Even though he hasn’t won a tournament of any importance in more than a decade, Greg Norman remains one of golf’s most intriguing and powerful personalities. As chairman and CEO of Great White Shark Enterprises, a multi-national corporation that he established in 1993, Norman’s
fingerprints are all over the game, most notably in course design, but also in apparel, residential
development, wine, beef, restaurants, yachts and more. A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame,
Norman won 89 tournaments worldwide during his playing career, including 20 PGA Tour titles and
two British Opens. His last fling in the competitive spotlight came at the 2008 British Open at Royal
Birkdale. Initially, the hoopla had nothing to do with Norman the player, but rather his wedding the
month before to former tennis superstar Chris Evert. It made great copy for the tabloids, but then
a funny thing happened on the way to the forum – Norman, then 53, had turned back the clock and
held a two-shot lead going into the final round. Reality returned the next day and his final-round 77
left him in a tie for third place. Since turning 50 in 2005, Norman has mainly eschewed playing the
Champions Tour, making only 11 starts. Of late, Norman has embraced the role of captain of the
International Team in its biennial meetings with the U.S. in The Presidents Cup. He did so last year
in a losing effort in San Francisco and will reprise the role in 2011 when the event is staged on his
home soil of Australia. Since The Presidents Cup began in 1994, the U.S. holds a 6-1-1 edge, with
the Internationals’ lone victory coming in 1998 at Royal Melbourne. Norman will also show up at an
occasional European Tour event, such as he did in early September at the Omega European Masters
in Switzerland, where he was named an Omega ambassador and where Global Golf Post senior
correspondent Lewine Mair caught up with him for this interview.
GGP Have you ever had second thoughts about
the Champions Tour or do you simply not
have the inclination to compete on a regular
basis?
GN I knew from the first time I played on the
Champions Tour that it was not for me. The
energy just wasn’t there. I’m not a fan of
three-round golf and it seemed to me that
the senior game was more of a fun deal than
anything else. I like to go hard at my golf.
Also, I never wanted to be playing week-in,
week-out for the rest of my life. In my last
few years on the regular Tour, there were
other things stimulating me more than
chasing a little white ball. I was bursting
with ideas.
GGP;We all know about the wines but what about
the more recent scheme to introduce
Australian beef to the Americans?
GN The beef was an interesting one. I was lucky
with the wines, especially the Pinot Grigio,
which came out at the same time as the film
“Sideways.” As you can imagine, that did a
power of good for sales. It was my manager,
Bart Collins, who suggested the beef. With my
early wines having emanated from South Aus-
tralia, I wanted to do something for my own
state of Queensland. Bart and I were bouncing
ideas off each other and he suggested the Wa-
gyu beef. It was the right idea at the right time
in that the start of our operation coincided
with the era of Mad Cow disease in Europe. A
