Most Impactful Golfers this Decade: Who Joins Tiger Woods?

As the decade comes to a close, I’m trying to determine the four most impactful golfers from 2010-2020. This list isn’t necessarily the winningest golfers of the last ten years, but those who have left an indelible mark on the game or influenced it in some way that will mark them as definitive of their era. Who will Join Tiger Woods on the list?

Defining the winningest players is easy. There are stats for such rankings and no room for interpretation. My list is a foursome of golfers who will be remembered for their play and impact on the game writ large. I’m sure some of you will disagree with my list. That’s my hope. After all, there are no right answers, just great conversations to be had. So who will join Tiger Woods on the list? (Spoiler alert)

The last ten years have been, by golf standards, fairly momentous.

• We’ve seen significant updates to the Rules of Golf to make the game more accessible and faster
• We lost two titans of the game – Palmer and Seve
• We saw the passing of Ken Venturi, a Masters Champion and commentator whose distinctive voice and “tell it like it is” style was the soundtrack of the Masters for so many years
• We lost Calvin Peete, a pioneer in the sport for African-Americans and one of the most accurate players to ever play the game
• We’ve seen the game and courses change to adapt to new technology and the incredible distances players now hit the ball
• And starting in January of 2020, we will all be part of the new World Handicap System

So as we enter a new decade with even more changes ahead, let’s look at the four players I think impacted the game over the last ten years in ways that will be remembered for generations to come.