Moe Norman passed away

[gbower]

Just saw on another forum that Moe Norman passed away last night from heart failure. He was at his home in Kitchener.
This was from Tim Graves who is very well in the know.

I just wish I'd been able to see him play.

[BC MIST]

Wow! What shocking news!

As one of many who had the good fortune to have seen Moe play and practice, I can attest to the ball striking genius that this man was. No-one did it better.

[mpare]

Sorry to hear of Moe's passing. He was a unique Canadian presence in the world of golf, untouched by convention and unaffected by fame. Hopefully the RCGA will properly remember his passing. A fitting tribute would be an official moment of silence at this year's Canadian Open for this 1995 Canadian Hall of Fame inductee. One reason that I've stuck with Titleist clubs (admittedly not the only reason) was because their president generously decided years ago to pay Moe $5,000 a month so that he would no longer have to worry about having enough money to live on.

Keep on swinging, Moe. I bet that he and the Big Guy are the only ones now who can hit a 1 iron.

The following is a very good little article on Mr. Norman: http://www.failuremag.com/arch_sports_moenorman.html

[Kilroy]

I bet that he and the Big Guy are the only ones now who can hit a 1 iron.

Thats perfect.

Here's to Moe

[KJP]

I caddied in the same group as Moe in the early 70's at a pro tourney at the Bay of Quinte in Belleville. Very strange experience. Always down the middle - always near the pin. The only person he talked to all day was himself. Tied for the lead in the tourney - 69 I believe - but left the course without playing in the playoff.

My most vivid memory is of how high he teed the ball. Now pretty standard - back then with an old persimmon - it took tremendous skill.

Thanks for the memories Moe.

[LobWedge]

A true genius. I'm sure glad he was one of ours.

Rest in peace Moe. There'll never be another one like you. :cryin

[fireice]

A Canadian golf legend, I'm sure they'll do something this week during the Canadian Open to recognize the man. It's funny he never won the Canadian Open. See ya Moe.

[wantobegolfer]

The Story of Moe Norman



The performance of the first Natural Golfer, Moe Norman, is testament to the validity of the Natural golf swing and method.

By dictionary definition, Moe Norman is a phenomenon. He is unique, independent, proud and excruciatingly withdrawn, probably as a result of early life traumas and character maulings he suffered from golf power brokers in his native Canada.

By workaday world definition, he is a very nice man, humbly aware of his special gift, and though not given to flaunting it, justifiably proud to put it on precise and repeatable display.

Moe began holding his club in the palm of his right hand after a local carpenter showed Moe how he swung a hammer. Moe's swing was perfected on a driving range in his native Canada. He would spend hours hitting balls, swinging the club until his hands bled. The next day Moe would wrap his hands in Band-Aids and go back to the driving range, hitting another 600 balls.



"Every time I teed up I wanted to shoot another course record. I shot 41 of them in my life. I gave myself a chance. I was the happiest winner in Canada. I got along with myself real well."

One day in the 1950's, Moe and Ben Hogan were on the practice tee together at a pro tournament when a spectator asked Hogan to take a look at Moe. Hogan believed any ball hit dead straight was an accident. After each of the first six balls he watched Moe hit, Hogan said, "Accident." After watching Moe hit several more, Hogan said, "Just keep hitting those accidents, kid."



"What's the longest walk in golf? It's from the practice tee to the first tee. I don't care if it's 10 yards. It's the longest walk in golf. Winners take their swing with them. Losers don't." - Moe Norman

Sam Snead and Lee Trevino have openly said Moe is the best striker of a golf ball in the game. Ken Venturi coined the nickname "Pipeline Moe" in describing Moe's infallible accuracy. He said, "Because Moe is kind of eccentric, he never got the credit he deserved or played the kind of golf he was capable of. . . But he could do anything. Hell, I'd give Moe three strokes a side just to watch him hit the ball.

"Every time I hit a shot, I feel like I am shaking hands with the flag stick."

Moe once played an exhibition match with Sam Snead in Toronto in 1969. On a par-4, a creek crossed the fairway about 240 yards from the tee. Snead warned Moe that he couldn't clear the creek with a driver. "Not trying to," Moe said. "I'm playing for the bridge." Snead's shot landed safely on the near side of the creek. Norman's drive landed short, and rolled over the bridge to the other side.
"It's not what the world gives you, but what you can give it. I'm lucky. I can give the world talent. I can explain it and show it to people. That's what I love doing. I just love it."

At one exhibition, Moe hit 1,540 drives in just under seven hours. All went longer than 225 yards, all landed inside a marked 30-yard-wide landing zone.

Lee Trevino said of Moe, "I don't know of any player, ever, who could strike a golf ball like Moe Norman, as far as hitting it solid, knowing where it is going and knowing what he wants to do with the ball. Moe Norman is a genius when it comes to playing the game of golf."

In the late 1950's Moe won dozens of amateur tournaments in Canada, including the Canadian Amateur two years in a row. After 1979, Moe won seven straight Canadian PGA senior championships, tied for fifth in the eighth, and won the ninth.

Moe has set more than 30 course records, including three 59's and four 61's. The Royal Canadian Golf Association inducted him into the Canadian Hall of Fame.

Achievements

Height: 5’7” Weight: 200 Birthdate: July 10, 1929 Birthplace: Kitchener, Ontario Canada Turned Pro: 1958 Club Affiliation: Westmount GC Career Achievements 1955 Canadian Amateur Champion 1956 Canadian Amateur Champion 1957 Runner-Up Low Canadian Open 1958 Canadian Open 1958 Ontario Open Champion 1963 Saskatchewan Open Champion 1963 Ontario Open Champion 1964 CPGA Miller Trophy Champion 1965 Manitoba Open Champion 1965 Runner-UP Canadian Professional Golfers Championship 1966 Canadian Professional Golfers Champion 1966 Alberta Open 1966 Manitoba Open Champion 1966 Quebec Open Champion 1967 Manitoba Open Champion 1968 Saskatchewan Open Champion 1971 Alberta Open Champion 1971 World Cup National Team 1974 Canadian Professional Golfers Champion 1976 Alberta Open Champion 1980 Canadian Professional Golfers Association 1980 Canadian Senior Championship 1981 Canadian Senior Championship 1982 Canadian Senior Championship 1983 Canadian Senior Championship 1984 Canadian Senior Championship 1985 Canadian Senior Championship 1987 Canadian Senior Championship *Set 33 course records, 17 hole in ones, 8 on the fly. 4 double eagles *Inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame 1995

[Andru]

The best part about moe norman. He did it HIS way. Just think if the PGA and golf wasn't so pretentious back then, His single plane natural swing could be the standard. I'm sad. I never got to see him hit balls in person. I've heard it was incredible.

[NoBack]

It sure is a sad day in golf when we loose one our best if not the best ball striker of all time. Hats off to Moe!!

[jeffc]

My dad's friend knows Moe from Rockway GC in Kitchener, where he was a member for years. They ran into Moe in the Club House a couple of years ago and my dad asked his friend to ask Moe for one of his balls (specially logoed) as a souvineir. Moe didn't have any left, but took one out and wrote a big MOE across it.

[Thom Panikorn]

I didn't know Moe Norman and never met the man but I studied his swing through books and video and internet. I have his auto book "the feeling of greatness" and the tape "the king of swing". As like most of us, I was searching for the simplest way to hit a golf ball. In my 2nd year golfing I came across the "Natural Golf" and Moe's story. I learned the swing and tried it out....Amazingly it works. The sad part is I didn't stick with it and move on to "other new" swing.....but every time I run into swing difficulty i go back to Moe's swing.
This week as my salute to the man I will practice and play the "Moe Norman" swing I learned. For those of you who never try Moe's swing I encourage you to do so. It might be "the swing" you are looking for.
The part i didn't take from Moe's swing is his equipment adjustment. Now i will make that adjustment and try it again.

Thanks Moe.

TP

[laxgolf]

I've had the good fortune to watch Mr. Norman hit balls on the practice range more than once. My best memory was an early 7am tee off time. I got there early to hit balls. Halfway through my bucket I turn around to see if I'm still alone on the range but found Mr. Norman was hitting balls down the row from me. I just stood there in awe and watched each end every golf ball land within 3 feet of each other. The man is truly a legend in every sense of the word and didn't get the due he deserved.

He's the only person to have ever registered a ball with zero sidespin on Titleist's launch monitor. That in itself is mind-boggling.