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GOLF TEACHING PRO%u00ae 26 WINTER 2O26KNOWLEDGE MARK HARMANBy Mark Harman, USGTF Director of Education, Ridgeland, South CarolinaTHE MOUNT RUSHMORES OF GOLFMOUNT RUSHMORE OF POPULARITYWhen asked who would be on his Mount Rushmore of golf, Tiger Woods said Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus and himself. What? No Ben Hogan? No Arnold Palmer? This highlights the difficulty of choosing just four players to be on a Mount Rushmoor of golf, but since the real Mount Rushmore only has four presidents, that%u2019s all we%u2019re allowed to have on our Mount Rushmore of golf.Wait, you say%u2026Mount Rushmore? If we%u2019re talking golf, there can be only one, right? Well, maybe, but for purposes of this article we will have three. All will be in alphabetical order and not in any particular ranking. And yes, at the end, we will reveal our ultimate Mount Rushmore of Golf. First up, Bobby Jones. He was as popular as Babe Ruth in the 1920s and people everywhere, including non-golfers, stopped to listen to the radio broadcasts of his exploits and to eagerly buy the morning or afternoon newspaper to read all about his latest conquests. After his retirement, he made a series of instructional films that proved very popular and were shown in American movie theaters. He even had two ticker-tape parades in New York City, the only person ever to do so.Next in alphabetical order we have Nancy Lopez. When she burst onto the scene in 1978 as a freshfaced 21-year-old rookie, Lopez took the entire sports world %u2013 and not just the golf world %u2013 by storm. She won five tournaments in a row, a record that still stands today albeit it has since been tied by two other players, and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. More incredibly, broadcast networks actually rearranged their viewing schedules to show tournaments she was playing in. Arnold Palmer. That name says it all. But, with this being an article, we are obligated to say more. %u201cArnie%u201d captivated audiences and was so mainstream that he was everywhere, from Johnny Carson%u2019s %u201cTonight Show%u201d to television commercials pitching all sorts of products. If there was a competition for most important golfer of all time, Palmer would certainly be at the top of many people's lists. And then there%u2019s Tiger Woods. A 21st century global superstar who made golf cool and athletic. Spectators at tournaments would follow him just for a chance to hear him hit a shot as often his galleries would run a dozen deep. His global recognition as an athlete rivaled that of Muhammad Ali, and to this day still does.