Greg Norman set to bring his ‘aspirational’ homes back home

The Australian ex-pat golfer says developing high-quality real estate is ‘not rocket science’.

Greg Norman is keen to bring his community developments back home.

Greg Norman, the man who won 90-old tournaments during a long career, turned 66 earlier this year but he isn’t ready to slow down. Not yet anyway.

The Great White Shark has more to do as he prepares to expand his business interests in Australia.

“You know what the old saying is, the shark needs to keep moving to survive,” Norman says in an interview from his base in the US.

“You always want to have a runway or pipeline of projects. You don’t want to be satisfied with the status quo. You are always looking for additional projects or pipeline projects to factor into your long-term vision and game plan. I am sure that is going to happen in Australia.

“But Australia is not the only place I am going to focus on. There is a lot of work going on in Vietnam, there is work going on in Japan, South-East Asia, the Middle East, Central America.

“I am all over the place.”

Norman’s golfing career has long since come to an end, but his business empire continues to grow: dozens of companies around the world carry his name as part of the Greg Norman Company.

If not the greatest golfer this country has produced, he is certainly its most successful.

He says he wants to move back to Australia eventually, but before then, plans to expand more of his business empire here.

He is about to launch Norman Estates, which develops master-planned communities.

The company has identified an area in Greater Sydney where it plans to build its first residential community in Australia.

Norman won’t reveal the site but says the development will cater to “sophisticated buyers” who are very active and very aspirational. The communities are marketed around “location, lifestyle and design” and include a focus on technology.

“You have to keep up with that trend,” he says. “We pick the best parcels within a community or suburb. We focus on the highest quality.

“It’s not rocket science. It is actually pretty simple. If you listen to what the consumer is looking for and you deliver it to them, I shouldn’t say it is an easy exercise, but I want to say an easy exercise.”

Norman Estates at PGA West Flinders (La Quinta, California, USA)

Norman’s wine company, which started here about 20 years ago, has been out of the market for a couple of years, but he is planning to bring it back soon. He also has a business here offering golf course design. Globally, it has been behind the development of half a dozen courses over recent years.

He says successful development is about understanding a niche market and targeting that market.

“Just because we do a place in Cabo, Mexico, doesn’t mean we are going to replicate it in Florida or any other place in the world,” he says. “We understand what the market is.

“It is all about branding. Norman Estates started with golf course design. It has been a great business. We have a project in Cabo that is doing extremely well right now. We did a great golf course there that got accolades. You can see how one (part of the business) ties into the other.”

Norman’s other passion is health and fitness, and his social media sites suggest the two-time major winner still takes good care of himself.

He still plays the occasional game of golf but these days you are more likely to find him in the gym.

“I went out with my grandson the other day and played three holes with him,” Norman says.

“He is six years old and he likes to play golf. When he wants to play golf, I go with him.

“I am very much focusing on health and welfare now. It is a big part of the business plans I want to do. When you look at what has happened with Covid, and take a bit of a snapshot into people’s mentality, they are much more aware of the air they breathe, the food they eat, what you put into your body.

“I am very much focused on being the CEO of your own body. When I read stats about Australia and the obesity rate being as high as what it is for kids between five and 17 years old, it saddens me because health and wellness is so beneficial to one person, and that is yourself. If you keep yourself healthy and in good shape, that means your inner circle is going to be the same way. It has a permeating, positive effect.”