THE SHARK Greg Norman Candid Interview— Moments that Changed His Life
Norman recalls two life-changing moments as a youngster
It was in Brisbane, and it was Aspley (State) High School, and we were running, doing laps around the oval in the morning, and he (high school classmate) was standing to my left here, and he just went, boom, right down. And he had a cardiac arrest immediately, and died as he hit the ground.
That was crazy, I’m trying to give him mouth to mouth, and I’ve never done that before, never had CPR training or anything, but one of the teachers was there and boy, it was one of those moments that really hit me hard. And I went in the ambulance with him, and the hard thing was, when we got to the hospital, the mother was there and it was already, he was… (dead). It was really one of those powerful moments… it was the first person I’d seen passed away, or died right in front of my eyes. So, it stays with you.
I was surfing one day, and in those days, we didn’t have the lanyards that your board tied to your leg. I was out surfing off Noosa Heads, which is one of my favorite surfing spots, but you have to hike out on the rocks—
And when the surf break was really good, it’s a really long right-hander, you can just catch a wave at the point and you can ride for a long time. And I just picked the wrong wave, I lost it, and got wiped out, and… it was a really heavy swell that day, and the board disappeared, and I’ve got maybe half a mile or half a kilometer swim to the beach, and by the time I got there, because you can’t get in because it’s all rocks to your left. And by the time I got in, I was done. I was really done. You know, I think just from physical conditioning and stuff like that, I just lay on the beach and I said, I gotta figure out another sport to do outside of this.
Early on, Norman had a one-of-a-kind (guaranteed!) method for coping with stress on the golf course
Just like physical skills, you can work on your mental skills. If you get into a really negative tone, it’s very, very difficult to stop it. But I had a few little tricks of the trade that I used to do. If I started getting these negative thoughts popping in my head, I used to squat down on the side of the green, putting green, and people thought I was lining up my putt. I’d put my head down like this, my eyes would be closed, and I’d be taking all the stuff in my head, negative and I’d be taking down and I’d be taking, flushing the toilet. I’d visualize pulling the chain (on an old-fashioned toilet). I’d be leaning on my putter like this, and I’d picture my putter was a chain of the old toilet, and just, like this, and whew! It worked.
How making a speech after a win in 1976 forced him to be more extroverted
I was very much an introverted kid. I would happily sit back in the corner and let everything else go by, and let life go on. And I was there, and I knew I had to change my internal personality, my natural way. And I had to get up and make this speech on a Sunday night…to accept the (West Lakes Classic Championship trophy), and I was nervous as heck. And I remember standing in the corner of the clubhouse psyching myself up, saying you’ve got to get up there, and if you want to be the best you can be playing the game of golf, and you want to win these events, you have to be able to get in front of an audience. And that was one of the most powerful things that went through my mind, really in my life. Because I actually forced myself to change my natural ways.
Norman’s take on golf’s popularity without Tiger Woods in the lineup
Just look at the NBA. I mean, it was all built around Michael Jordan. And when Michael stepped out of it, the NBA, it struggled for a little bit. It’s all about the game. And right now, quite honestly, I think the game of golf – on a global front – is the healthiest it’s ever been because there is probably 8 to 12 guys who could be a Rory McIlroy. And that is so healthy, because as a player, when you go to play anywhere in the world, now you are gonna play up against two or three guys who are equal to you. So that really pushes you and makes you a better player. So from an athlete sitting back looking at my sport, I think it’s so healthy today.
Above are excerpts from GREG NORMAN CENTERSTAGE — Premiered on the YES Network Apr. 9th, 2015.
Photo: Greg Norman— THE SHARK
