Greg Norman - The great white shark.
Tommy Does Golf - The Podcast
EPISODE 7
SEASON 01
17 March 2026
Tommy: Welcome to Tommy Does Golf, the podcast where three old timers give you our opinions on everything. Golf. I'm Tommy Long, joined by fellow PGA professionals, James Morgan and Paul Charman. With over a hundred years and counting in the golf industry between us, we are well into our back nines. We'll do our best to stay on topic, but just like our tee shots these days, this podcast could go anywhere.
We are hoping you enjoy the banter and maybe just maybe we'll share a few pearls of wisdom along the way. Let's get into it.
tommy: Sometimes in sports, you get figures who are absolutely impossible to ignore, and Greg Norman was exactly that. It's been said. He was like, Marmite, you either loved him or you hated him, but regardless of what side you stood on, you couldn't take your eyes off him. For me, as a golf fan, he was must watch tv.
That shock of blonde hair, the swagger, the cowboy hat that made him look bigger than life. He had this incredible presence. He looked like a champion. The 32 inch waist, the massive shoulders that triangular build most of us could only dream of. But here's the thing about Greg Norman's career. It's one of the most complex in golf history, triumph and tragedy.
Often on the same stage, he dominated the world rankings for 331 weeks. A record only bettered by Tiger Woods. Yet, his major tally is just a fraction of what his talent deserved. So in this episode, we are diving into the career of the Great White Shark, the stats, the wins, the business empire, and yes, the losses from Larry Mize’s Impossible Chip to Bob Tway's Bunker Magic, and of course the 1996 Masters.
Let's get into it. James, I'll start with you. If you were asked to write an article about Greg Norman's career, what points would you focus on
James: yeah, that's a good question. I think the image of Greg Norman is one of a swashbuckling I will take anything on.
He did it with a smile. He wore his emotions. That's what he used to love. He would wear his emotions, on his sleeves. You could see exactly how he was feeling, but, um, fearless maybe to a point of detriment. One thing that a lot of the listeners won't know about is his choice of golf ball. In that era when he lost all those majors Steve Williams reckons the golf ball cost him in the masters, at least two shots around,
tommy: really
James: purely 'cause of spin.
That was when the Spalding tour edition came out. I, if you guys remember it,
tommy: we do.
James: And it was a ball that you could fizz in and it would just spin.
tommy: Got some razz on that thing
James: And the problem was at places like Augusta, you got too much spin. You couldn't control it. And when you look at that last round with, , him and Nick Faldo, everyone forgets that Faldo played brilliant golf.
Tommy: Sure. Faldo shot a 67 to win.
James: Faldo put him under pressure.
tommy: Yeah.
James: But then number nine was the classic where he spun it back off the green and down the front. And that's when Faldo, got level. And then from then onwards,
tommy: yeah,
James: it was, he just started hitting shots again. You look at, other things, like you say, with the Bob Tway holding that bunker shot, but again, Greg shot 75 that day.
And there's so many times when you saw him, on that last round because he was trying harder. He was, he was hitting the ball harder and he was spinning it more so in the first few rounds when he's sticking it near the flag. Last round, there was one particular wedge where he spun it completely off the ground from 45 feet where it landed to where it finished.
So I just look at something like that. But he was, paid an awful lot of money and I think when you look at Greg Norman's businesses stuff, which I'm not sure, I think Paul will cover. You look at that. Everything he does he takes it head on. You know, he's got wine companies, he's got so many different companies.
tommy: Absolutely.
James: And so when you look at it from that point of view, successful businessman, based off his attitude, his can do, I'm gonna do this. So when I think of Greg Norman as a golfer, lots of lost opportunities. But someone who took the world on, 'cause that's when the game was dominated by the Americans.
He took the game on and said. I'm gonna be the best in the world. Yeah. And he was one of the hardest practices. And Butch Harmon was quoted as saying that Tiger Woods was the hardest practicer he ever came across. And this number two was Greg Norman and Tiger based. His practice stuff off Greg. 'cause he heard how hard Greg had practiced.
He goes, I'll, I'll practice harder.
tommy: Yeah.
James: So what was
Tommy:the benchmark?
James: the Benchmark
tommy: at the time
James: For a lot of things.
tommy: Yeah. Yeah. he was. I mean as a ball striker. Unbelievable. Mind blowing. Unbelievable. Absolutely. Mind blowing, wasn't he? Yeah. I mean, it was just, just phenomenal. Alright, well, Paul Stato, give us a few stats on Mr.
Greg Norman, please.
Paul: It's funny, I actually, in great big capitals here, highlighted businessman at the top of it. Businessman. Businessman, you know, he's worth hundreds of millions of dollars, not just through playing, but. Playing that was his actual card. That was his business card. Because people saw him, there was no mistaking him, as you've already mentioned.
The straw hat, that physique everything. And again, James, you mentioned a couple of things there on some of the other things that he's involved himself in course design, real estate clothing, you know, um, live golf.
We have to mention live golf. And as you also mentioned, a successful, wine company,
A couple of things. He was taught by his mom at the age of 15. In 18 months, he had gone from 27 handicapped to scratch he was heavily influenced by, a book that we did actually mention in another podcast, golf My Way, by Jack Nicklaus.
That was his bible. That was his book. That was the one that he went to. The other thing as well is that he's actually, raised a lot of money for, different charities, specifically children's charities. And again, these are all things that basically just say businessmen, you know, businessmen.
I don't think that Greg, looks back at any part of his career and goes, oh, it was a shame that I shot 75 in the last round of this, or the last round of that because. I think the bigger picture was that it was all about business. Some players are just golf. The way they play, the way they perform, that's all they have. That's all they can do. Norman was more about the periphery, everything else around him that was going on, clothing companies, course design later on, all that sort of stuff.
So, you know, I think. You can sit here and talk about his performance on a golf course, but it's more than that. I, I do think that it's actually,
Tommy: yeah, he's one of the most successful businessmen. Golfers,
James: yeah.
tommy: On the planet.
Paul: The other thing I'd just like to say as well is that you know, he was ripped blonde, surfer looking, but at the end of the day he was a mastermind. A mastermind and a credit to the Australian community.
Absolutely. He was,
James: yes.
tommy: Well look, I mean, you've been copying what I've written down Paul, to be honest, as my stats, but I'm gonna go through just a couple of things. Tournament wins, I mean, he was prolific. He won 88 times in total on various tours around the world, which is phenomenal. Yeah. , Including 20 wins on the PGA tour, 14 on the European tour, and a staggering 33 on the PGA tour of Australasia major championships two.
James: Yeah.
tommy: Amazing. Really. I mean, he won the open in 86. He shot a course record 63 in the second round, in brutal conditions, won it by five shots. And in 93 at Royal St George's, he shot a final round 64.
James: On Nick Faldo's birthday beating Faldo
tommy: was it Faldo's birthday ?'
James: yeah
tommy: wow I didn’t know that but his runner up finishes in majors totals eight.
Paul: Yeah.
tommy: And he has runner up finishes in all four majors, at the Masters.
He was the runner up in 86, 87, and of course 96, which we've touched upon. Yeah. At the US Open was runner up in 84 and nine five. U-S-P-G-A was runner up in 1986 and 93 and at The Open, he was runner up at Royal Troon in 1989.
James: I have a stat as well. Yeah, he had eight top five finishes at Augusta.
tommy: Amazing.
James: And let's not forget, you said a little earlier on Larry Mize the Most Impossible chip in the playoff
Tommy: Yeah. The playoff. I can remember watching that.
Paul: It was cruel.
Tommy: It was cruel Was it was so cruel. I dunno, was it a one in a thousand shot? Who knows?
James: More
Tommy: yeah, it was cruel. And again, Bob Tway, so there's two that were literally. Ripped from his grasp.
James: Oh, a hundred percent
Tommy: But the thing I remember, and you boys will remember this 1989 open championship at Royal Troon, right? And he obviously lost in a playoff as a three-way playoff, wasn't it?
It was Wayne Grady, Mark Calcavecchia and Greg Norman in the playoff, right? 1989 And I remember watching that Open and in the final round he opened Norman with six straight birdies.
James: Yeah,
tommy: he opened with six straight birdies. He had the bullseye putter and he was just electric. I don't think I've ever seen a player who. Got so close and yet just seemed to not get over the line Yeah, he really deserved to have won more but,
James: but that was his, that was his style.
Paul: Yeah.
James: He was crash band wallop. I'm going for it. You know, and then again, I go back to that, that bloody golf ball that he used. I seriously think that cost him so many titles.
tommy: He got zip on that. I remember on that tournament the greens were firm, and he was razzing it back on those greens when everybody else was struggling to control the ball. And that was the Spalding Tour edition.
James: And in that open that's where Calcavecchia on about the 12th hole, holed that wedge. With a ping box groove. Mm-hmm. It was an impossible lie. Super softball bump spin. And that's when they started banning those grooves because of the amount of spin.
tommy: Beryllium copper. Yeah. hit the five iron into the last out the rough in the play off, didn't he? And he holed the putt from 15 feet. So yeah. I mean, Norman’s been incredibly unlucky. Okay. Well look, James, what about, the LIV golf thing? Yeah. You know, he became the public face of LIV golf
Working with the Saudis to create, its serving as the CEO from 21 to 25. Tell us, did he fall out with the U-S-P-G-A tour? What happened? Do you have any inside info on that
James: so all the Googling I've done on this, and this is what I'd heard as well. Back in 1994, Greg Norman went to the PGA tour and said, I wanna make this a global game.
So, you know, being from Australia, he just felt there were some great golf courses around the world that the tour should have been playing. And the American Pros historically don't like to travel. And it's funny now that Rory McIlroy is now suggesting that the golf pro should be traveling around the world.
That's, he started to do it himself. He's starting to play in places like India, played the Australian Open, that sort of stuff. But this is what Greg Norman put out in 1994, and he got snubbed by the PGA, and that was the start of it. And Tim Finchem, who was the, commissioner of the PGA tour, threatened to suspend any player who joined his world tour.
So it died. So he's always wanted to have something to do that. So his view of the PGA tour is the PGA tour operates as a monopoly, forcing the best players to play primarily in the us. His vision for live golf was a truly international team-based league allowing players to compete globally. Now you look at the market you've got in somewhere like India and places like that.
You could really grow the game of golf, but the Americans want to make it not solely based there. 'cause they do take the odd event away. Like the Scottish Open is on the PGA tour and stuff like that. So he got a bit bitter. So then he gets some backing sets up. Liv. And this is the quote that I really like.
Norman has frequently stated that he remains a loyal lifetime member of the PGA tour. And his actions were intended to strengthen the overall ecosystem of golf rather than destroy the tour itself. So that was his greater good thing?
Paul: Yeah.
James: And then because Liv then got shot down, and I think he was surprised that.
How it got shot down or tried to shoot it down. So he just chucked money at it. And yeah, now you can see pro starting to drift their way back again. I just hope that the PGA tour take on board what he was trying to do. They did it with prize money for straight off, didn't they? Yes. And then now it's like, will they start taking events elsewhere?
Paul: Do you think that had the backers for LIV Golf had not been the the Saudis do you think that would've changed everybody's perception of the whole idea of live golf?
James: No, but I,
Paul: if the backing, if the money had come from somewhere else,
James: no. But when Tiger Woods was, sponsored by Nike, I mean, they run shops in China and everyone forgets those sorts of bits and pieces.
tommy: Sure.
James: You know,, you could look at so many companies that are involved with the PGA tour and if you search. In their background, they've got all these,, human rights issues, other bits and pieces because they live with Saudi. That's just an excuse. I think I know if the Saudis, I think, had gone direct to the PGA tour and said, Hey, listen, let's add six events.
tommy: The interesting thing about what you've just said, James, and it is very enlightening and it kind of goes hand in hand what you were saying about him being a businessman, but it's almost like, when he came up with that idea of growing the game in those countries that needed to see golf if you like, he was almost a visionary that was almost misunderstood.
He's almost been misunderstood in what he was trying to do, so I feel like he's probably. Faced a lot of unfair I Criticism.
Paul: I agree
James: Yeah.
tommy: You know,
James: and, and again, another thing here, Norman claims, his goal was to bring free agency to golf, breaking the restrictive grip, the PGA tour held over its members. So he basically was looking at it from a player's point of view, saying, well, hey, I should be able to play all round the world.
A, spread the game and B, make a really good living doing it.
Tommy: Yeah.
James: And I shouldn't be held accountable to the PGA tour all the time when I play on there. Great. I'll play by their rules, but why should they have complete control over where I play when I play?
Paul: Yeah. I think there's a lot of unfair criticism that was placed on Norman with his links to the Saudis.
And James, like you said, no one's squeaky clean. Nobody's squeaky clean.
James: Just the fact that, again, Greg Norman is a polarizing character.
And again, people either love LIV tour or hate LIV tour. But I see that what it's done to the game, it has increased the prize money. It's increased people's awareness. Will they ever get back together? I can't see it.
Paul: Okay.
James: I think LIV tour might actually die, which is sad.
tommy: The thing is though, when we are talking about players, and we're doing legends podcasts we don't know these people personally.
Alright, so all we can really go on is what we read in the media and let's be honest, how true is that?
Paul: Hmm.
tommy: If we don't know these people, we don't have this personal connection, in fairness, we should be just going on what they do for the game of golf, you know?
And Greg Norman, during that time period where he was the man, 331 weeks, world number one, he grew the game. People would tune in because he was such a. A personality, so,
Paul: hundred percent. Yeah.
Tommy: I just think, the great white shark, he was just phenomenal. He was electric to watch when he was really, on it.
James: Well, in the pro shop, we had a life-sized cardboard cutout of him, which sporting sent round with him there with his golf bag. There was no other company doing anything like that. and I know this sounds a bit hard to believe, but when I had his hat on and I could look a little bit like Greg Norman.
Tommy: The blonde hair.
James: Well, same height, blonde hair. 30 years ago I was a little bit lighter. But I also, used to look like Boris Beck as well, apparently. But that's another story. But, um, you could just go and put that cardboard thing out. And the boss used say, go stick it on the putting green.
tommy: Yeah.
James: Members would say Who's that? Oh. And they'd see it . What's Greg Norman doing at Oh, it's a cardboard cutout.
tommy: Yeah.
James: He was recognizable and I think if you saw him walking down the street. People would go, that's Greg Norman. There's not many other golfers that non-golfers would go, oh, that's Greg Norman,
tommy: the figure, I saw a picture the other day, came up on social media.
He's at the beach, right? And and he's got his top off. And one of the comments, you know, one of the keyboard warriors was like, what's he doing with his top off at whatever age he is now? And I looked at this picture and I thought, you know what, if I had a body like that, down the supermarket, I'd be topless everywhere I went.
I honestly, he's kept himself in shape athlete. He was class I loved Greg Norman. I loved watching Greg Norman and yeah, I kind of feel like the whole LIV thing has unfairly tainted. His name, if you like, I mean he's a legend of the game and he only got those two majors, which I think is sad a crying Shame.
James : It is sad. Yeah.
Paul: Yeah, I've got one little thing I'd like to say and that is that I've got a picture on my wall of my old man at the Emirates Golf Club starting Greg Norman, and he's standing there next to Greg and he's just talking to him before he is about to tee off and,
he was asking him, how would you want me to introduce you? And all that sort of stuff. And I got that picture on my, and I, you know, that's my old man. Yeah.
James: How many pictures were they taking of your old man with other players? Could, there could be the whole field. Guess what? There's one view with Greg nor absolute him with Greg
Paul: Norman. And if it was a black and white photograph, you would know it's Greg Norman.
'cause he's got the, hat on. And you just know that that's Greg Norman,
Tommy: prime time
Paul: Greg Norman, prime time, you know? Love it.
tommy: So yeah. I think we'll all agree that it's such a shame that he didn't win more majors because his dominance deserved more.
It Really did.
James: And I just think his legacy, unfortunately, will be for a lot of people the live tour and they'll just forget how much of a great golfer he really was.
tommy: Yeah, I'd agree with that. I'd agree with that. Well that was Greg Norman, everybody. Good podcast.
Paul: Yeah.
James: Excellent.
tommy: Nice. Alright, see you next time.
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