Three favorite golfes
All that you mentioned, plus Curt Sampson and Dan Jenkins. 'The Lost Masters' by Sampson was fabulous, which details the 1968 Masters and the times that surrounded that tournament, and of course - Roberto Di Vicenzo signing for an incorrect score on Master's Sunday, which cost him the tournament. Then his storytelling of the 1991 Ryder Cup, 'War by the Shore' was also very good. 'Eternal Summer' by Sampson highlighted the stories of Hogan, Palmer and Nicklaus in the 1960's... 'Arnie and Jack' is another great read by Ian O'Connor.
Loved 'Moe and Me' by Rubenstein, about Moe Norman. Also... 'When War Played Through: Golf During WW II' by John Strege was excellent. And 'Miracle at Merion' by David Barrett was a great read.
There are a lot of great books out there, lots of good authors. I'm leaving several out... 'Golf in the Kingdom' by Michael Murphy is one of my all-time favs.
Only three? Tough to limit it to three but I'll go with Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Ernie Els.
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PA-PLAYA
This may be blasphemy to some, but I never cared for "Golf in the KIngdom," but I've read all the rest, except for "War by the Shore." I'll have to look into that one. Have you read Sampson's "The Masters: Golf, Money, and Power in Augusta?" I often get that one out this time of year and brush up on Augusta lore.
My favorite of all time though is Herbert Warren Wind's "Story of American Golf," the best comprehensive history of the game and all the great players I've ever read.
Anna Rawson, Carly Booth and Anna Whitely.
The accents alone are worth it.
That, plus I am not into dudes like some of you guys.
If you can get a hold of a DVD of The Greatest Game Ever Played, at the end of the movie is a bonus clip of Francis Quimet being interviewed in 1963 (50th anniversary of his win) at the Brookline Country Club. They go out on the course and he describes a little of what happened. Pretty cool.
This wouldn't mean much to most people, but the guy who interviews him is Fred Cusack the long time play by play announcer for the Boston Bruins.
PA-PLAYA
One of the problems about books is you don't really get to see/know that person. All you get is a love in by the author. Jones was an elitist, Hagan was as bad as Woods as far as women are concerned. Sneed was a great golfer, yet not a very nice person and the same could be said about Hogan. Palmer, my favorite golfer ever,was just as bad as Woods as well.
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And how did you learn these things about these players? You obviously read about them, because no modern-day reporter has the cajones to say anything negative.
You learn more about these players through reading about them, versus watching an episode of Feherty (which I do like, btw) or following them on social media (which I do not).
And not all of these authors paint players in a glowing light. Quite frankly - many of the books I've read over the years portray them as just as fallible as the neighbor living down the street.
No love detected by me, but just an accurate portrait of who they were and how they competed, and as much bad as there is good. Then again - I'm very selective about the authors of the books I do read.
Some of us aren't fans of the feel-good nice stories presented by the modern-day Tim Rosaforte's of the golf world, who's afraid to be critical of someone because he needs weekly access to them for interviews.
Most of what I know is from players who played with many of these guys.
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I'll take the author who has the reputation of writing and researching the material of his subjects based on more than just the casual observations of playing partners.
Most good ones have done this more than a few times, and given their professions don't have the luxury of getting it wrong.
PA-PLAYA
Agreed. I have Al Barkow's book "Sam," a biography of Sam Snead. He devotes a whole chapter to Sam's extra-curricular activities, and even offers an opinion as to why Sam was the way he was. Ever notice that there are bridges and plaques dedicated to Nelson, Sarazen, Palmer and Nicklaus at Augusta, but absolutely NOTHING mentioning Snead's name? Barkow offers the opinion that Snead's skirt-chasing offended "Southern Gentlemen" like Jones and Roberts, and precluded any tribute to Sam.
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The OP asked our 3 favorite golfers of all time. imo, one must have seen, either in person or on TV, those 3 actually playing the game. Old videos accepted. Movies.....not a shot in hell...same as reading the paper/mags.(except for McAvoy
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I could read sundry items/articles about a golfer with a wife and several children, that played great golf, won several tournaments, gave tons of money to charity, etc.. But, if I've never actually seen this player playing the game, how in the hell could he possibly be a favorite 'golfer' of mine? Sounds like a nice fella, but certainly not a 'favorite golfer' of mine.
Personalities have nothing to do with playing the game.
PA-PLAYA
Back in those days the players did not make the money they do today. They rode from tournament to tournament together, they stayed in the same hotel room together if they could afford one. They got to know each other very well.
Phil, Gentle Ben Crenshaw, and Seve
Anika, Julie Inkster, Nancy Lopez
Tough not to put Jan Stephenson in with her "bathtub" picture. Christina Kim, Lorena Ochoa, Helen Alfredson... The men... DLIII, Freddy, Trevino, Chi Chi, Nick Price... so many were part of the evolution of this Great Game.
Par4QC
You bring up another point.....how many of us have actually seen IN PERSON these players we think of as favorites?
I mentioned Snead, Palmer, Nicklaus, followed by Hogan, Trevino, and Jones. I'm 72 years old, and have been a golf fan most of my life. I've been to enough tournaments (tour events, Masters, US Opens, PGA's) that I've seen most of those at least hit a few shots in person. Sadly, I never set eyes on Ben Hogan or Bobby Jones, b/c they both were done competing by the time I attended my first tournament. I've seen just about all the rest, including today's stars.
But I doubt that we can form much of an opinion of a player by seeing him strike a few shots in person, even though it's nice to be able to say, "I saw the great Palmer, etc. play." Rather, I think watching them compete in their primes (on TV, the best seat in the house!), then evaluating their overall record, personality, and all those other factors you mention.....that's how we each arrive at our own personal favorites.