The Biggest Personalities in Golf History

Today's professional golfers are often accused of behaving like robots. And it is hard to disagree.

Many of them show little or no emotion on the course. They fail to interact with the galleries and spend most of their time looking like they would rather be anywhere other than on a golf course, earning tens of millions of dollars.

Thankfully, the game has also seen some characters.

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Here are 10 of my favourites.

Lee Trevino

It is fair to say that Super Mex drove many of his playing partners to the edge of distraction. Why? He never stopped talking. I saw a lot of Trevino in his prime and there were times when he would stand over the ball chattering away and stop only long enough to hit the ball. He was hugely entertaining and extremely funny. He was also one of the best golfers ever to walk the planet. I have never seen any other golfer who comes close to hitting the middle of fairways in the way he could.

Arnold Palmer

When The King hitched up his trousers before hitting a shot you knew that you were going to see something special. A smoker in his early days, he was taken to one side and advised that it did not create a good impression. He gave up immediately. Palmer single-handedly saved The Open, winning it twice in swashbuckling fashion. He was loved wherever he played and possessed an incredible memory, remembering the names of people he had only met once. He made them feel special. Today’s players owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

Walter Hagen

The antithesis of today’s image of a model professional. Hagen enjoyed the finer things in life, and did not care who knew it. Always immaculately turned out, Hagen would often head out for a night’s entertainment and forget to head back to his hotel, being driven straight to the course the next day for his tee-time. But he never let down the thousands who came to watch him. Perhaps golf’s first proper entertainer. He said: "I never wanted to be a millionaire. I just wanted to live like one."

Tommy Bolt

If you think that the likes of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have a temper, then you should have seen Bolt go about ripping up a golf course. Known as Lightning Bolt, he operated on a short fuse. He used to break clubs on a regular basis and throw them into nearby lakes. On one occasion his caddie famously handed him a two iron when the shot called for a short iron. Bolt asked his caddie what on earth he was doing giving him a two iron. He informed his employer that the two iron was the only club left that wasn’t damaged!

Phil Mickelson

Lefty had his heart broken by Tiger Woods many times, coming off second-best time and again. But when he was in full flow he had us all in the palm of his hands. You can say what you like about Mickelson but if there was an autograph to be signed then he would be there with pen in hand until nobody was left. And his unlikely recovery shots were something to behold. He had magic in his hands.

John Daly

Wild Thing by name and by nature. There was never a dull moment when Daly was around. His philosophy was to grip it and rip it. He simply smashed the ball as hard as he could and then went to find it and do the same again. He won the US PGA and The Open but was an unfulfilled talent on account of his battles with alcohol. There were some spectacular temper tantrums, not to mention several occasions where he simply walked off the course.

Bryson DeChambeau

The American continues to divide opinion and certainly lost some admirers when he opted to defect to LIV. He has always played the game his own way but in 2024 he found a way to harness his incredible power and thrill golf galleries. He went toe to toe with Xander Schauffele at the US PGA and orchestrated the crowds throughout. He came up short but won a huge army of new fans. And then he went one better when beating Rory McIlroy at the US Open. He also proved his class by waiting to congratulate Schauffele at the PGA.

Miguel Angel Jimenez

The Spaniard is still going strong in his sixties and has become a cult figure on both sides of the Atlantic. At a time when most professional golfers more closely resemble athletes, Jimenez always refused to conform. Always slightly overweight, his warm-up routine is something to behold. He also makes no secret of his passion for a good bottle of red wine and fast cars. And when he holes an unlikely putt his celebrations always bring the house down.

Seve Ballesteros

With his incredible good looks and flashing smile, when Ballesteros walked into a room everybody took notice. He had more charisma in his left pinky than most of today’s golfers possess in their entire body. He could barely find a fairway with the driver but his recovery shots were showstoppers - and he absolutely loved the adulation of the fans. Seve always wore his heart on his sleeve. You would never know if Bernhard Langer had shot a 64 or an 84. You definitely would with Ballesteros.

Bubba Watson

Says he has never had a lesson in his life and we should all be relieved to hear that because any teaching pro who encouraged anybody to swing the club like Watson does should be drummed out of the profession. But it works. Somehow. He hits the ball miles with a huge controlled slice. He has won The Masters twice and you don’t do that unless you can play this game properly. He is also unbelievably creative. His clubs have pink shafts and he routinely uses either a pink or a yellow golf ball. When he wins he turns into Blubbering Watson. But there is a less attractive side to him - he has been known to be pretty unkind to his caddies, to put in mildly!

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