The debate over whether Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of all-time is unlikely to ever be settled once and for all.

Jack Nicklaus is certainly the most successful player ever. The Golden Bear won 18 majors, while he finished second 19 times in the four biggest events of the year.

However, there is one underrated achievement Nicklaus does not get enough credit for – and it may help prove that he is indeed the best ever.

The remarkable run Jack Nicklaus put together in the 1970s may settle golf’s most divisive debate

Nicklaus approached the 1970s with seven major wins under his belt. Arnold Palmer was no longer at the peak of his powers, but Nicklaus still had to face off with the likes of Gary Player, Lee Trevino, and Tom Watson.

That makes what Nicklaus accomplished across the decade one of sport’s most incredible feats.

You would need no more than one hand to count the number of times he failed to finish inside the top 10 in the majors. Incredibly, there were just five times in 40 events where Nicklaus did not finish 10th or better.

Within that run, there was one missed cut – at the 1978 PGA Championship – while he also finished 11th and 13th.

If you remove his two worst results of the decade, Nicklaus’ average finishing position was 4.2.

It should be said that he also won eight majors in the decade.

How Tiger Woods’ major record compares with Jack Nicklaus’ run

It is hard to comprehend just how impressive Nicklaus’ consistency was. Of course, the fields may not have been as strong from top to bottom as they became towards the end of the century, but the fact remains that Nicklaus barely had a single off-week in 10 years.

He also won two majors in 1980 for good measure.

Tiger Woods did not miss a major between 1997 and 2007. If you remove 1997 from the equation – Woods missed out on the top 10 three times in a row after blowing away the field at The Masters – he still finished outside the top 14 times.

In fairness, Woods also only missed one cut in that run. He also won 12 majors so did have the edge over Nicklaus in that sense.

His average finish was 7.2 if you remove the missed cut at the 2006 US Open.

What Scottie Scheffler would have to do to match Jack Nicklaus over the next five years

Fast forward to the present day and Scottie Scheffler is the player setting the standard on the PGA Tour.

The world number one has played every single major since the start of 2021, winning four times.

But for Scheffler to match Nicklaus’ record in the 1970s, he would have to win four more majors – and not miss out on the top 10 for the next five years.

Obviously, there are plenty of arguments which could be made for why either Nicklaus or Woods are the greatest of all-time.

And in truth, it is impossible to criticise anyone who opts for Woods. He changed the game when he burst onto the scene.

But perhaps this may help: Woods has made 78 cuts in the major championships across his career.

Nicklaus ended his career with 73 top 10s.