Shark On Fox's Handcuffs, 30-Year-Olds Drinking His Kool-Aid

Craig Dolch lands an interview with a wound-up Greg Norman who isn't slowing down...in his ranting about Fox Sports, which canned him after one year.

Highlights from Dolch's Q&A:

A: I have no idea what happened there. I guess I just didn't get along well with the producer (Mark Loomis). I didn't see eye to eye with the producer. To say I was not prepared was a bunch of baloney. I had stacks of info on the top 20 players in the world and the guys I thought would be in contention. I walked with (USGA executive director) Mike Davis in the morning for the setup and the hole locations. He said I was the first one ever to do that with him.

Take that, and that Johnny! And Joe Buck, look out you're next!

BTW, I spent one of the weekend morning days watching Mike do setup and you'll be shocked to know that if the Shark was present, he was doing his best impersonation of a ghost.

Anyway, keep digging...

I wanted to do a story on why the greens at Chambers Bay were so bad, but that didn't happen. When I was going through negotiations, the USGA said it was so excited because I was a course designer and I could talk about agronomy. I never had a chance to do that. They hired someone else to talk design and agronomy (architect Gil Hanse).

It irritates me the way Fox misrepresented what happened. I'm not ranting or raving.

No, no, not at all.

Q: A lot of golf companies have struggled in recent years, but you have kept Great White Shark Enterprises successful and growing. How have you done that?

A: I made a conscious effort to change the direction of the company. GWSE was a marketing company for many years because I was a player. As I started to develop the business, I knew I had to make a transition. It's not an easy thing to do. I slowly started to change the foundation of the company. Not many people noticed it, and that's the way I wanted it. I wanted it to stay private.

It's an operations business - a lot of things outside of golf, but they still pertain to golf. I sold the production company because I felt like we hit the ceiling. Our company became younger. I've got a group of 30-year-olds who buy into my vision. I give a 30-second idea that creates 30 months of work. I'm making sure we are all drinking the same Kool-Aid.

Eh em, note to Shark: the folks who all drank the Kool Aid also ended up...dead. By mass suicide.

But hey, the man is in great shape. As he'll tell you.

A: I feel really good. I can still do a lot of things I used to do, just not with the same intensity. When I drop in water with a tank on my back, I now think maybe I shouldn't go in the cave or dive under 200 feet. In my 20s and 30s, I was bulletproof. I still love hiking 18,000 feet, but more in a controlled situation. I've got more time to myself. I travel just as much. But because I don't play golf, I have 20 weeks a year up my sleeve.

Plus four more now that you don't have to work for Fox!