What makes the Perfect Golfer

It is often spoken about in the clubhouses around the UK….who is the greatest golfer of all time?

Tiger verses Jack or Ben Hogan? Of course, as in any sport the boundaries of generations make it almost impossible to say who is the best. Jack Nicklaus played in an era where to many he didn’t have a great depth of rivals, whereas others may argue Gary Player and Arnold Palmer were tougher adversaries on their day than many of the modern players.

You can only win a tournament and be the best that week by beating those you are up against. You have to be in it – to win it!  So what makes a golfer great?

Ultimately wins and wins in the Majors, World Golf Championships and Ryder Cups will define a career. Orders of Merit, Races to Dubai and Fedex Cups now offer huge rewards for the modern golfer and have certainly brought the game into the 21st century offering the spectators and TV viewers the most amazing experience. With the innovative strides forward in equipment technology and increased professionalism of players the game of golf is more exciting than ever.

We live in a world of statistical analysis in all walks of life and I for one believe stat tracking is crucial to the success of the modern Golfer whether at your club or on the Professional Tours around the world.  So, therefore we can start to build a picture of who’s good at what! They of course don’t tell the whole story but my quest with this article is to identify ‘The Perfect Golfer’ today.

When simply looking at the stats from The European Tour this season you start to get a clear impression of who is good at what…but who is the best driver, the best ball striker, wedge player and so on?  These are some of the attributes that will make up the Perfect Golfer and in no particular order these are the players I believe I would choose if I could inherit their brilliance.

Best Driver on Tour

This was easy for me: Rory McIlroy hits it long, very long in fact but of course it’s not all about length – he also misses very few fairways. So why is he so good off the tee? Despite hitting the ball full out he maintains stability due to his great balance and technique coupled with an amazing physique and core stability. Rory hit a staggering 67% of Fairways last year at an average of 304 yards. Sergio Garcia narrowly missed out and would be my second choice, another long hitter who hardly ever misses a fairway.

Best Iron Player

Henrik Stenson is No1 on The European Tour for greens in regulation at 80.6% - This is not all telling of course but he strikes the ball with supreme consistency and has great distance control. Henrik hits the ball long; particularly with his strong 3 wood and generally puts himself into A1 position which helps the stats but all in all – pound for pound he is the best iron player on.

Most Consistent

Based on stats alone Justin Rose is right up there with the best players in the world. With a stroke average of 69.61 he is the leader on the European Tour. This shows his undoubted ability – but why is he so good.

In a Nutshell he has it all!

He doesn’t have a weakness in his game and this is something we would all die for. Ultimately I also feel he has the best swing on tour. His stability and balance is immense, every swing looks the same as the next,  of course is born out of a ridiculous work ethic with talent in abundance.

Justin is able to maintain constant spinal angle throughout his swing and is a key factor in his ball striking. He controls the flights of his shots well and rarely hits a bad strike. I believe this is the main reason he is so consistent.

Best Wedge Player

Shane Lowry has proved what a great player he is this season with week in week out performances on the tours around the world. By winning The Bridgestone Invitational, World Golf Championship event he announced himself onto the world stage with a bang this season. I have marvelled at how good he is from 100 yards and in. For that reason I would want to hit my wedges like Shane Lowry!

Best Putter

Luke Donald is in my opinion the best putter on tour although some of the stats wouldn’t back this up. However in the 2013-14season Luke holed 691 out 696 putts from within 6 feet! This is an amazing statistic and was without doubt the sole reason he was no1 in the world at that time having won both orders of merit on the PGA and European Tours that season!

His technique is to be marvelled at; He stays ultra-still, his stroke is compact and flows like the sweep of a Rolex watch with perpetual motion. I would ask him to putt for me if my life relied upon on it!

Best Temperament

Mr Ryder Cup - Ian Poulter is hard as nails when it comes to the mind games and sports psychology. He is an amazing match player who has a never say die mentality. Anyone who plays the game of golf will never forget the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ when he single handily changed the fortunes of 2 continents to win the Ryder Cup for Europe. It’s no wonder he has more superlatives associated to him than any other player on tour and that he is known as ‘The Postman’ – He always delivers!

Best Short Game

This is a slight curve ball from what you might expect but Brett Rumford is renowned for his short game. He has unrivalled appetite for the short game. Although he doesn’t look to do anything really that different to anyone else he has total freedom and belief in his technique. His hands are soft and he has the ability to play the most deft and yet simple of shots. As with many players in the modern game Brett uses the bounce of the sole of the club by letting the club ‘kiss’ the turf rather than the leading edge dig in the ground.

Once again Sergio has to be up there, how this guy has never won a major is a mystery, he has it all including the most unbelievable imagination and enthusiasm for the game!

Best Bunker Player

To be a great bunker player you will need undoubted skill and ability. As far as technique goes the key factors for me are tempo and simplicity and nobody on tour has that like Ernie Els, he plays his bunker shots with a calm and calculated ruthlessness like no other and is as good as anyone. Maybe he learnt a thing or two from the greatest bunker play of all time – Mr Gary Player.

So -If you drove like Rory, hit irons like Stenson, had the swing of Rose, a putting technique as good as Luke Donald, hit wedges like Lowry, pitched with the control of Rumford, escaped bunkers like Ernie and had the Metality of Poults you’d probably be Quite Good! 

But for me there is only one player in history who on his day had all of these and when at his best was capable of playing the best golf imaginable and that is the legend………..Severiano Ballesteros – My Greatest of all Time!

Who would be your greatest golfer of all time? Please let us know and comment below.