack is his ability to outthink the competition. I never saw him play in his prime, but I have heard that, along with his considerable physical ability, he had course management skills out the wazoo. He never beat himself and he would always seem to put himself in position to win. My father-in-law tells me that Nicklaus' concentration on the course was unmatched. He would birdie number eighteen more than anyone else because he never let his guard down and never let the pressure get to him. I believe that must be true because of his many titles at Augusta National. That course, which, in my opinion is the best in the world, demands perfection, both mentally and physically. Jack won it six times, so he is must be as close to perfect as they come.

Tiger may become better than Jack. I have seen Tiger from the time he was the skinny kid winning those amateurs to the unstoppable force he is today. If he can stay healthy, and this is a big if considering the amount of strain that unbelievable swing must put on his back, then I think he will eventually be the best who ever picked up a club. Right now, however, that title belongs solely to the Golden Bear.

Right now, Tiger is in the heads of everyone on tour, including Hal Sutton, regardless of what he says. When Tiger is charging, these pros start playing like you and I would. Who can blame them? Tiger can hit it past everyone on tour, with apologies to Daly, who can't keep either his life or his golf ball in the fairway. Tiger can get out of trouble with some unbelievable shots, and he can putt like a madman on occassion. I think the most impressive thing about Tiger when he lapped the field at Augusta in '97 was the fact that he did not three putt ONCE the entire weekend. If you are familiar with the greens at Augusta, this feat is not only amazing, it is almost unbelievable. That is why he won by two hundred strokes or whatever it was, not because he can hit it nine miles, although that ability certainly doesn't hurt, but because he had that flat stick working.

Tiger is also imaginative. He has developed a 3/4 swing three wood that stays low and straight right down the fairway. It is the perfect shot for high winds and narrow fairways. If he continues to expand his game with those kinds of shots, they will have to come up with a new tee behind the other pros and make Tiger hit from those tees or else no one will be able to compete with him.

The final comment I would like to make concerns Ernie Els. If this poll had been titled "Best Looking Golf Swing" I would have voted for him hands down. I would give just about anything for my swing to look like that. If you are a golfer, you know what I'm saying. The tempo and smoothness of his swing brings forth a conflict in me. "Holy shit, I am never picking up a golf club again because I know I can't ever look like that." Contrast that feeling with "Wait a second! I see what I've been doing wrong! Honey! I'm going to the driving range for a bit!"

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! There has been a change in the new poll. I still need more noms for "Actress who should not shed their clothes as often." Plus, FlatCat is taking over the commentary for the next couple of weeks as I have exams for school. So I wanted to do some polls that are of interest to him and on which he has more of an expert opinion than I do. First up, Best Beatles Album. Is it the standard Sgt. Pepper? Or are you more turned on by Rubber Soul? Let's all find out.

Comments and suggestions to lawdogusc@hotmail.com.

Poll Topic: Best All-Time Golfer
Jack Nicklaus	55% - (206 Votes)
Tiger Woods	12% - (45 Votes)
Ben Hogan	10.1% - (38 Votes)
Bobby Jones	8.2% - (31 Votes)
Arnold Palmer	8% - (30 Votes)
Sam Snead	2.1% - (8 Votes)
Byron Nelson	1.6% - (6 Votes)
Lee Trevino	1% - (4 Votes)
Walter Hagen	0.8% - (3 Votes)
Ernie Els	0.2% - (1 Votes)
Gary Player	0.2% - (1 Votes)
Gene Sarazen	0.2% - (1 Votes)
Harry Vardon	0% - (0 Votes)
David Duval	0% - (0 Votes)
Tom Watson	0% - (0 Votes)
Total Votes: 374