Ernie Els
He'll tell you that he's driving it the best he ever has, that he's more confident than ever with the driver in his hand. Who are we to argue with a guy who stands 6-foot-4? Besides, his ball-striking numbers are the best they've ever been — after the Masters he ranked 17th, having been in position 195 a year ago — and that's a direct result of longer driving leading to shorter irons producing more greens in regulation. Never the strongest part of his game, Els has worked harder at his overall ball-striking in recent years, but he knows that the short game still is his scoring weapon.

Retief Goosen
Great rhythm, tremendous tempo. When he's on his game, no one consistently strikes it as beautifully as the unflappable South African.

His long irons are his strength and much like his good friend and countryman, Els, Goosen isn't shy about pulling the head cover off the driver. He hits it a lot, sometimes when he probably doesn't need it, but a lot of that is the style of play that works these days — hit it long, find it, and hope the wedges get you out of trouble.

Phil Mickelson
There are times when it appears as if he's trying to get his swing to John Daly length and it's this big, wide arc that produces some of the ugliest misses in golf. (Surely you remember Tiger Woods' expression when Mickelson missed his drive four miles left of the 18th fairway in their crucial Ryder Cup match?). He ranked 11th in this category in 2004 when he committed to a tighter swing, but he's been ranked 202nd, 149th, and 85th in recent years, and he's more in that direction in 2005, having again fallen in love with all things long.

Click on a category below to see how the world's best golfers match up Ball-striker Creativity Popularity Pressure Vote: Rate 'em Course management Head-to-head Preparation Putting The ‘Next 10’

Vijay Singh
You probably don't have five hours to spare, so you're not going to watch him during a practice session. Understandable. But when he's done, all you have to do is go to where he was hitting and there's a line of divots that looks like it's been cut out of the turf by a surgeon. It's perfectly straight, and it's proof positive that no one has the club on plane as consistently as the big Fijian. When he makes a mistake, like he did on the 72nd hole at Bay Hill, it's usually in club selection, not execution.

Tiger Woods
For someone who swings fast enough to break the sound barrier, it's mind-boggling how straight he hits it. Heck, you sometimes have to put him back in his shoes, yet his ball isn't more than a club length or two off line. OK, his misses sometimes find another zip code, but those are rare. Marvel instead at the fact that he has in years finished 44th (twice), 12th, and second (twice) in ball-striking, a remarkable feat considering his swing speed and power. He's struggled with distance control, but he finds the sweet spot far more times than not.

Vote: Rate the Big Five in each category

Part 2: Course management

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