Greg Norman: Still a Champ and Competing, But on a Larger Golf Landscape

Many stars retire from golf competition and begin an awkward search for golf-related business opportunities. Greg Norman was different--he had always been looking ahead to his future as an entrepreneur.

Norman's successful foray into course design (one of many enterprises in which he has excelled) is marked by an artful, inspired visual style coupled with a keen sense of the difficulty factor most players can handle.

FLORIDA: Jupiter Country Club

The 2008 British Open–where Norman nearly went wire-to-wire as a surprise 53-year-old champion–testified to the athleticism and pure golf feel that made Greg Norman such a great player for so long. In addition to being the No. 1 golfer worldwide for 331 consecutive weeks, he won two major championships and finished second in a handful of others.

From Norman's U.S. base right on Jupiter Island, the trip to Jupiter Country Club was the shortest of rides. This "home-field advantage" for the project gave Norman the chance to make many visits and provide ongoing design input. The result is a course of great design integrity with a special rhythm to the holes.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Barefoot Resort & Golf

Norman entered the course-design field knowing that his charismatic personality and reputation for bold, at times high-risk shotmaking preceded him. Always a bit of a showman, he knew he could use course architecture to express those elements of his personality. That said, in cases where his client desired a subtle, more cerebral routing, Norman has complied. But where a more heroic style has been called for, the famed Aussie sportsman has been eager to comply.

The Norman Course at Barefoot Resort & Golf in the vacation mecca of Myrtle Beach makes use of a flowing, no-transition technique Norman likes to employ. The layout's fairways at certain points run directly into sand, at other points into scrubby native-vegetation areas, without buffers or demarcations. This means that aggressive shots have no light rough or other border-type surface to keep them out of the hazards. The technique also adds visual drama, an attribute Norman strongly favors.

TENNESSEE: Tennessee National Medalist

Development, a joint venture between Great White Shark Enterprises and Macquarie Bank of Australia, represents the Norman technique of forming partnerships that provide greater creative control of his work and more equity in the resulting asset. It was under the Medalist umbrella that the 1,450-acre Tennessee National came into being.

The golf course site Tennessee National developers set aside had a bumps-and-hollows movement to it that Norman found ideal. Covering 260 acres, the course features stacked sod-wall bunkers, an unusual temperate-zone mix of Bermuda and bent grasses, plus native stone bulkhead walls and spillways. There are 13 man-made lakes on the course and water comes into play on 11 holes.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Oldfield

Never one to do things halfway, Norman seized the issue of sustainable golf development when, in 2004, he signed on as a Trustee of the Environmental Institute for Golf, a philanthropic organization governed by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. As part of his appointment, Greg agreed to chair the institute's advisory council, which has given shape to, funded and developed many important initiatives.

Working with his clients at Oldfield, Norman's design team moved earth and cleared the native trees very selectively. The result is a Lowcountry championship course that prowls through rippled, oak-shaded terrain and dares a player to hit toward unforgiving marshland on a short-cut path to the target.

FLORIDA: BellaTrae at Champions Gate

Norman was extended the opportunity to double his efforts at the new BellaTrae at Champions Gate, FL, and the result was the National and International. Golfers enjoy a comprehensive tour of the 1,200-acre private and gated community on the 36 holes which weave through woodlands, wetlands, and orange groves. The community is additionally enhanced by being the world headquarters of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy. It further proves that Norman the showman and gritty golfer can share a stage with anyone and still look great.

Other Articles in the Golf Architect Series

I. The No. 1 Real-Estate Enhancer: Jack Nicklaus - Find out why this golf course architect adds the most value to the real estate surrounding the golf courses he designs: Click here!

II. Tom Fazio: Elevating Course Design--and Home Values

III. Arnold Palmer: His Brilliant Second Career

IV. Arthur Hills: Value-Adding Visionary

V. Robert Trent Jones II: Continuing the Legacy

VI. Bob Cupp & Tom Jackson: Veterans with Prime Portfolios

VII. Pete Dye: Lifelong Innovator (Part-Time Intimidator)