golfrewind.com

Quality or quantity?

He just had this habit of being the greatest when it was needed

I am Joe Ezar's grandson, but I never met him. I have always heard stories about him and I always wanted to meet someone who knew him.

As a youth, I watched Mantle strike some balls! He was the best long ball hitter. Pete Rose was probably the best "pure" hitter, IMO. LOL, I think Hogan, just from what I've read. Thought I'd add a lil bball.

FWIW: Moe considered Hogan to be the best because Moe thought of Hogan as being just as good as himself.

Interesting coincidence: Hogan suffered a near fatal car crash and Moe was run over by a car as a child.

^^^ dont tell people that, some people will go to extremes to get like these guys, i shattered my wrist and i hit the center of the face almost everytime ever since, i think because i had too much wrist action in my old swing, i cant do that now.. anyway im going with Tiger, has anyone ever seen him hit his long irons, he reminds me of hogan in some ways

I've always heard Hogan and considering his record and the fact that he was known as an iffy putter, he was probably at least as good as any.

Dave Pelz said that Trevino was the best striker of any of the modern major players

I didn't take the time to read all of the posts, so if this has been put up already...sorry.
There was a Golf Digest article some years ago about Moe Norman. I saved it for a long time then (stupidly) threw it out. Snead and a few others told stories about Moe that are almost beyond belief...his accuracy was and still is, second to none.
The story that stands out was told by Snead. He, Moe, and two other tour players were playing and they were on the tee box on a par 4. They all had irons out except Moe who had driver. When Snead pointed out there was a creek crossing the fairway that no one could carry, Moe replied that he didn't need to carry it. He proceeded to hit driver and split the narrow bridge crossing the creek to the other side...Now THAT IS INSANE!!!!
As far as why he didn't win...he won a couple events (I believe) on the Canadian Tour and had a handful of top 5's on the pga tour. He was autistic and never fit in on tour. From what has been told, he was basically run off b/c of his odd behavior.
Another cool story.....this was when he was older and giving demonstrations. At one demonstration, he hit 166 consecutive tee shots in a 30 yard grid that all went at least 240 yards....without once having to re-adjust the tee...That is PURE. (I'd take 166 consecutive tee shots that I could just find!)

lol, Trevino is quoted as saying that Moe Norman was. Pelz also said that Lefty was the best at sumthin [sic], can't remember what it was . . .

For the record

Moe developed his ‘unique’ swing over 5+ years of trial and error starting at the age of 15, and enjoyed much success as both an amateur and professional golfer. With 17 holes in one, three scores of 59, four scores at 61, and over 30 course records during his career, Moe dominated Canadian golf through the mid 20th century. An unnaturally shy man, Moe shunned public appearances and speaking. His shyness only disappeared while he held a golf club in his hands. During tournaments, Moe would hit drivers off of 6” tees, soda bottles, and play par 4 holes ‘backward’, hitting a wedge off the tee and a driver onto the green and still make par or better. After a brief stint on the U.S. PGA tour, these antics earned Moe a ‘dressing down’ by some members of the tour, and he left to never play in the U.S. competitively again.
Moe’s accuracy with a golf ball earned him a meager living until in 1995. During one of his clinics, Moe hit over 1,500 drivers in a little over 7 hours, all of which where within 15 yards of one another. It was this accuracy that eventually earned Moe the respect and notoriety that true genius deserves. In January 1995, Titleist decided to pay Moe $5,000 per month for nothing more than his unique contribution to the game of golf. Moe passed away September 4, 2004 at the age of 74, with hundreds coming to Kitchener, Ontario, Canada to pay their respects to the legend.

Moe Norman’s Record

International:

1954 America’s Cup Canadian Team Member

National:

1955 Canadian Amateur Champion
1956 Canadian Amateur Champion
1957 Runner-Up Low Canadian in the Canadian Open

Professional:

1964 CPGA Millar Trophy Champion
1965 Runner-Up Canadian Professional Golfers Championship
1966 Canadian Professional Golfers Champion
1974 Professional Golfers Champion
1980 - 1985 & 1987 Canadian Professional Golfers Association Seniors Championship

Provincial:

1958 Ontario Open Champion
1963 Saskatchewan Open Champion
1963 Ontario Open Champion
1965 Manitoba Open Champion
1966 Alberta Open Champion
1966 Manitoba Open Champion
1967 Manitoba Open Champion
1968 Saskatchewan Open Champion
1971 Alberta Open Champion
1976 Alberta Open Champion

So why isn't his method more popular?

It feels very awkward if you're accustomed to using a more conventional swing, especially the grip. I tried it just for giggles at the range once and scrapped it after 10 minutes or so. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they were new to the game or really struggle to hit it straight and have exhausted other options. It works for many, though, and really is fundamentally sound when you break it down. It's also only been widely known for 10 years or so , I believe.

I would say Moe Norman as far a pure ball striking.

For fun I went to GolfDigest.com and did an advanced search, typing in "Moe Norman", and here are the results:



Interesting reading indeed . . .

They also have some videos of Moe's swing sequence in one of the articles.