Teeing Off: Who is the coolest guy in professional golf history?

Welcome to Teeing Off, where Devil Ball editor Shane Bacon and national columnist Jay Busbee take a day’s topic and smack it all over the course. Suggest a future topic by hitting us on Twitter at@shanebacon and @jaybusbee. Today we rank the coolest golfers ever.

Busbee: So Yahoo! Sports got the opportunity to sit down with a fellow by the name of Arnold Palmer, and you’ll be hearing plenty about that in the coming weeks. But for now, let’s start with this: Arnie is the epitome of golf cool, yes? Is there anybody who even comes close?

Bacon: Okay, so my Mount Rushmore of golf cool is as such – Arnie, Fred Couples, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Adam Scott. I feel like this reaches all the generations of the golfers, and honestly, isn’t that the list that needs to be there? Give me something I’m forgetting, and then explain to me why these fellas, and the ones you have on your list, are so much cooler than the rest of the golfers on tour?

Busbee: You nailed it. Golfers, as a rule, are uptight white guys, which are the very definition of uncool. So anyone that brings even a little style and swagger to the game has a low bar to clear. Here’s what I look for when judging the relative cool of golfers: grace under pressure, a sense of humor, a sense of individual (i.e., non-corporate-“scripting”) style, and the understanding that these are grown men playing a game for ridiculous amounts of money. All these guys on your list meet those criteria. Tiger Woods? Not so much.

Bacon: I totally agree. Isn’t the idea of being cool just simply not trying to be cool? No knock to Tiger, but all his antics, including the drama after missed putts or when he hits a shot out of the rough, seem more mechanical than personable. Adam Scott for instances just strolls around the golf course simply knowing he’s the coolest guy at the tournament, and that is what you need to make this list. Oh, and a green jacket doesn’t hurt …

Busbee: True. A green jacket made this guy cool, for heaven’s sake. (Sorry, Larry.) All I know is this: if there is a Mount Rushmore made of those four gents, it needs to be part of an 18th hole somewhere. Hit it into Arnie’s mouth to win a free ice cream cone … and a tournament! Hell, couldn’t be much worse than Sawgrass, could it?

Bacon: Add a free Adam Scott hug and we might be sold out for years.

Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Arnold Palmer thinks Tiger could still catch Jack Nicklaus
• Gary Player poses for ESPN’s The Body Issue
• Tiger Woods still the British Open favorite

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo! Sports