Today, we’re not interested in great. We’re interested in all-time, pantheon, tell-your-grandchildren-about-it great. How do you decide who fits in this rare air? In this episode, author and golf writer Michael Arkush joins Tom Coyne to unpack The Golf 100, his ambitious new book ranking the game’s greatest players. From first-names-only like Jack and Tiger to forgotten figures like John Ball and Joyce Wethered, Arkush explains the scoring system he built, the stories he unearthed and the questions he wrestled with, like how to compare Old Tom Morris to Tiger Woods, or Mickey Wright to Annika? A former editor at Golf World with decades in the game, Arkush shares some of the book’s most surprising names: a brash teenage U.S. Open champ who disappeared into obscurity, a woman who walked away from the game at her peak (then came back to duel with Bobby Jones) and how Walter Hagen boosted his rank by being a coldblooded killer in the 1919 U.S. Open.
TGJ Podcast 185
The Top 100 Golfers Ever
Curating a list of golf’s legends and the forgotten players who shaped the game
