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Moe Norman movie


jmac35

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Executive Producer ... Wayne Gretzky of all people
That's right, there's going to be a movie made about the life of "Pipeline" Moe. read here

It's currently titled "Dance the Green" and it's being written by the screenwriter of Rain Man. And like it says in the topic title, Wayne Gretzky is the Executive producer.

It's going to be interesting to see if they can effectively portray such a complicated and sublimely talented man. Living in Southern Ontario and growing up about 45 minutes from where Moe was from, the Moe Norman stories never seem to end. I had the chance to see him on the range once and it was an experience I'll never forget. What a ball-striker ... OMG.

This quote from the Toronto Star after his death in 2004 sums him up quite well,

He didn't belong to any fancy clubs, he never won any million-dollar tournaments, and at times he'd get so flustered he couldn't face anyone. But put him on the tee with a club in his hand, and Moe Norman was recognized as a sporting genius, a golf savant - an original.


A few stories to whet your appetite:

Moe and Sam Snead were playing an exhibition. Both players needed about 250 yards to clear a stream. Snead laid up, then watched Moe prepare to go for it.
"You need to lay up, Moe," Snead told Norman, "You can't carry that creek."
Norman replied, "I'm aiming for the bridge."
And after his laser-straight shot rolled right across the bridge, over the hazard. Snead didn't try telling Norman again how to play a shot.

At a Canadian Tour stop in the early '90s, an Australian golfer approached Moe on the range and asked him to hit some shots.
Moe hit a couple dozen with the guy's driver and the tee didn't move.
"I can't believe you can do that," he said.
"Didn't come here to hit tees, didn't come here to hit tees; came here to hit the ball," said Moe.

Moe had an amazing mind. After bypass surgery at London's University Hospital, doctors asked Moe if he knew where he was.
"On the fourth green," Moe told them.
The doctor might have thought the anesthisia hadn't worn off but the truth was, Moe was right.
The hospital had been built years earlier on the land of the old London Hunt Club.

Maybe other WRXers would like to share some more Moe Norman stories ... he deserves it.




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I look forward to that... "The Feeling of Greatness" is one of my favorite books of all time... the dew story is a good one too...

 

Evidently on one occasion playing very early in the morning Moe and his playing partners agreed to hit two off the first tee as they hadn't had time to warm up on the range prior to the round... It was a very foggy morning and the gentleman couldn't follow their tee shots much past 50 yards as the fog hadn't lifted yet... as the men approached their balls they could only find 5 (3 some). Moe's two tee balls had shared the same dew path and come to rest against one another.... :)

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I played 4 holes with him at my home course as a 12 year old in the early 80s (long before anyone had recognized him in Canada). He used to pay there early in the mornings (i also swung later for George Knudson to enter his Jr camp that he and Ben Kern ran at The National in the mid 80s..got in but didnt end up going)

 

Moe played five balls on each of the holes and i remember them all being within a few yards of each other.

 

My dad knew Moe very well during the 50s and 60s.

 

When Moe played the Masters for the first time, they initially thought he was a caddy and were asking him where his "player" was on the first tee.

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I remember when Moe used to hang out in the Rockway parking lot and called juniors around to give them the brand new drivers and clubs that Titleist had given them. I'll never forget Moe, especially with his 5 Rolexes on each arm.

 

My current boss used to work in the backshop at Westmount and when Moe dropped his clubs off to be cleaned that day he asked my boss what shoe size he was (he was 15 at the time) he told him and Moe drove all the way down to Acushnet the next day and returned with a $400 pair of classics for him.

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  • 5 months later...

That should be a great movie for us golf fans. Hopefully the story will have something to draw a bigger box office crowd than his golf. I don't mean that in a negative way, just more about his life and what it took to be where he was as a golfer! I guess with the "Great One" as a producer that might help!

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An older golf pro I met had played with Norman and mentioned that Norman did not believe in Banks and typically always carried around any money he had while playing. While playing, he might have several thousand dollars in his pockets (big money at the time).

 

or maybe you heard that from a golf digest (or golf mag) article... pretty sure harmon said that...

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An older golf pro I met had played with Norman and mentioned that Norman did not believe in Banks and typically always carried around any money he had while playing. While playing, he might have several thousand dollars in his pockets (big money at the time).

 

or maybe you heard that from a golf digest (or golf mag) article... pretty sure harmon said that...

 

Butch Harmon did say that, but then again, there are countless people that would carry their cash around b/c they didn't trust banks after the Depression. Nothing too unique, quite typical for those of that era.

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What is surprising is that Moe is appreciated much MORE now (and in his later years) than the whole time he was around. The guy was most definitely on the autism spectrum disorder scale and this obsessive compulsive nature helped his golf game. Too bad he couldn't putt, he, if he could have dealt with the fame, would have been quite possibly Tiger Woods like.

 

I love reading the stories of this seemingly, pure and simple guy who lived out of his trunk and gave so much to others in many different ways.

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I think my old golf pro told the story to Harmon! Actually, he worked as an assistant pro with Sam Snead at a country club at one time and had some good Sam stories. One is Sam and JC Snead were hitting long irons at a target and both were very accurate. Sam told JC "I'll show you why you will never be as good as me" and had the target moved in at ten yard intervals. Using the same iron Sam was still very accurate while JC lost accuracy as the distances were greatly varied. Also I read that Sam was double jointed and even in his later years could touch the top of a door with his toes.

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I met Moe three or 4 times

 

Once as a junior at a clinic in Oakville .. back in 1984-85

Before he gave the clinic he hit the same 8 foot putt about 150 times

 

I asked him how he moved the ball and he said he just strengthened or weakened his grip

 

In the clinic, a kid asked him the same question and he said he he opened or closed his stance ! The complete opposite answer.

Move the right foot back - move the right foot back ... in a high pitched sing songy voice

 

He double stated every sentence but was nice enough and not fully anti social

 

Two times later I hung with him at Foxwood GC where he played a lot, he was friends of the Mauie's West of Kitchener

 

I played university golf at Guelph in the early 90's and one of my teammates was the Asst Super there at Foxwood after univ. and he has loads

of Moe stories

 

I once asked him to be on my scramble team pretending I had kicked off a buddy and he said Ohhh Noooo ONLYYYY practice now, don't play, don't play

He would talk to you if you came up to him with someone he trusted or if you thought you could play (if you were not a junior)

 

Fav story is his coming in at Foxwood one day, saying TOO EASY TOO EASY and my bud asks him why he is done so early and I can't remember if it is 3 or 4, but he hit the stick on ALL of the first handful of holes, quit and went in for fries !!!!

FYI ... Moe loved his cokes and fries and gravy.

 

To this day my pals and I scream "too easy" when we run in loads of birds in a row in big scrambles

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  • 3 years later...

I know a guy that played a tournament round with Moe in the 1970s. He said that Moe didn't say one word to his playing companions, caddie or anyone else during the entire round but continually talked to himself. Walking down the fairway, on the green and even while standing over the ball getting ready to hit a tee shot. He said it kind of freaked everyone out a little bit.

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A good friend of mine...now in Vancouver ....was part of the group at the Hunt Club and played a lot of golf with Moe during the '80s....On a trip to Florida one winter they had 3-4 foursome of guys , including Moe, but for one early morning round one of the guys decided not to play so it left an opening in Moe's foursome....he asked the rest if it would be OK to invite friend from the area to join in........"Sure...if he is a friend of yours bring him along"
The next morning Moe shows up with his friend and introduces him to the other guys..... "Like you guys to meet Mr. Palmer"......yup...He showed up with Arnold Palmer for a casual morning round.........Nice to have good friends!!!

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[quote name='FLOGMR' timestamp='1339699191' post='5093368']
A good friend of mine...now in Vancouver ....was part of the group at the Hunt Club and played a lot of golf with Moe during the '80s....On a trip to Florida one winter they had 3-4 foursome of guys , including Moe, but for one early morning round one of the guys decided not to play so it left an opening in Moe's foursome....he asked the rest if it would be OK to invite friend from the area to join in........"Sure...if he is a friend of yours bring him along"
The next morning Moe shows up with his friend and introduces him to the other guys..... "Like you guys to meet Mr. Palmer"......yup...He showed up with Arnold Palmer for a casual morning round.........Nice to have good friends!!!
[/quote]

That's awesome

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