Throughout his series of swing incarnations, Tiger Woods has referred to a desire to “own” his swing – something, he said, only two players have ever done. The first was Ben Hogan, which requires little processing even for the casual golf enthusiast. The second, Moe Norman, usually does.
Norman, who died in 2004 at the age of 75, was a study of contradictions. He was a genius at unraveling the secret of a repeatable golf swing, but he was also someone who struggled with basic social dynamics. He is now revered by Woods and others but was shunned by many of his contemporaries during his heyday. He may be the greatest striker who ever lived, but he barely left a mark during his short stint on the PGA Tour.
Golf Digest first examined Norman’s curious existence in a 1995 profile by David Owen, but even that story requires a new context, given how Norman’s legend has grown over the years and what we’ve come to understand. about her psychological makeup. All of this serves as the foundation for our fourth episode of Local Knowledge, the new Golf Digest podcast that delves into complicated golf topics. And complicated would surely describe Norman, the enigmatic Canadian who struggled for much of his life but achieved folk hero status in death.
“He was an amazing and extraordinary guy and I think the way to see him is not to think what he could have been, but to be amazed at what he really was,” Owen said.
Owen, who met Norman while telling his story, is the voice announcer Alex Myers leans on to shed light on the golfer’s life. Like Todd Graves, a Norman disciple who still teaches his unique technique. And we also hear from Norman himself through a series of interviews and instructional videos he recorded.
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