Greg Norman interview by Sean Harrison.

Have you been fascinated with aviation since childhood?

Yes. My love of aviation goes back to my childhood in Australia, when jets and the thought of becoming a pilot obsessed me. I assembled dozens of model airplanes and had them tethered all over my room, and at night I’d lie in my bed and imagine my future as a fighter pilot. I tried collecting stamps and had a few other hobbies, but it was flight, especially fighter jets, that really fascinated me.

What age were you when you learned to fly?

I first started to fly in my early 30’s, typically flying in the left seat of the helicopter or the right seat of the business jet I was operating at the time.

Did you ever have the ambition to become a pilot, rather than a golf professional?

When I was younger, I remember going to local air shows when I lived in Townsville, Australia, and admiring the skill of the pilots who flew the F111s. Later, at Townsville Grammar School, I joined the air cadets with the idea that eventually I’d become a pilot for the Royal Australian Air Force. I was just enamored with flying and I wanted to do Mach 1 with 60 million dollar jets sitting underneath the seat of my pants. At the end of the day I decided not to do that, went off for about 18 months, and decided just to play golf. That is the where I am today.

One of your first endorsements in 1976 was with Qantas. Do you still use them?

Given that I have owned my own aircraft for the past fifteen years, you might think that my Qantas relationship would have dissolved, but the company continues to utilize me, more as a spokesperson for Australia than for the airline itself. In fact, I recently flew from Sydney to Los Angeles on Qantas and the experience could not have been better, from the service to the pilots to the flight attendants.

When did you purchase your first jet and did you lease aircraft previous that?

Originally I leased planes to fly from event to event, but then a blown engine during a flight in 1990 forced me to make an emergency landing in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Let me tell you, there were some harrowing moments before we touched down, and I decided right then to buy my own plane.

What plane do you now own/use and do you use it mostly for pleasure or travelling to your Golf Course Design projects?

The Gulfstream G-550 I have now is the seventh jet I’ve owned in the last fifteen years. I travel about forty weeks a year. Because of the intense schedule I keep, I could not possibly accomplish what I do without my jet. It is a vital business tool that allows me to further develop Great White Shark Enterprises.

Do you have players at tour events hitching a ride?

In the early days, I was one of perhaps only a handful of golfers that operated their own aircraft, and subsequently, yes, I had a lot of players hitching rides from tour stop to tour stop, which I was all too happy to accommodate. Today, with both the fractional jet programs and the increasing purses on the Tour, you see more golfers operating their own aircraft, and as such, it is not as prevalent today.

Is the Helicopter used more for the course design?

Like my G550, my Bell 407 is a business tool. I utilize it more for short haul trips within the state of Florida. It is used for a mix of Golf Course Design, trips to Orlando for sessions with my coach and other business activities in Florida such as the Merrill Lynch Shootout, my PGA Tour event in Naples, Florida, the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, etc.

Do you fly the Helicopter yourself most the time?

Yes, I fly my helicopter, but never solo, always with my senior flight officer in the right seat.

How many in your flight team?

I now have a full-time flight department operating both my Gulfstream and my Bell 407 helicopter. I have two pilots, an engineer and two other pilots on standby for my long haul trips. My plane does 6,500 nautical miles non-stop, so when I go on global trips - Florida to Australia for example - I station a pilot at the first stop. He would travel two days ahead of time. We stop for fuel then keep going straight through to Australia, about 22-24 hours of flying, which is a drain on anyone’s body, the pilots’ and my own.

You are spending a lot of time travelling to Dubai now with your new designs there. How do you see golf in Dubai developing now?

I have been a regular visitor to Dubai for nearly two decades, and my company has been closely monitoring the city for a number of years. The scope of development and the speed at which projects are completed is truly remarkable. Dubai has an entrepreneurial edge and its geographical position places it right at the heart of international commerce. A combination of a progressive approach to business and an excellent location means that golf is bound thrive and I’ve been fotunate to be involved in the development of Jumeirah Golf Estates which, on completion, will be one of the world’s leading golf communities. I like to think that our work in at Jumeirah Golf Estates will set a new standard for the design and development of sustainabl and environmentally friendly courses. Due to this, Dubai truly represents a new way forward for international golf.

With all your business commitments and travelling to golf events, how many hours a week do you spend flying?

I average about 600 hours - or about 25 full days - in the air each year. I figure that from the time I first turned professional in 1976 until now, I’ve put in more than eight million air miles. Without my jet and my helicopter, I couldn’t do what I do. It would be utterly impossible.

As a passenger, do you work when flying?

Absolutely, some of my most productive meetings both internal and external take place aboard the aircraft. The aircraft also provides me with an opportunity to catch up on my day-to-day work load, and as such, it is extremely efficient.

How many passengers do you normally have on a trip?

That’s a good question, I think on average I have three or four passengers on the aircraft.

Finally, from a British point of view, in the early eighties you were always dashing off to catch Concorde. What was your reaction when the Concorde was sadly grounded. Do you think there was any way she could have been kept in service and do you think there will ever be an opportunity to havean aircraft like that again?

As an aviation enthusiast, I loved crossing the Atlantic on the Concorde. I became very good friends with one of the chief pilots for the British Airways Concorde Program. I believe supersonic travel will most likely return to the private sector ahead of the public sector. I am aware of several manufacturers who are currently experimenting with the idea. With the advent of fractional programs such as Net Jet, I think there is room in their inventory for a supersonic jet program, which provides the operators the flexibility to lease different types of aircraft.

Greg Norman by Sean Harrison.

Tags: Interviews //