Hamish McLachlan’s Sunday Interview: What you didn’t know about Greg Norman

HE’S arguably our most famous sporting export, but how much do you really know about the Great White Shark? He opens up about regrets, drugs, the demise of sporting megastars and his perfect round.

GREG NORMAN

AUSTRALIA II winning the America’s Cup. Norwood winning the 1984 flag. Pat Cash winning Wimbledon. Greg Norman on the final day of the US Masters in 1996.

They are the four most vivid sporting memories from my youth. It’s a potent cocktail — three parts ecstasy, one part heartache. The most vivid of the four is Norman’s final few holes, and his grace in defeat as the world watched him agonise so publicly at the Masters.

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I sat down with Norman at Royal Melbourne and he spoke of disappointments rather than regrets, drugs, his view on Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods’ demise, lying on fairways with US presidents, doubters, his time with Nelson Mandela, being prejudged, his fear for golf at the Olympics, and his perfect round.

HM: You must be conscious when you walk into a room that all eyes are on you. Do you get used to the glare?

GN: I’m comfortable with it. Sometimes when you walk into a room though, all you want is a little bit of peace and quiet, and it’s not there. And when you feel like that, you have to really check yourself, and change your mood. We are all human beings and sometimes the burden on us feels a little bit heavy, but at the end of the day I also realise — and this is something I’ve only noticed in the last six or seven years — that I am the living brand. So it doesn’t matter where you are, or how you are feeling, if somebody walks by you have to say “Hi, how are you doing?”

Golfers Greg Norman and Tiger Woods at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Course in 1998.

HM: On people in the spotlight. Has the demise of Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods surprised you?

GN: I’ll give my response to each one individually. Lance Armstrong is a frigging disgrace. An absolute disgrace. Anybody who uses a chemical to perform better in the desire to be successful, to me that is the sin of all sins. If you want to do recreational drugs and cocaine, that is your call, but don’t do drugs for the purpose of beating other guys. I feel sorry for every other cyclist, and for the sport because of the black eye he put on it.

I hope there is a day when I can get involved, maybe with the World Anti-Doping Agency or the Athletes Council. Maybe one day there will be a biological passport in place that, no matter where you start, high school or whatever, it will show that you’ve been clean all the way through. There is nothing more rewarding than achieving the pinnacle ... through hard work, and not by shooting yourself up with crap.

I hate that there has even been the question of whether it exists in golf. Is it because you are so narcissistic to want it, or are you so greedy that you need to win? No matter the cost? It just goes totally against my grain.

With Tiger, I think that’s a situation where sometimes, you need parental advice, or great support, around you. He lost his dad and from that time, it’s like he got bumped off the rails. You do need somebody to slap you across the face, and realign you. You don’t need your minders to say “It’s OK, do whatever you want to do, we will cover up for you”. Bullshit to that. Unfortunately it shows you no matter how great an individual you become, our weaknesses get exposed. That’s why you have to have the strength from within. I do feel sorry for Tiger, where he’s sitting at the moment. I hate seeing someone who, at the pinnacle, can fall off and look so disgustingly bad. I don’t know Tiger, but he is a public figure, and you have to accept that. But do it in the right way, do the right things.

HM: If he asked you to coach him for a year, would you entertain it?

GN: I’d sit down and talk to him first and find out what is in his head. You need to understand all the pieces of the puzzle before you try and put the puzzle together. My natural response would be “Yes, of course I would”. I’m always willing to help friends; my Aussie friends have been told there is always an open door at my house. I always had that from a couple of great athletes, Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd. Those guys were there for me whenever I was down and out. That’s why even when I see presidents of the United States getting hammered, I will pick up the phone, and just thank them for what they do to help keep the freedom of the world.

HM: An open line to the White House?

GN: I’m lucky in that regard.

HM: Just touching on drugs again. If you were in charge of the PGA Tour, would there be more blood testing?

GN: Absolutely. More blood testing over urine analysis. And have an open policy. If someone gets caught, release it to the public. That’s the whole idea of WADA. I can understand the issues surrounding that, as in America, anybody can sue anybody. But if you are going to protect the game, forget about the institution. I don’t care if it’s a name player, someone mildly famous or an unknown, everyone has to be treated the same.

Former US President Bill Clinton, left, joins international team captain Greg Norman and team member Robert Allenby at the Presidents Cup in 2009.

HM: What life lessons have you learnt on the golf course?

GN: In President Clinton’s first term he was coming to Australia for the first time. I got a call from the White House saying President Clinton would love to play golf with me. Because he was a Democrat and I was a bit of a Republican, and a free market enterprise type of guy, I didn’t want to, so I didn’t initially give an answer. It was playing on me, so I called George Bush Sr and said “I’m in a bit of a pickle”. He told me, “Greg, you should always respect the office of the President of the United States of America. You should play”. I called the White House the next day and said, “Here is the situation. I am available, but it is the week of the Australian Open. During that week I generally get an early tee-off time Thursday, so will only be able to play with him late on Thursday afternoon. Lo and behold it all happens. I played my first round in the morning, I go out to the New South Wales golf course, which was closed for the day, and there he was on the first tee, larger than life. We shake hands, say ‘G’day’ and off we go. We hadn’t even got on to the first green and already I love this guy. He wasn’t even the president to me; he was just a cool guy. We were only supposed to be playing for an hour and a half, as he was going to be flying back to the US. The next few hours we kept playing, and he kept getting calls from Air Force One, because Hillary was on the plane waiting. This guy kept coming up to us and saying, “The First Lady is on the phone and would like to know when we’re leaving”.

By the time we get to the 16th fairway it’s almost dark and President Clinton says “show me your stretching exercises; I’m fascinated by how flexible and strong you are”. So there we are, laying on the 16th fairway doing all these stretches. I looked up at Tony, my caddie, and said “Gee I wish I had a camera right now”. After we’d finished playing I apologised to President Clinton for prejudging him based on other people’s opinions. From that moment on we struck up a relationship. He would call me up, and we would have these great conversations. I tell this story with sincerity and no ego, but because it drove home for me why you should never prejudge people.

HM: I don’t think too many people have dictated tee times to a president. What do you think it would mean to the US to have a female president if Hillary was successful?

GN: It is inevitable at some point, that it will happen. I once said to Bill, “Your wife would make a better president than the current one”. Hillary would have been more centred and not so divisive. She has a history with her husband being president for eight years, she has a history as a Secretary of State. I really love Condoleezza Rice too. I would love to see her run one day.

HM: Your perfect round? Was it the 59 without a scorecard at Royal Queensland, or the 64 in 1993 to win the British Open, when you said one of my favourite sporting quotes, which included “I was in awe of myself out there today”?

GN: Ha. I wish I’d never said that. I think a lot of people misinterpreted that quote. I think my 63 at Turnberry in ’86 was probably my best ball- striking round of golf in tough conditions. I three-putted both 17 and 18, and finished on 63. If I had one-putted them both I’d have finished on 59. I knew when I teed up that day that my game plan, and playing style, were going to be perfect for those conditions.

HM: Four blokes get together for a round of golf. Stroke play. Let’s call them Rory, Tiger, Jack and Greg. They are all playing at their absolute best. Who do you think would win?

GN: Rory, Tiger, Jack and Greg? Gee I’d love to do that. I’d love to see that. I don’t think I could say, hopefully it would all come down to pin positions.

Greg Norman gets a snap with fans before leaving Royal Melbourne Golf Course. Picture: Mike Keating.

HM: It would rate well! You’ve designed more than 90 golf courses, if you were to play the final round of your life on one, which would you choose, and who would you play with?

GN: That’s tough. Umm. You’re killing me. OK. I’ll go with nine on Doonbeg in Ireland, and nine on Ellerston. I’d love to play with the Secretary of Defence from the Bush, Obama and the Clinton eras. I’d play with them and want to know what the hell is going on, whether the world is dictated by politics or policy.

HM: Through your ambassadorial role with Omega and their role as the official timekeeper, you will be involved with the Olympics next year. Do you think golf will succeed and benefit from its inclusion?

GN: My hope is yes, but my fear is no. As the Olympics are in Brazil, I don’t think golf would get the same shake as if it was at Augusta.

HM: Do you think the players will buy into the Games?

GN: I think they will. Speaking for me there could be no greater honour than representing your country at the Olympics. Where I have trepidation and fear about it, is how it will be perceived and televised. I think there are a lot of unfortunate question marks still about it all, and if we miss the mark this time, it may not get back in next time around.

HM: One of your teachers told your mother, Toini, they were really concerned about what would become of you given your lack of interest in school or learning. I hope you let them know it worked out OK.

GN: There are a lot of naysayers in life, and to tell you the truth, they are the ones that probably push you the hardest. The fear of failure in life was a big stimulant for me. My father had doubts about me. Nobody in the family had been a professional sportsman or woman, so there were doubts. My time playing the game of golf had only been very short when I decided that it was to be my life.

HM: I imagine given all your Great White Shark Enterprises and your commitments, quiet time is pretty rare. How does the diary look?

GN: Full. I’m currently scheduled 14 months out. Every day.

HM: How often are you playing golf?

GN: I think I only played six rounds last year. I’ve played three times already this year though. I don’t miss it though.

HM: The business itself, no Harvard degree, no business education. It was ballsy.

GN: It was, but it was helped enormously by Paul Fireman (founder of Reebok). I was an endorsed player for Reebok and Paul wanted to start a clothing line. He was a mad keen golfer and a shoe manufacturer, and one day he said to me, “I want to start The Greg Norman collection”. We started working on it, and when we registered the logo, he gave it to me and said “This is yours, I’m going to license it back off of you. You are The Great White Shark”.

HM: Do you look back with a sense of huge accomplishment on what you did on the course, or like so many perfectionists, do you have regrets about the moments that didn’t play out as you’d have hoped?

GN: I’m sure my parents would have loved to have seen me wear the (US Masters) green jacket.

HM: But you personally — any regrets?

GN: Disappointments, but they are different to regrets. I’m disappointed that I didn’t win the Masters because I was there, and I was so close. But regrets, I have zero. I say that with all sincerity because I have had to make some tough decisions in my life, and every time you make a tough decision, if you regret it, you shouldn’t have made it.

Greg Norman at Royal Melbourne Golf Course with Hamish McLachlan. Picture: Mike Keating.

HM: What comes to mind when you think of your time at Augusta?

GN: Simple, I won the tournament of life at Augusta. I never won the green jacket, but I did win the tournament of life. Two really tough situations happened to me on that golf course, one with Larry Mize in ’87, and one with Nick Faldo in ’96. Two totally different situations, and as a result, two different emotional reactions within myself. I could have tried to bury both of them, and pretend that they never really bothered me. But whenever I’ve been asked about them, I’ve talked about them, I’ve never run away from them. To this day people talk to me about how well I held myself, which is why I say I won the tournament of life.

HM: For what it’s worth, I sat crying on my girlfriend’s couch watching the last few holes. I was blown away by the grace you exhibited.

GN: I had a tear rolling down my cheek too.

HM: Who is the most impressive person you have spent time with?

GN: Nelson Mandela. I still get goosebumps when I think about the time I sat with him. I’ve never experienced such humility, sincerity, desire and passion to make the world better. He genuinely cared about his own people, and he cared about what they had been through. Whether you call what he went through was slavery or apartheid, it was a sad indictment on what human beings would and did do to other human beings. God rest his soul, here was this man who made the whole world see differently.

HM: What would you like your legacy to be?

GN: Probably just for being a good person. I never want to go through my life worrying what other people think; but sometimes it’s hard to avoid it. It’s not the materialistic things you have and what you’ve done that matter. Practically, I would like to leave a business for my family that lives on. Currently my wife works with me, so does my son, my daughter and my son-in-law. It’s pretty neat to be able to work with them knowing the company will have life and perpetuity.

HM: There’s a chopper waiting for you — you’d better go — thanks for your time. I’m normally terrified by Sharks, but you couldn’t have made it any more enjoyable.

GN: Thank you — it has been a pleasure.