Golf Monthly UK – August 2019

331

weeks as

World No.1

$14,484,458

PGA Tour

career earnings

3

PGA Tour

Order of Merits

establishing courses in non-

golfing nations such as Oman

and Vietnam? Oh, it’s absolutely

one of the most rewarding things I

do today. Places like Vietnam,

growing the golf industry there,

which then grows the hospitality,

which grows infrastructure and

tourism – I love that. That is creating

something which lasts multiple

generations. If we can grow the

game in Vietnam, or Oman and

Jordan, it’s going to somewhat offset

the slowing down of the game in the

US. We’re always looking at those

opportunities: Mexico, South

America, Central America and the

Far East. I’m extremely proud to be

involved with that. I’m even prouder

that the Vietnamese government

recognised the quality of golf

courses I am building in Vietnam

and asked me to be the ambassador

for tourism, sport and culture.

The modern player swings at

the ball so hard. It’s often

said the modern game is

about trying to win a flurry of

tournaments in a short

career, rather than trying to

achieve longevity. Does this

style open up more potential

for injury? These power players of

today, they are putting

so much stress and load

on their bodies, whether

it’s the neck, the lower

back or the hips. The

speed of their swings

and the power of their

bodies expose the weak

links in the body. And

weak links are always

going to be weak links.

Your vertebrae are your

vertebrae and they take

a massive load during

the swing. It’s inevitable. I was a

power player and I’ve had 13

surgeries. Jack Nicklaus was a

power player and he’s had a bad

back. When you want to get it out

there and be one of the longest

drivers, there will be consequences

as time goes by.

What is a world-famous

course you think fails to live

up to its hype and what makes

a good golf course? I would say

Pebble Beach is a little overrated. I

feel Pebble Beach has 13

magnificent holes and five very

average holes. Compare Pebble

Beach to another world-famous

seaside course. Let’s say New South

Wales Golf Club in Sydney,

Australia. I think you have to take

away the scenic beauty [from each

course] and focus on playability;

how the golf course flows. New

South Wales GC has no houses on it,

Pebble Beach is surrounded by

houses. But I think one of the most

underrated courses out on the

Monterey Peninsula [site of Pebble

Beach] is Spyglass Hill. It’s a better

golf course than Cypress Point, at

least from a player’s perspective.

I always detested one-dimensional

golf courses where you can only play

the game one way. There needs to be

a thought process over each shot to

challenge the player. I don’t like the

‘target golf’ courses built in the ‘80s

and ‘90s that were only played

through the air. Why? Because I love

to see the ball roll and bounce and

how much spin you can put on it.

Why does Australia produce so

many great golfers? It’s a good

question, and I think the answer is a

combination of athleticism and

access. Australia might only have a

population of 25 million people, but

sport is in our veins. Our whole lives

are dictated in one way or another

by sport – playing it or watching it.

And then you think about golf

courses in Australia and they are

mostly very accessible. There are

great private courses and then there

are great public courses. Everyone

can play. You combine those two and

we are naturally going to produce

great golfers.

Seve and Norman

had some

titanic battles

Norman won his

second Open at

Royal St George’s

GREG NORMAN