| CBI Interview | Greg Norman
The legendary PGA player known as ‘The Shark’ embraces, and endorses, function-specific fitness programs for golf and other sports activities
By Jon Feld
CBI: In Australia, you played rugby and cricket and surfed as a kid. How did you wind up becoming a golfer?
GREG NORMAN: I’ve always had a passion for sports. My family had just moved to Brisbane. I was a bit lonely, having left all of my friends behind, so my mother suggested that I play a quick nine holes of golf. I’d never tried before, but Mum told me I had the start of a reasonable swing. A couple of weeks later, she was playing in a tournament, and I caddied for her. She made the game look easy, so I figured, “If Mum can do it, so can I.” I wandered onto the course and started whacking the ball around— a few went straight, but most were poorly hit, with one even getting stuck in a pandanus tree. That was my introduction to golf.
CBI: You’ve said you’ve had to change your life to accommodate your new “position” as you’ve grown older. What does that mean in terms of fitness?
GN: While competing in the 1991 PGA Championship, I remember coming off the golf course following my round with an incredible headache. It was quite unusual for me to have such a headache. It was a major championship, and it was hot and humid, and I realized that I was dehydrated. That August, I decided to commit myself to a more intense workout, and to cleanse my system of sodas or any other chemicals; I started drinking a lot of water, and I started working out.
CBI: How do you stay fit during the tour?
GN: I work out daily and maintain a pretty rigid workout routine. When I was playing golf more regularly, I’d do my most intense workouts on Monday and then scale back a bit each day leading into a tournament, which would begin on Thursday.
CBI: How does fitness differentiate you as a pro?
GN: The psychological edge that being physically fit creates within a person is a tremendous asset. As a professional athlete, being able to look down the driving range before a round and say to yourself, “I’ve got these guys,” boosts your confidence and eliminates one element of the competition in your mind.
CBI: How do you respond to the “myth” that golfers shouldn’t work out?
GN: This has changed drastically over the last 10 years. People turn on the TV and see Tiger Woods, and they see these other young, chiseled players from all over the world. So people automatically start thinking, “That must be good for my game.” That message radiates out to 25 million other golfers, whether they’re recreational or membership players.
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Highlights » The golf-fitness link » The business ‘course’ » Teeing up new talent » Tips from the master
Greg Norman, 55, a.k.a. “The Shark” or “The Great White Shark,” is among the greatest all-time PGA golfers. In fact, at one point during the 1980s and 1990s, the Queensland, Australia-born duffer was the world’s No. 1 ranked golfer for 331 straight weeks—not days, but weeks. His PGA career began in 1976, and, while he’s not on tour as frequently today, he’s still an active player, with nearly 100 tournament wins under his belt. Norman has parlayed his success into a thriving business, Greg Norman Enterprises, which encompasses a variety of different companies across several industries, and the nonprofit Greg Norman Golf Foundation, which serves as an outreach organization for younger golfers. Most recently, Norman, whose home base is Hobe Sound, Florida, entered into a relationship with CYBEX to endorse and be its “official fitness ambassador” for its CYBEX Golf Fitness platform. —|
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ihrsa.org | SEPTEMBER 2010 | Club Business Internat ional 31
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