A golfer’s brilliant, lonely life
I took up golf as a teenager in the 1960s. London, Ont.’s municipal Thames Valley course provided an inexpensive ($25 a year), no-frills learning environment in which to develop my distinctly modest skills. Before long, I began to hear and read about a local golfing legend, Moe Norman. Self-taught and decidedly not part of the country-club set, for a decade or more he had ruled the fairways as an amateur, winning Canada’s national championship and scores of other tournaments, but something had prevented him from breaking through into big-time pro golf. One day I had the chance to watch him play Thames in a small-time professional tournament. Then in his late thirties, he cut an eccentric figure: bristly hair, red complexion, turtleneck sweater despite the summer heat, pants a touch too short. Between shots he chatted to himself and his playing partners while bouncing a golf ball on whatever club he was holding.
But when it was Norman’s turn to hit, he was all business. No one who ever saw him play will ever forget his swing: stiff-legged, stiff-armed, club set a foot behind the ball, back and through in a fashion never associated with Arnie, Jack or any of the other gods of televised golf. v
Many people in the small gallery that day smiled at Norman’s irregular appearance and mannerisms, and I probably did myself. But the results produced by his unorthodox swing were astounding: Every drive flew straight. Every fairway shot found the green. I had never seen the like, and to this day I never have — and I’ve watched a lot of golf.
In moe & me, lorne rubenstein gracefully interweaves his personal golfing journey with the life and playing career of Moe Norman. After first meeting Norman at a Toronto driving range while in his early teens, the author followed, caddied for, golfed with and wrote about Norman on many occasions over the next 40 years. These opportunities to have viewed Norman up close allow Rubenstein to offer a persuasive portrait of an unusual man, from his boyhood in Depression-era Kitchener to his unhappy experience at the Master’s, to his lonely existence on the fringes of professional golf. Although respected by such golfing greats as Tiger Woods and Lee Trevino, Norman’s painful shyness and social awkwardness led to friction with the sport’s establishment. Living in motel rooms, widely known yet emotionally solitary, uncomfortable in the privateclub atmosphere, Norman lived a precarious existence until, in his sixties, he was rewarded with a monthly stipend by the Titleist equipment company. He was belatedly inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1995, nine years before his death.
Norman’s unusual mannerisms and obsessive focus on his golf technique may have resulted from a childhood head injury. Rubenstein, however, after many conversations with Norman’s few close friends, his sadly estranged family and even with cognitive researchers (in addition to countless hours in Norman’s company) is persuaded that Canada’s golfing machine displayed many indications of Asperger’s syndrome. Golf, then, may have been Norman’s lifeline in a world in which he never felt entirely comfortable — except with a club in his hands. In the author’s words, “He was alone, utterly alone except for golf, his friend — and his tormentor — for life.”
Some of these anecdotes here will be familiar to golfers, having been told and re-told in countless locker rooms over the past 50 years. In sum, they produce a touching portrait of a unique individual. Rubenstein’s analysis of Norman’s personality is as engaging as his discussion of his brilliantly repeating swing. The reader is also rewarded by Rubenstein’s comments on his own quest for golf perfection and the addictive nature of the old game.
For years there has been talk of a Hollywood movie about Moe. Personally, I can’t wait. Until then, Moe & Me is a satisfying addition to the lore on Canada’s golfing genius.
Steven Medley lives in Oshawa, Ont. He is a 16 handicap. Moe & Me: Encounters with Moe Norman, Golf’s Mysterious Genius By Lorne Rubenstein ECW Press; 199 pp; $19.95