At the Royal Ashburn golf club near Toronto Ontario, they have displayed a collection of Norman's irons. Every one of them shows a rusty ball-sized tarnished area dead centre of the face.
I love hearing about Moe Norman stories, so thank you for sharing this!.... I took up golfing March of last year and realized how bad I was as I was shooting well over 100. In August of 2023 I switched to the single plane swing using Todd Graves training aides and watching his videos (as well as Moe Norman's). I now shoot consistently in the low 90s with a couple with my best score being an 87. This year I am practicing more in hopes of breaking 85 or even 80 with the help of Moe's swing style! Just gotta dialing in my putting and short game better.
Have you ever done any research into the "V grip" used by Walter Travis and those of his day as opposed to the Vardon and interlocking grips that basically supplanted it?
I have tried a few different grips... even the one Sarazen used. Cross handed also, and thumbs off. Bottom line is... a firm grip upon the club is critical for hitters. In the fingers widens your arc, and neutral allows for an open clubface at P3 and still enough support to hit hard with the right hand.
Hi John I have a question for you, your time in Australia when you came to the conclusion that your swing was not like Players such as Greg Norman and peter Senior. I would like to know what was the difference? I assume you came through the College system and am wondering what type of swing were they teaching you and why you felt you couldn't compete with these guys?
It was the sound... the compression I was hearing. I was hitting on the range in between Greg Norman and Sandy Lyle at Royal Melbourne in the Australian Open. It was a real thing.. not something subjective like wine tasting. But the biggest reason is that I didn't feel like my swing traveled well. I'll shoot a video on it with more detail.
Moe was not short by any means... I would say he would have been slightly longer than average if he had been active on the tour when I was in Canada. He would play a few pro ams here and there so I can confirm. I played with him once in Medicine Hat and he was in his mid to late 50's and hit it out there with us no problem.
I watched Moe Norman hit about 300 balls at a driving range outside Arlington Va I was working at NSF and got a call that he was going to be at his friends range, which he always visited on his way north from Florida, that afternoon, evening. It was April, it was cold, 49* I checked, and there was a pretty good crosswind. HE DIID NOT MISS A BALL. He swung wedge, 6 iron, and driver during the session . Everyone was flush, and straight. The wind had no effect on his ball flight. He called his trajectory " if I want to his it 145 feet in the air" and ok that looks about right, "or maybe 165' in the air" and darn if it wasn't about 20' higher, "or 185' in the air" and wow it was about 20' higher. And all three landed in an area about the size of the hood of a car 165 yards out. When he went to the driver he hit his persimmon BAM BAM BAM, straight as an arrow, This was 1995, he was 66 at the time. He picked up a Callaway Big Bertha and stated that this should be illegal because the ball goes 30 yds father. This was not long after Titleist sponsored Moe and he was hitting all new Titleist balls. But then he picked up a Daiwa driver and started pounding it 300 yds. because as he said the ball lands and just keeps on running. Moe talked less and less as he focused more and more on what he was doing but he talked quite a lot. I think he wanted you to watch. Learn by watching. He wasn't big on answering technical questions. A few came but there were only about 20-25 of us watching. SOmeone did ask if he could draw it or fade it and as John says "Why? I always hit it straight." I come to understand that one of the key things in life is knowing the right question(s) to ask, and it is something I am working on getting better at, at 70 years old. I just watched and watched. Towards the end all I could say was "Mr Norman, for all I have heard and read through the years, your swing looks very natural to me." Which got me eye contact, a nod, a wink, and a smile.
Good stuff John. Id like to add Moe was a fine tournament golfer.. as you know. 2 Canadian Amateurs, 2 Canadian PGAs, and i have no clue how many other pro Tournaments. Great player.
