Reasons to be cheerful—Greg Norman

Known as the Great White Shark, Greg Norman has won 86 professional golf events and been ranked number one for over 330 weeks. He now runs several businesses, including the Greg Norman Collection

My pride and joy is my family.

My favorite hotel in the world is Skibo Castle, in Scotland. It is difficult to imagine a more beautiful setting.

My favourite restaurant is Botin in Madrid. It is the oldest restaurant in the world and dates back to 1725—45 years before Captain Cook discovered Australia.

The best clothes I’ve bought recently have been from the Greg Norman Collection, of course. I’m also fond of suits by Giorgio Armani and Zegna.

My happiest memory is my first professional victory. It’s the one I cherish most. It was the 1976 West Lakes Classic in Adelaide, Australia. I won $7,000. Even though I’ve accomplished things on a bigger stage since, that win in my first year as a touring professional gave me the confidence I needed.

The best exhibition I’ve seen for ages was visiting the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy. We saw everything from Michelangelo to Van Gogh. It was fabulous.

The best book I’ve read recently is The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman.

What I’m looking forward to this summer is playing golf. I had back surgery in March and I can’t wait to get back out. I’m a huge fan of St. Andrews, so I specifically set the date of my surgery to allow me to return for this year’s Open Championship.

The best golf course in the world is really hard to choose. Among my favorite classic courses are Augusta National, Royal Melbourne and Shinnecock. But Harbour Town and Doonbeg are two other courses that I also really enjoy playing.

If I could only play one more round of golf I’d want to go back in time and play with Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Bobby Jones. They epitomise the game of golf in different ways. Hogan was the stoic guy, Snead the pure swinger and Jones the true gentleman.

Other reasons to be cheerful are doing nothing much at home with my family; sitting beside my wife in the back yard of our home watching sunset; and the first sip of a glass of 1999 Greg Norman Estates Reserve Shiraz.