Moe Norman

Born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, in 1929, Norman developed his golf from childhood at the Rockway municipal course in that city, starting as a caddie in his pre-teen years.[1] He refined his skills competing against talented area players such as Gary Cowan and Gerry Kesselring.

Norman spent most of his playing career in poverty. He spent many winters setting pins in a bowling alley for a few cents a line.[2]

Norman's first win was in 1949, when he won a one-day amateur event at the St. Thomas Golf and Country Club.

Norman won back-to-back Canadian Amateur Championships in 1955 and 1956.[1] He turned professional in 1957 and played briefly on the PGA Tour, but due to shyness, bullying he encountered from certain pros, and a preference to stay in Canada, he stayed primarily in Ontario rather than travel extensively outside Canada.[1] In the 1980s, Norman also played several events on the Senior PGA Tour.

Late in his life, Norman found better financial security when Natural Golf, an instruction company, and Titleist, a major golf manufacturer, signed him to a lifetime contract after he allegedly told a reporter, "Titleist never did nothing for me." Moe would often perform golf exhibitions across Canada – Wally Uihlein, president of Titleist considered Moe's lifetime contract a "Reverse Scholarship".

Norman died in 2004 in a Kitchener hospital from congestive heart failure, having suffered from the condition since heart bypass surgery six years earlier. He also had a heart attack two years before his death.

Norman was self-taught and never took a golf lesson.[1]

Norman's skills as a ball striker are legendary. Sam Snead described Norman as the greatest striker of the ball. In January 2005, Tiger Woods, the biggest golf star of the modern era, told Golf Digest's Jaime Diaz that only two golfers in history have "owned their swings": Moe Norman and Ben Hogan.[1] Stated Woods, "I want to own mine."

Norman's play, along with his way of dressing were both unconventional. He wore long-sleeved shirts in any weather, buttoned to his chin, and his pants didn’t fit very well.[2] He devised what is known as "The Single Plane Golf Swing" —- rigid arms extended far from his body, a very wide stance with minimal knee bend, shorter-than-usual backswing and extended follow-through with minimal hand action, which produced amazingly accurate ball placement.[1] He played extremely fast, sometimes not slowing to line up his putts.

Norman was known for sometimes unconventional behavior on the course.[1] It is said that on one hole his caddie told him he could get to the green with a driver and a 9-iron. Naturally, he hit off the tee with his 9-iron and then hit the green with his driver.

In an exhibition match in 1990 rather than lay up short of a creek hazard which could not be carried, Norman rolled his drive across the bridge which crossed the creek.[2]

Norman's golf achievements and eccentric personality inspired many articles and biographic books including The Feeling of Greatness – The Moe Norman Story, by Tim O'Connor (ISBN 1-57028-086-X), The Single Plane Golf Swing, Play Better Golf the Moe Norman Way by Todd Graves with Tim O'Connor (ISBN 978-1-61254-192-1), Moe Norman: The Canadian Golfing Legend with the Perfect Swing, by Stan Sauerwein (ISBN 978-1-55153-953-9), Moe and Me: Encounters with Moe Norman, Golf's Mysterious Genius by Lorne Rubinstein, (ISBN 1-77041-053-8), Finish To The Sky, by Greg Lavern (ISBN 978-0994886118) and Send In The Clown by Andrew Stelmack (ISBN 978-1778225215)

A documentary film about Norman's life, The Feeling of Greatness, was in production, and scheduled for completion in December 2018.[5]

Another film, Dance the Green was also in production as of 2011. Wayne Gretzky was one of the investors.[6]

• www.moenorman.org
• Profile at Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
• Moe Norman Golf website
• The Moe Norman Documentary
• Moe Norman Golf Swing Interview Part 1
• Moe Norman Golf Swing Interview Part 2
• Norman's swing on a driving range in 1987 on youtube