I’ve always liked the Shark.  The Aussie from down under has the rugged looks that make him an instant celebrity on and off the golf course.  And, long before le tigre roamed the links, the shark was chewing up the competition all over the golf world chalking up 88 professional wins in a career that saw him atop the World #1 Rankings for 331 weeks in the 80-90s.  Only Tiger Woods has eclipsed Greg Norman and together they hold an impressive 901 weeks as being the number one golfers in the world.   

In the era of persimmon (wood) clubhead technology, Greg had the straightest and longest drives off the tee I have ever seen aside from maybe Jack Nicklaus.  Today, with the advanced metalclub and ball technology it’s really hard to find an equal to the Shark in terms of speed, pure distance, and accuracy.  The metal drivers really do mask the flaws of precise contact with the ball and make it hard to compare golfers that honed their skills on persimmon. 

It’s simple to say that golf has allowed Greg to succeed by associating with those real movers and shakers that make the business and political worlds turn.  But, in truth, it’s his entrepreneurial spirit, grit, and dedicated associates that have built his business enterprises to worth over $300 million dollars.  That he has done well belies the challenges he has overcome.    

In Greg Norman: The Way of the Shark – Lessons on Golf, Business, and Life written with Donald T. Phillips, Greg shares his life lessons up to his recent come back at Royal Birkdale last year and his latest public dalliances marriage to, and current separation from, tennis great Chris Evert. 

Greg has certainly lived a storied life in the outback and barrier reefs of Australia; but the most interesting part of the book in my opinion was the mêlée he had with the PGA and commissioner Tim Finchem over Greg’s idea for a World Tour for the top rated golfers independent of the PGA.  This, by itself, could be fodder for a Harvard Business Review case study as it lays bare the business dealings of the PGA and Finchem’s tyranny over the PGA tour players, sponsors, charities, and others affiliated with the corporate side of the grand old game.  Oh! The tangled webs we weave in the name of institutional bureaucracies and monopolies trying to protect “the brand.”

The story makes the sleazy tactics of union organizing tame compared to the dirty tricks, legal wrangling, negative propagandizing, personal smear campaigns, and bullying the PGA under Finchem, et al. employed to persecute the Shark while inoculating his professional colleagues and friends from him before they realized the good Greg was trying to create for the players and the fans.  The behavior by Finchem and the PGA was no different from what the NEA and government education hacks are implementing right now to smear charter and home school programs in the name of “quality control.” 

In the end the status quo must remain and individuality be stamped out – for the good of the game.  Even Arnold Palmer cow tows the party line.  How sad it is that the king has forgotten his roots in the fame of the game and has sold out to corporate politics helping to circle the wagons along with Mr. Finchem.  Competition is good for golf and usually results in a better product that rewards the producers and consumers alike. 

If you want a good golf read of one man’s “rage against the machine” and his triumphs as a result of always persevering, The Way of the Shark is your ticket inside the ropes.

© 2009 The iQuest Group, LLC

allan@iquestgolf.com

www.iquestgolf.com