Do you think Tiger made a big mistake dropping Butch Harmon? When you were with him, that triggered off a period when you were just about untouchable – winning the Players and the Open …
You know, I can never fault a player for moving from one coach to another. If he does make that decision, it’s how he communicates to the new coach what he’s looking for. I mean, I’ve done it, I’ve been with Butch, I’ve been with Charlie Earp, I’ve seen David Leadbetter. If you feel like you need a change for a specific reason, maybe there’s communication issues, a lack of communication, understanding of what you want, then you’ve got to go to that person and say, ‘Hey, this is what I’m looking for: [mimes a swing] I feel like my club is here, but you’ve got a great eye, so tell me whether I’m here, or whether I’m here. Because, I can’t really feel it.’ So you need someone. I don’t want you to come in and change my swing plane to get me to somewhere that you think I should be. So, that’s the kind of communication you’ve got to go through and I think I can say, ‘Hey Charles?’ and you can say, ‘Hey Greg, your club is right here and your swing plane is absolutely perfect and to get it there, this is what you’ve got to do from here.’ And I go [snaps fingers] ‘Got it’ and you and I have connected – boom! Let’s work together. It really is as simple as that. I thought Butch did a phenomenal job on Tiger. Absolutely. The best I’ve ever seen anybody swing a golf club was Tiger in 2000 and 2001. No question about it. He was … he was… [stares wistfully off into the distance] … almost perfect.
You count Bill Clinton as one of your good friends. Have you ever met President Obama – and if so, what are your thoughts on his game?
Yes, I have. I was in the White House and met him last year. I haven’t seen him swing a golf club but I think it’s great that presidents get out there and love the game of golf.
He received some bad press recently for playing on Memorial Day …
Hey look, you know, he’s a human being. Whether you like his politics or don’t like his politics, whether it’s Memorial Day or not. He’s a human being and he just felt he wanted to get out there. If you have to nitpick on certain things like that – hey, get a life! I mean, for heaven’s sake …
What’s next for Greg Norman?
In the world of golf, I’m going to target the end of the year. I’ve missed the middle of the season [through a shoulder injury], which to me is like the Senior US Open, the British Open and the Senior British Open. Now I’ll just take the time, get myself ready, strong again, and I’ll come back and I’ll play the Australian Open. I may play one tournament before that. I’ll play another tournament in Australia and one back in the States.
