Q & A With Greg Norman, International Presidents Cup Captain

Greg Norman, captain of this week's Presidents Cup International team, has always had a flair for fashion. In July, at a Greg Norman Collection cocktail reception launching the company's spring 2010 fashion line, Norman spoke with The Apparel Wire about his off-course interests. The interview was conducted prior to the U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick Golf Club and just days after Norman returned from abroad, where he had competed in the British Open and Senior British Open.

Q: You're just getting back from the U.K., and here you are making an appearance at an event after a practice round for the U.S. Senior Open. Aren't you tired?

A: Nah. I'm used to it. It doesn't take me very long to get re-acclimated. I only need about five or six hours of sleep anyway.

Q: Still, how do you find the energy to do something like this in the midst of getting ready for a tournament?

A: It's just part of what I do. I like to be involved in things to the extent that I am because I'm energized by the different challenges. I like meeting with people and having a chance to see how the things that we do in the company are received. This is one of the best ways to do that.

Q: Do you enjoy this more than your golf game?

A: I have a passion for a lot of different things, and I still have a passion for golf. I still like to compete, but it's just one of the things that I enjoy whereas before I was a lot more single-minded on the game itself.

Q: How much input do you have into this part of your company.

A: I'm pretty involved. I see the color boards maybe two years out and I'm involved every step of the way until we get to what you see here today.

Q: If I ask you about this particular line, what would you want to talk about?

A: I think the functionality of the clothing that we offer. You know, today there is a big emphasis, in this economy, with getting the most for your money, and I think we offer that with our lines. We have great styles and colors that obviously work for golf, but are also appropriate for social occasions and so on. There's great versatility to a lot of the pieces, too, and the combinations of things with shirts and vests, you name it.

Q: What about the functionality of the clothing? Do you have input there as well?

A: Absolutely. I'll look at a shirt, try it out ... this is too tight here or too long there or not long enough here, yeah. I am all over that trying to see where it needs to be adjusted so that it's as comfortable as possible and looks the right way.

Q: Is there one particular preference that you have for how, say, a golf shirt should fit?

A: Well, from an appearance standpoint, I don't want a shirt that's cut with too much baggage down here (around the beltline), and yet it's too short that when you try to tuck it in and it's just not a good look, and it's not comfortable with that much material tucked in, but then you try to pull it out and all of a sudden there's no shirt left. It depends on the material. I have to have it a certain length.

Q: What about swinging a golf club?

A: Well, we're all different in how we stand and how we swing and so on. For me, I didn't like my shirts too tight under the armpits. I hated that. I actually used to pull out the material and you could hear it pop where I was pulling out the seams to get more room under my arms. If I didn't do that I didn't feel like I could swing properly. Obviously, I have it the right way in our clothing. We fixed that in our line.

Q: So you make sure of that?

A: Yeah, I do. It's like when we design golf courses, we make sure we get in there as early as possible to talk to the land planner so that we're all on the same page in what the land plan looks like and how the golf course is going to fit into that. We tell an owner we can save millions of dollars if we're there right from the beginning. Well, we have the same philosophy with our clothing lines. It's about doing the work up front, having everyone working together so there's no waste. And, of course, you simply get a better product at the end, too.