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<\/p>\nOut of the LIV Golf firing line and into a brand-new office, Greg Norman is mapping the future on his own terms. But if you think the 70-year-old World Golf Hall of Famer is ready to slow down, think again. <\/p>\n
Greg Norman has never been one to sit still. Not when he was that tearaway blond-haired toddler in outback Queensland. Certainly not when he was that steely-eyed teenager who went from a 27-handicapper to scratch in less than 18 months. And most definaitely not as a high-flying chief executive who\u2019s spent more time in the clouds than Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s golf balls.<\/p>\n
So, when we caught up with \u2018The Shark\u2019 at his new Florida office for his first public interview since stepping down as chief executive officer of LIV Golf in August, it was absolutely no surprise to find the 70-year-old on the move.<\/p>\n
\u201cApologies in advance, mate \u2013 this is literally my first day in the new office so I\u2019m going to be juggling a few things while I\u2019m talking to you,\u201d Norman warns, peeling the plastic off his shiny new office chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course you are!\u201d I joked.<\/p>\n
Perched in a half-empty room, untangling cords and testing power outlets in search of the perfect place to plug in his laptop seemed a rather poetic start to our conversation. Yet it felt worlds away from the deafening fairways he marched down during our previous encounter at LIV Golf Adelaide. Cardboard boxes were stacked like building blocks around him, waiting to be unpacked. Stripped of character, the room came alive under the blaze of light that cut sharply through its emptiness. It brimmed with symbolism: here was a man, one of golf\u2019s most recognisable and influential figures of the past 50 years, a hall of famer, starting afresh.<\/p>\n
Norman admits his three years heading up the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League pushed him to his limits. The harsh reality of 100-hour working weeks, relentless scrutiny from friends and foes and a daily torrent of online abuse was well masked but has undoubtedly left a few scars. Though he refuses to speak about it, sources inside LIV have told Australian Golf Digest his final months on the tour were anything but a happy send-off. What Norman is prepared to share, however, is the pride he took in staying true to golf\u2019s values and respecting its governing bodies during his tenure, all while a concerted effort so desperately tried to derail his plight.<\/p>\n
\u201cMission accomplished!\u201d he declares, without pause, when asked to summarise his time as golf\u2019s No.1 disruptor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just one of those things where you had to stay focused on what purpose you were going after and execute on that purpose. I think, from my perspective, I did that.\u201d<\/p>\n
What comes next is, in many ways, a return to his real \u201chappy place\u201d, and may ultimately define his legacy in the game. The two-time Open champion has re-immersed himself in The Greg Norman Company he founded in 1993, with a bold mission to double his golf-course design portfolio a key priority.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Norman has also stepped into a pivotal board role on the organising committee of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games \u2013 an assignment, he admits, he\u2019s enjoying far more than he ever thought he would. And lurking in the background is the distinct possibility of a permanent move back home to Australia, provided he can keep it out of the tabloids.<\/p>\n
He has a seven-year plan mapped out, taking him straight to the 2032 Games before he\u2019ll maybe, just maybe, contemplate semi-retirement. It\u2019s a journey his offsiders hope will redefine how the world sees him.<\/p>\n
In this exclusive and wide-ranging conversation, Norman lays bare the cost of his past chapter, the fire that still fuels him and the vision he carries into the future. For all he has achieved and endured, one truth endures if you look hard enough: behind all the fortune and fame, Greg Norman is still that blond-haired kid from Mount Isa who just won\u2019t sit still.<\/p>\n
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Australian Golf Digest: A new office. A new chair. This must feel like a new beginning for you?<\/p>\n
Greg Norman: It does [laughs]. It\u2019s an incredible feeling, to be honest with you. Because I started this company with one person \u2013 me. Here I am, back in the chair and ready to go again and answer the question. Yes, there are a lot of new things on my plate, and my pipeline of work is very extensive, but I\u2019m looking forward to it. I can\u2019t do everything all at the same time, so it\u2019s got to be well structured. Having some of my old team back with me makes my life a lot easier, because they know where I want to go with this. Others will come along for the ride, too. Do I want to create a company that\u2019s got a lot of people? No. I like the company that was small and nimble \u2013 we were reactionary. If I came back from a trip and said, \u201cHey, I just saw this over there, let\u2019s focus on it,\u201d 30 seconds of thought would create three years of work, which is great.<\/p>\n
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More on the road ahead later. Now that the dust has settled on your previous role with LIV Golf, how would you summarise your time there?<\/p>\n
Mission accomplished. It\u2019s probably as simple as that. I mean, it was just one of those things where you had to stay focused on what purpose you were going after and execute on that purpose. I think, from my perspective, I did that. I knew there were going to be a lot of headwinds. I didn\u2019t anticipate the magnitude of those headwinds because\u2026 as time went by, those headwinds were created by misperceptions. And that really was it, because nobody wanted to talk to us. Once the Strategic Sports Group (SSG) came in and once the other private equity money came in, that was the catalyst for everybody starting to calm down a little bit, in my opinion. They started to see that what LIV did \u2013 bringing private equity into the game of golf for the first time in 53 years \u2013 was a positive. When you look back on the past 12 months, there\u2019s been a realisation that all those investment dollars have done great things for the institutions as well as the players, in all parts of the world. Even with the PGA Tour [boosting its prizemoney with elevated events], I was quietly happy when I saw that, because the players benefited from it. Are they going to recognise LIV for doing that? No, but I do know that was a significant uptick for them. For them to be able to play for more money, even play in less competitive fields \u2013 they reduced the size of the fields \u2013 I just said, \u201cWell, there you go.\u201d The adoption, to some degree, of what we implemented has been accepted.<\/p>\n
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It feels like the entire golf world has grown tired of these supposed negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund to broker a \u2018peace deal\u2019. Now that you\u2019ve stepped away, how confident are you that something will actually get done?<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t make a comment on that one because I was never involved in those discussions in the beginning. I was never asked a question about what I would do. And then, subsequently, I don\u2019t even know if the new CEO (Scott O\u2019Neil) is involved with them. I do know that everybody seemed like they\u2019re in a happier place. It does look like two entities, \u2018LIV and Let LIV,\u2019 and that was the ultimate goal \u2013 to work within the ecosystem and have the balance that was needed for the players and for the fans and for the stakeholders. It feels like the equilibrium has started to establish itself.<\/p>\n
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It seemed like being a league commissioner was the perfect role for you. Watching you work for the LIV players and engage with the fans, you really were in your element. Where does it rank in your time in the game, and how much did you enjoy your role at LIV?<\/p>\n
Outside the formation of The Greg Norman Company and establishing that away from management companies, I enjoyed my time at LIV. But I\u2019ll be honest with you, it was hard. It was very draining on me. I was working 100-hour weeks. I\u2019m not going to say the abuse was anything [of consequence], but what hurt me the most was the lack of understanding of why people would judge me and give the abuse they did. That was the thing that bothered me the most, because I\u2019m the type of guy who will happily sit down and talk about things. And if I\u2019m wrong, I\u2019ll admit I\u2019m wrong. But don\u2019t judge me. Don\u2019t judge what LIV was truly all about.<\/p>\n
Look what happened at the Ryder Cup this year. That\u2019s what stimulated me and the concept of LIV in the very beginning. We were at Whistling Straits [for the 2021 Ryder Cup], and when I saw the atmosphere on the first tee and walked around, I said to my team right there and then, \u201cThis is why we\u2019ve got to do LIV.\u201d To see the players and see the fans and see the tribalism that was existing, it takes time to get there, but you\u2019ve got to start somewhere. A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. When I saw the Ryder Cup, I thought, Jesus Christ, if we can achieve this like the NFL, like rugby league, like AFL, like soccer, like cricket\u2026 that\u2019s the ultimate goal.<\/p>\n
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What was the player reaction like when news broke you were leaving LIV Golf?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want to single anyone out, but a number of players reached out to express their gratitude. They thanked me for what I did for them \u2013 for being the tip of the spear and taking on the challenge head-on. Phil [Mickelson] carried a lot of that weight too, but I felt it was my responsibility to lead from the front. When you\u2019re trying to create real change, you\u2019re going to take some hits \u2013 it\u2019s part of the job. Not everyone reached out, and that\u2019s perfectly fine, but players like Phil, \u201cPoults\u201d (Ian Poulter), and \u201cWesty\u201d (Lee Westwood) were especially open and appreciative, which meant a lot.<\/p>\n
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Hindsight\u2019s a wonderful thing. Would you do it all again, honestly?<\/p>\n
Oh, in a heartbeat, but I\u2019d do it a little differently. But, yes, I\u2019d do it again in a heartbeat. Like anything, you look back at losing a golf tournament and ask yourself, Why did you lose that golf tournament? Did I hit a bad 5-iron? Or, Did I not concentrate? So, you sit back and you analyse it, and of course you would do that. And, like any CEO, you have to learn by your successes just as much as by your failures. So, yes, absolutely I\u2019d do it again.<\/p>\n
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What was your favourite part of the job at LIV?<\/p>\n
Being embraced by the people of the world, the fans of golf. Hearing the comments.<\/p>\n
One of my most powerful moments was during our first year when LIV came to Orlando. It was just a couple of weeks after the PGA Tour event at Bay Hill. I made a point to walk the course and talk to as many fans as I could \u2013 listening to their comments, their questions, what they liked, what they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll never forget this elderly couple who came up to me and said, \u201cWe want to thank you for what you\u2019re doing.\u201d I asked why, and the woman said, \u201cWe love the Bay Hill Classic, we love the PGA Tour, but we also love what you\u2019ve done here, because you\u2019ve given us another choice.\u201d That moment really stuck with me.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what competition is all about \u2013 giving people choice. Fans can love both. Supporting one doesn\u2019t mean rejecting the other. One is 72 holes and more traditional; the other is 54 holes with a team format and music and a different energy. They can co-exist, and that\u2019s healthy for the game.<\/p>\n
The second most powerful moment came at Augusta National during the 2024 Masters. I spent time walking the course among the patrons, and I\u2019ll say this honestly: in four years, only one person ever made a negative comment directly to me about LIV Golf or the Saudis\u2019 involvement in the game. And I walked a lot of fairways and spoke with a lot of people. Some might not believe that, but I\u2019ll put my hand on my heart and say it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n
That week at Augusta was a real eye-opener. On the hallowed grounds of golf\u2019s most traditional venue \u2013 where people are famously reserved \u2013 I had patrons coming up to me, patting me on the back, saying, \u201cWe love what you\u2019re doing with LIV. Don\u2019t stop. Keep going.\u201d The positivity and support were overwhelming, and it really reinforced that the fans understood what we were trying to do.<\/p>\n
Then there was one moment that summed it all up. I was standing on the putting green waiting for Brooks [Koepka] to tee off when a plain-clothes security officer approached me. He said, \u201cI\u2019ve been assigned to follow you around this week, just to observe. I just want to tell you, you\u2019ve been a consummate gentleman to everyone. Thank you.\u201d
That really hit home.<\/p>\n
Even a few major sponsors quietly came up to me that week and said, \u201cSo, is that vindication?\u201d And I told them, \u201cNo, it\u2019s not vindication. It\u2019s understanding.\u201d It showed that people respected what we built and appreciated it for what it was.<\/p>\n
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One thing that stood out that week was you were wearing your iconic, wide-brim \u2018Shark\u2019 hat from the glory days. It was as if we were seeing the Great White Shark back on the grounds of Augusta National, not the LIV Golf CEO? Was there anything in that?<\/p>\n
It was very intentional. I had a subtle LIV shirt on, but I also put on the classic Shark hat as a nod to my history and connection to Augusta. I wasn\u2019t there to make a statement or to be confrontational \u2013 that\u2019s not who I am. It was about respect. I respect the game of golf and I respect its institutions, even if I don\u2019t always agree with every approach they take. So of course I\u2019m going to respect Augusta National.<\/p>\n
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Just on the R&A\u2019s decision to ban you from attending the 150th Open celebrations, do you hope that resolves itself moving forward, particularly now that you have no involvement with LIV Golf? Do you hope to be welcomed back into the family as a two-time Champion Golfer of the Year?<\/p>\n
Well, time will tell, right? Martin Slumbers is not there anymore. As a matter of fact, I had a really great meeting with Martin at the last Open Championship I was at. He sat down with me and he talked to me about what happened. It was his final year in the job and he was really good and open about things. Again, it tells you how there was \u2013 I don\u2019t want to make assumptions here \u2013 but how there was this kind of united approach about how to attack LIV because they didn\u2019t know what LIV was in the beginning and they thought it was an attack on their establishments. That\u2019s my read on things.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll say this \u2013 and it will be my last comment on the matter \u2013 I always welcomed the opportunity to sit down with anyone, whether it was Rory, Tiger, Jay Monahan, Seth Waugh or Fred Ridley. I simply would have liked to have had an open and honest conversation about the vision we had for the game and where I believe opportunities were missed.<\/p>\n
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How did you cope with the public attacks on your name and credibility, particularly those that came via mainstream golf broadcasts in the United States? Why did their commentary about you become so personal?<\/p>\n
Well, because they didn\u2019t sit down and understand what the facts were, so they created a narrative and just ran with it. Now, I\u2019ll be a contrarian to that: there were a couple of PGA Tour players that I met with personally to talk to them. They wanted to understand what LIV was all about. We wanted them to come on board, so I spent hours with them in their own homes, walking them through it so they could make a fully informed decision on their playing futures. When we were finished, they knew exactly what LIV was all about, they knew exactly where they were with the PGA Tour, and they went away and made a decision. I respect that. I respect that they decided to stay where they were [on the PGA Tour]. Happy days. God bless them for listening. A couple of them said, \u201cWell, this is not what we\u2019re told in the locker room.\u201d That\u2019s why we had to explain the story to them. So, I absolutely respect those guys more today than any other time, because they took the time to understand what we were trying to do.<\/p>\n
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You\u2019re not the retiring type. What\u2019s next for Greg Norman?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m getting back into what I love to do and what I had established before going to LIV. I had to commit 100 percent of my time to LIV but in doing so, I did miss building my brand. I did miss that side of the world. Having walked away from it and looking back, my brand has never been stronger than what it is today, because of the four years of adversity and success. It\u2019s been elevated. I\u2019ve got people calling me from all around the world [to come and do business with them], from Central Asia, to India, to Japan, to Australia, to here in the USA. It\u2019s just incredible to see and have people asking me, what am I doing next? How can we get in? Greg Norman Golf Course Design (GNGCD), which is the favourite arm of my company because you see where the world is moving, where the money\u2019s moving and where the world of sport, entertainment, technology, hospitality, and health and wellness is going, is an area of focus I\u2019m really looking forward to getting back into. I\u2019ve given myself a seven-year plan, running into the 2032 Olympics. Once I get to that point and Brisbane has lit the cauldron, I can sit back and go, OK, now might be the first time in my life I can think about slowing down.<\/p>\n
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You touched on your golf-course design work. You\u2019re currently working on the redesign of the North Adelaide Golf Course in South Australia to turn it into a purpose-built championship course to host LIV Golf Adelaide. How\u2019s all that coming together?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s ticking along very nicely. I spoke to South Australia premier Peter Malinauskas the other day and I\u2019m going to meet with him when I head back down to Australia soon. He\u2019s loving it. He\u2019s loving the process. I have been extremely impressed with how the premier has handled the process within government. He sees the end game, which will be so beneficial to Adelaide and South Australia. We are working through all the necessary requirements to commence constructions, but it\u2019s been a seamless process to date. It\u2019s been very, very good and our design is finished. We\u2019re just getting the nod on the final permits and then we\u2019re off and running. I\u2019ve really enjoyed it because of the process the premier has taken us through \u2013 his vision and how he\u2019s formulated it to where we are today to get to this point. He asked me, \u201cYou\u2019re just going to build one of the best golf courses in the world, right?\u201d I said, \u201cLook, the bones are there. The layout is very, very good and I don\u2019t want to change much.\u201d I explained I don\u2019t want to take out too many trees and I want to revitalise and modernise the golf course. But you have to do some things to build a world-class golf course to some degree. So, when you start really getting into the nitty-gritty, when we start putting that first shovel in the ground, that\u2019s when I\u2019ll get excited, because now you start seeing how quickly this process will evolve, develop and come out. You have to begin with the end in mind. Will there be naysayers? Of course there will be. It\u2019s the world we live in today. The voice of the critic is far louder than the voice of the advocate, but you just have to deal with that.<\/p>\n
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Being a major project back home in Australia, do you feel an extra sense of pride or responsibility to be more hands-on than other projects?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been hands-on a lot in this project, of course. It\u2019s interesting how in the beginning I was working with LIV, because I understood what LIV needed [in a golf course] from TV towers, fibre optics and all the technical operations and all the foundational needs. If you\u2019re investing the money into the future for a long-term venue, you\u2019ve got to put the infrastructure in now, so you just don\u2019t have to keep coming back every year. So, I worked with them on that, and I\u2019ll just keep doing what I\u2019m doing, because I\u2019m experienced enough to know what needs to go in and what needs to be done to host a major sporting event with entertainment. Obviously, the LIV footprint is different than most other tour venues.<\/p>\n
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How many golf courses have you built where you\u2019ve had to allocate room for a music festival?<\/p>\n
Not too many [laughs]. And that\u2019s the conversation we have with the North Adelaide project because we have Adelaide Oval right across the road, which just makes things a lot easier. Now we can integrate that facility with parking and all that infrastructure, so you don\u2019t have to go and create this monster of a golf property because [Adelaide Oval] is a massive, beautiful stadium already \u2013 one of the most beautiful in the world, as far as I\u2019m concerned.<\/p>\n
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You\u2019ve said previously you aspire to double your course design portfolio to 250 completed projects. Where are the real growth areas moving forward?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m very bullish on APAC (Asia-Pacific), Central America and Central Asia. I\u2019ve seen it for the past 12 years and what the success in Vietnam has been like, so I can see it morphing into the rest of Asia. I can see where the developments are going, from India all the way across. The number of golf courses in the world being built from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) to the Asia-Pacific Rim is now more than 50 percent of all courses being built, so that tells you where the growth corridors are. It\u2019s not going to slow down either, because that\u2019s half the population of the world sitting right there. So, investment dollars are going in there. Hospitality is a big deal. Health and wellness is a big deal. We\u2019re doing a fantastic project in Japan right now with an existing golf course.<\/p>\n
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You\u2019re 70 now but you\u2019re not hitting the brakes at all, are you?<\/p>\n
No. It\u2019s still full-on. It\u2019s a lot more relaxed, to be honest with you, because I can take this in the direction that I want. I\u2019m the owner-operator now. I was just asked to be an adviser to the board for another global company. How I balance my time will be dependent on the Olympics and my board meetings all around the world as my company continues to grow.<\/p>\n
The Olympics [committee role] has been the big surprise packet for me. I didn\u2019t realise just how much I was going to enjoy it when I took it on, to be honest with you, but I\u2019m really into it. They skinnied the board down and they asked me to stay on as an independent board of directors. So, when you have this opportunity to be a small part of something that\u2019s going to be a legacy in perpetuity, it\u2019s incredible. And the conversations we have about our vision statement, the conversations we have about our emblem, the conversations we have about: how do we want to leave this? I said, \u201cYou don\u2019t leave it. Everything we do today we structure in for infinity because whatever we do, we just don\u2019t want to think it\u2019s going to end in 2032. That\u2019s very shallow thinking. This is for Brisbane, this is for South-East Queensland, this is for Australia, and this is for the future of the Olympic Games.\u201d I said, \u201cIt\u2019s very simple: you\u2019ve got to start. You\u2019ve got to build out into the future forever. And that\u2019s all our legacy. That\u2019s how we\u2019ve got to do it.\u201d I get to work with a great group of people on the board. I\u2019m very surprised how much I love the process; 2032 will be a \u2018north star\u2019.<\/p>\n
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Sceptics out there question the long-term future of the Olympic Games \u2013 they question if people still care enough. Can Brisbane change that belief?<\/p>\n
Absolutely. With Brisbane being the smallest city to ever host the Olympics, when you think about the opportunity that we have of creating something that maybe the International Olympic Committee has recognised and believes, OK, now if we do this, we don\u2019t have to go to Paris, London, LA, Sydney \u2013 the big cities. So, our goal is to prove smaller is bigger. And you can build out from there. And understanding that culture of what South-East Queensland is all about and how different this culture is to Paris, which is different than LA. It\u2019s all about the vision, which I absolutely love.<\/p>\n
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Has golf finally found a home in the Olympic Games?<\/p>\n
Absolutely. I\u2019ll never forget Seve Ballesteros \u2013 RIP, my friend \u2013 coming to me and saying, \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get golf in the Olympics.\u201d This was back in the \u201980s when Juan Antonio Samaranch, who\u2019s Spanish, was head of the IOC. Seve spearheaded golf\u2019s push into the Olympics. Seve wanted to get it in there. I felt the same way. I didn\u2019t play in the Ryder Cup \u2013 Seve did \u2013 so I didn\u2019t play team golf, but I thought, S\u2013t, how cool would it be to represent your country playing golf? I jumped on board with Seve\u2019s passion and enthusiasm, but there was nothing we could do about it because there was one glaring problem: golf was broken up into these institutions and was controlled by four or five of them. The reason why golf couldn\u2019t be in the Olympics back then was there wasn\u2019t one governing body in golf. You had the R&A, the USGA, the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PGA of America. There wasn\u2019t one global governing body in golf like every other Olympic sport had. Then the International Golf Federation (IGF) was formed. When you look back over time, the golfers of today competing in the Olympics wouldn\u2019t know the vision and commitment that Seve put in in wanting to bring golf back to the Olympics. Everybody should look up to the heavens and say, \u201cThank you, Seve.\u201d<\/p>\n
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So, here we are. Golf in the Olympics, being played at Royal Queensland \u2013 the club where Greg Norman did his traineeship all those years ago. Life\u2019s come full circle, hasn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
It has a bit. I have not played the new golf course [at Royal Queensland], but I\u2019m sure I will do pretty soon. I\u2019m only going on what I\u2019ve heard from players who\u2019ve played it, but from what I\u2019m hearing it\u2019s not a very positive response. So, if you\u2019re going to host the Olympics, with the best of the best, you\u2019d better make sure that the players walk away going, \u201cWow, what an experience, what a golf course, what an atmosphere!\u201d So, we\u2019ve got to look at that, too. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be asked.<\/p>\n
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If you were told as a young boy that you\u2019ll have an opportunity to win an Olympic gold medal at Royal Queensland one day, that surely would have been very high on your bucket list?<\/p>\n
Oh yeah. It probably would have been No.5, because you\u2019d put the four majors first. But winning gold there would certainly be up with them, for sure.<\/p>\n
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Any aspirations to relocate back home soon? You were spotted in Byron Bay a while back on a possible house hunt, but that all went quiet. What\u2019s the latest?<\/p>\n
Yeah, of course. Given where I see the growth corridor of my business and where golf-course design is going and other things that I\u2019m doing in Australia, I absolutely do see it. Byron Bay disappointed me tremendously when all the places I looked at were leaked in the media. So, that\u2019s when I just tucked my wings in and said, \u201cI\u2019m out.\u201d I have to do that for a reason because you just get inundated. But Byron is a beautiful spot, there\u2019s no question about it. There are a lot of other beautiful spots on the east coast of Australia, and there\u2019s one magnificent spot on the west coast of Australia, too, and that\u2019s right underneath Asia, so I\u2019ve got to take those things into consideration as well [if I move home].<\/p>\n
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Do we know what your legacy is yet?<\/p>\n
Oh, no, no, no. I\u2019m not even going to answer that yet because there are so many new and interesting things on my plate that will evolve, like the Brisbane Olympics. I guarantee you I\u2019ll have a tear in my eye when that cauldron lights up for the first time in 2032 because of the effort we\u2019ve all put in. We\u2019ll take a small city with a great culture and great people in South-East Queensland and host the biggest sporting event in the world. That will be one of my proudest moments.<\/p>\n
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How has the past couple of years shaped you? Are we seeing and listening to the same Greg Norman?<\/p>\n
No, totally different. It\u2019s the same guy, but totally different. Of course, I\u2019ve learned so much. I\u2019ve learned how to be patient. I\u2019ve learned how to be resilient. I\u2019ve learned how to be tolerant. I\u2019ve learned how to absolutely trust implicitly your business plan, your business model and your execution. I\u2019ve learned how human resources, which I\u2019ve always said for my entire life is the hardest thing about business, remains critical to success. Having the right people in the right place with the right vision, understanding the goals and understanding where you want to take it and how you\u2019re going to get there is difficult. If the team you have in place doesn\u2019t understand that, then it\u2019s a tough battle. So, human resources \u2013 making sure you have those people by your side \u2013 and through my GN company, my history, I still have people who are working for me today that have worked for me for 34 years. When you think about that, they\u2019re the people who see what you have and what your vision is and your deliverables. So, yeah, I am the same person, but I have learned a lot, and I\u2019ll use one word that [governor of Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund] Yasir Al-Rumayyan said to me from the very beginning: \u201cGreg, just be patient.\u201d That one word, patient. Am I a patient guy? I think I am, but I probably wasn\u2019t in the beginning. But that one word \u2013 patience \u2013 was what he told me in my first year and I thought, OK, let\u2019s just see this out. Let\u2019s just follow the process now and stay the course. Because the implementation of spending billions of dollars in the world of golf, you just don\u2019t plant a billion in the ground and it all flourishes instantly. It takes time, and there it is. Patience, time, patience, time\u2026<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GN_Cathedral-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
You\u2019re across global business and economic trends and the fact golf is still booming. Are we going to hit a cliff anytime soon?<\/p>\n
Well, you can thank COVID for accelerating the boom \u2013 that was a real catalyst for golf. You can also thank the end of the GFC era, when people were tightening their belts. Back then, being a member of five clubs suddenly seemed excessive, so many cut back to one or two. That correction has now balanced out, and what we\u2019re seeing today is a much healthier, more sustainable industry.<\/p>\n
If you go back to the \u201980s and \u201990s, America was building 400-plus golf courses a year \u2013 completely over-leveraged. It wasn\u2019t a smart play Today, the approach is very different. Developers are far more strategic and analytical about where and how they build. They\u2019re looking at global capital flows \u2013 where the money is coming from, where it\u2019s going \u2013 and considering how golf fits within broader mixed-use projects like real estate, marinas or even lifestyle and recreation concepts like pickleball and padel.<\/p>\n
The sophistication level in modern developments is worlds ahead of what it was decades ago. Every project I\u2019m involved with now incorporates deeper analysis, stronger planning and, increasingly, technology and AI. It\u2019s great to see, because ultimately, the entire golf ecosystem benefits. When the game grows, equipment manufacturers innovate, golfers get better technology, and the sport itself continues to evolve \u2013 all while the essence of the game remains the same. Eighteen holes, 7,200 yards, and the experience of being out there \u2013 that\u2019s what still matters. The variety and creativity in the game today are giving golf an incredible global boost, and it\u2019s exciting to watch it unfold.<\/p>\n
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You\u2019ve got some unpacking to do, so last one: you\u2019ve got form hooking up world leaders between Australia and America. Are you to thank for that little September catch-up between Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and US president Donald Trump in New York?<\/p>\n
[Laughs] I\u2019m just glad they got together.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll take that as a yes\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Photographs by: Hector Vivas\/getty images \u2022 Warren Little, Asanka Ratnayake\/getty images \u2022 Jonathan Ferrey\/getty images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Out of the LIV Golf firing line and into a brand-new office, Greg Norman is mapping the future…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236766,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-236765","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}