On the eve of his 70th birthday, we ask Greg Norman how he intends to ‘Attack Life’ as a septuagenarian.
Greg Norman has packed more into this past decade than what many people could achieve in an entire lifetime. As his 70th birthday on February 10 loomed, Norman reflected upon reaching the milestone, returning to Australia and the past three-and-a-half years in his role as chief executive/commissioner of LIV Golf. A few questions were a follow-up to Norman’s answers during a previous Q&A with Australian Golf Digest 20 years ago.
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Australian Golf Digest: Another big milestone coming up for you, Greg.How do you feel about turning 70?
Greg Norman: I don’t even think about it, to be honest. I just keep churning and keep doing what I love to do. Keep pushing myself to unpack new opportunities and experience what I’m experiencing.
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You’ve always looked after yourself. Have you changed anything about the way you take care of your body? Do you feel yourself slowing down at all, physically?
No, not really. One thing that I’d like to do is get back my flexibility and play a little bit more golf. I haven’t been able to do that in my role at LIV – I’ve hardly played golf. Do something a little bit more active, that would be it. More golf, more tennis, just things that I really enjoy doing.
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How do you relax these days? Twenty years ago you said horseback riding for five hours or sitting on a motor-grader to flatten the roads on your property in Colorado?
Well, I haven’t had a whole lot of spare time for the past three-and-a-half years because of LIV. I’ve been flat-out doing all the minutiae, and getting the business up and going, and hiring the people, and doing all the stuff you need to do as a start-up. So I really haven’t had any spare time.
When you’re your own boss, you can go take time off, or go to Colorado and spend the time at the ranch. One of my biggest regrets is selling the ranch and selling my house on Jupiter Island. But that was just an unfortunate timing aspect. I loved my ranch and loved working out there and doing that stuff.
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Do you think about life post-LIV in terms of where you want to spend it? You were eyeing off a return to the Sunshine Coast. Is there anything in the pipeline that might see you coming back home?
The answer to that is yes. Once my official tenure at LIV is up, which is August 31 this year, I will stay involved with LIV in some way, shape or form. I’m going to stay on the board. So there will be that part of my life, but it won’t be as consuming as it was before.
I’m very bullish on the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region for the next 20 years, from what I’ve seen the past 15, 18 years that I’ve been involved with the business of golf in general. I love that part of the world. I think it’s got huge potential. I think about locations where I’ve got to be and what I want to do – I’ve got four grandkids, No.5 on the way over here in the United States – so I’ve got to take that into consideration as well.
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In that interview 20 years ago, you said you wouldn’t consider being a commissioner of a tour. What changed your mind with LIV?
Well, I wasn’t really commissioner. I was both CEO/commissioner. What I loved about LIV, and still love about LIV, is actually just understanding how antiquated golf was. Now a lot of people are going to think I’m vindictive towards the [PGA] Tour. I’m not vindictive towards the tour, I just wanted people to realise that golf was stuck in a box. I saw it as a player – I saw there was only one tour that I could play on, and that was the PGA Tour, and there were no other options. You could play the Australian Tour, the Sunshine Tour, the Japanese Tour, the Asian Tour, or the European Tour. But to truly go somewhere and compete against the best, there was only one option. And I always thought that wasn’t right.
What happened in 1993 really hurt me a lot because I thought this was another opportunity to expand the game of golf globally. I’ve always pushed the game globally for 35, 40 years of my life, and I wanted to continue doing that with the best of the best. When LIV came along, it offered that opportunity of a global league being the franchise. I was fascinated with the franchise model. I could see how it would truly work in golf because it’s worked in other sports.
You could analogise it to the Formula 1 model, but you could also look at the other team sports around the world. I used cricket as an example – what’s happened with T20 cricket and the expansion of it in India. I reflected a lot on Kerry Packer – when I spent a lot of time with him – and the days when he took cricket apart and gave it more money, gave it new direction and gave the players fresh life. I just admired that in him.
You need the money to do that, you need a great business model to do it, but you need excellent people to execute on that. So that was the opportunity that lay in front of me. I just thought I was in the right place at the right time with the right people, and they picked me to do it.
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It didn’t come without a fair bit of a headwind, as you’ve said in the past. How did you survive all the abuse that was directed your away during the time? And how did you learn to deal with it?
Look, I don’t know. Just try to be as positive in your mind as you can, knowing these people who are making those comments and judgmental statements didn’t know the truth. They were obviously trying to protect something. But we’ve been proven right on many fronts… When you think about golf in the past three years, I know exactly how much LIV has invested in the game of golf. Then you look at SSG, then you look at the potential of the PIF investment in the PGA Tour, you’re talking about billions and billions. So when you think about that much money injected into one sport, I don’t care whether it’s Formula 1, or whether it’s soccer, it’s never happened in golf before… And it will never happen again in golf to the magnitude it has in the past three-and-a-half years.
One of the proudest moments for me is the fact we’ve shown that golf is a private equity. We brought it to the table and now people are trying to understand: how is the best way to get a return on their investment?
I’ll never forget the comments made to me in 1993 about how I was destroying the game of golf. How can you destroy the game of golf when you’re creating another competitive level that just makes everybody better? So with LIV, the PIF and Yasir’s passion for and belief in the game of golf, believe me, there were a lot of very powerful stimulants behind the scenes that wanted me to get involved with it and for it to be successful. When I look back on my past three-and-a-half years, from my past 20 years, oh my gosh, I really have changed the game of golf more than people realise.
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What’s the best compliment anybody’s given you about LIV Golf?
“Don’t stop. Keep doing what you’re doing. We love it.” When I was at Augusta National last year, the media was saying this bulls–t, bulls–t, bulls–t. But I can tell you, not one person said one negative comment to me. Everything was: “Keep doing what you’re doing”, “Don’t stop”, “We love what you’re doing for the game of golf”. And these are the people who pay admission tickets to come watch golf.
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Adelaide’s the shining example of the power of golf and what it can do. When you talk about golf in Australia, the first thing many people talk about now is LIV Golf Adelaide.
Exactly. Look, we could bring our business model and platform there. But there’s one person who you had to have the support of – and that was a premier [Peter Malinauskas]. God bless him for recognising that opportunity, standing beside us in the early days and stepping up to it. Credit where credit’s due. We gave him the ability to bring the best of the best players in the world there. Not two or three into a tournament, or the Australian Open, or four or five for some other event. We bought 54 of the best. Adelaide, and South Australia, and Australia, wrapped their arms around it.
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Participation has never been higher and yet there’s been recent instances of not a single Australian in the field of a PGA Tour event. Can you put your finger on why the men’s presence at international level appears to be dwindling when the game has never been stronger at
the grassroots?
Look, I don’t know. I can just tell you from my conversations with the new [LIV Golf] CEO, I’ve given him what I think we should be focusing on, to put into his thought process, and growing and developing – and you’ll see some new initiatives come out. Some of these are my ideas I would’ve put in place if I stayed. We’re like-minded, we’re very much in sync about what we both see and identify, and that’s why I enjoy the position I’m in now. Just giving my thoughts and vision of what he should be thinking about doing. Part of that is that part of the world, that region, that understanding and the opportunities where we can do more in the game of golf.
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Again in our interview 20 years ago, you also said technology has eliminated the art of moving the ball. What are your views on that today? And how do we bring shot-making back into golf?
Well, it’s going to be interesting when the ball rolls back. It is January 2028, I think it is, the ball rolls back? The technology and the ball… I think it’s more the distance than the spin. The lack of distance control some of these players have with the golf ball today – especially inside 150 yards, which is a wedge for these guys. To me, it’s all about creating power, power and [more] power, instead of the feel shot. There are players out there with a lot of feel, there’s no question about it, but it’s just different generations have different styles of playing the game of golf because of technology.
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Retirement doesn’t strike me as a word in your vocabulary. Have you had a think about the next 10 years and what they might look like? You’ve still got your company bubbling away in the background. Is there a succession plan in place there? Or is it something you want to dig right back into?
Yeah, I would like to. There are a couple things, actually. I’ve got a really good gameplan going forward on opportunities that I see. I’m not going to disclose them. I’d like to get back into my company. I’ve lost focus on that for three-and-a-half years. I need to get that resurrected to some degree.
Golf course design: I’d like to double the portfolio of golf courses I’ve opened. I’ve done 124 now. I’d love to have 250 done in the next whatever number of years. Just things like that, that I really am passionate about. But very, very excited about another opportunity that I have lying ahead of me – and that I’m trying to put together in the first quarter of this year.
So, no retirement. Slow down, yes. But no retirement.
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You mentioned Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s passion for the sport. You’ve been up close and personal with him more than anyone, how confident are you moving forward in terms of what he’s doing with LIV?
He is the greatest thing that’s happened to the game of golf. He truly is. He recognised an opportunity and put his money behind it and continues to put his money behind it. I’ve seen the LLPs, long-range plans for LIV. I see them. I know what the commitment is. These LLPs go out five years. So I know what he’s committed to. And LIV will always be a standalone. I’ve been saying this ad nauseam to the media for what, two years, because I know what he’s told me. It’s a standalone. And no matter what, if he wants to invest in the PGA Tour, great, he’s going to invest to get a return on his investment. But LIV is his baby.
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Has it surprised you how long the actual negotiations have taken? Or is this all part and parcel of business at that level?
Look, I’m not involved with that. So it’s very difficult for me to make a comment, I think there’s another layer of complexity there, which is the DOJ (United States Department Of Justice).
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Did you get a chance to see what the TGL (TMRW Golf League) was all about? And what are your thoughts on simulator golf? Is there a future for that?
No, I haven’t watched a bit of it because there’s a couple of players who’ve been very vocal against me. So I’m not going to say anything positive or negative about it. All I can say is: the more golf gets exposure in different ways, the better off it is.
Simulator golf is simulator golf. We had putt-putt and all those miniature golf courses we built around the world. I think innovation is a wonderful thing; I’m not going to belittle that. I wish them all the very best and success because it’s the market, right? They’re going to be pulling people into the game of golf. It’s no different than Topgolf, right? Topgolf – 14 to 20 million people annually through their facilities. That’s just innovation, having fun, entertainment, being social – fantastic. And it really created a new level of interest in the game of golf.
So TGL is successful? Great. I didn’t see it. I won’t watch it. So I can’t make a comment on it.
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Do you think you’ll ever have a conversation with Tiger and Rory about the past few years? Maybe sit back and reflect together about how you’ve all benefitted financially out of this?
I would love to. I would love them to recognise the fact that – like Tiger with his PIP (Player Impact Program) money – that only came because of LIV, right? So Tiger benefitted from that. Rory’s definitely benefitted from that. I would love to sit down and talk to them about it, no question about it. Because I’m not a judgmental person and you only learn the facts and truth when you hear the other side of it.
And PGA Tour has never sat down and spoken to us – not to me, anyway. Maybe they have with the PIF, a potential investment in there. Maybe they have unpacked more of the details and understanding of what LIV is all about. I have no idea. I can’t make a comment on that.
But, yes, would I like to sit down with them? Sure, absolutely. And you know what? I’d win the debate.
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When you turn 70, have you any plans on how you wish to celebrate? Your birthday is four days before LIV Golf Adelaide (February 14-16).
I’ve got no plans. I think my birthday’s when I’m at 40,000 feet.
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What would you like your legacy to be in the game?
To date – a disruptor for being visionary for the right reasons. The rest? To be determined as there is more to come!
Seven decades of Greg Norman
1950s: Born in Mt Isa, Queensland, on February 10, 1955.
1960s: Norman was in his mid-teens before finding golf via his mother, Toini. Prior to playing golf, he surfed.
1970s: Captured the 1976 West Lakes Classic at Adelaide’s Grange Golf Club for his first professional victory.
1980s: Won the 1986 Open Championship; ascended to world No.1. Became a dominant figure on the American, European and Australian circuits.
1990s: Won the 1993 Open Championship; returned to world No.1, totalling 331 weeks in the top spot. Took his victory tally to 90 tournaments.
2000s: Won for the final time at the 2001 Skins Game, defeating Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie and Jesper Parnevik. Turned his interests mainly to business and golf-course design.
2010s: Captained multiple International Presidents Cup sides and dabbled in TV commentary, among his various business pursuits.
2020s: Spearheaded the LIV Golf movement via his role as chief executive/commissioner.
