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Sam Snead won 134 golf tournaments during his long and illustrious career. Eighty-four victories came on the PGA Tour, including 3 Masters, 3 PGA Championships, and a British Open. He finished second in the U.S. Open four times, and quite naturally is a member of the PGA Hall of Fame.

So, when asked by The Book of Lists (1977) to name his top ten golfers of all time, Mr. Snead seemed the perfect candidate for the task. When the editors received the list, however, Snead only listed nine golfers. The number one spot was left blank. Here is that list reprinted:

1. *** ******
2. Jack Nicklaus
3. Ben Hogan
4. Byron Nelson
5. Arnold Palmer
6. Bobby Jones
7. Walter Hagen
8. Gene Sarazen
9. Billy Casper
10. Gary Player

When asked why, one of Snead’s managers wrote back that Snead wanted to start with the second spot “inasmuch as he fears that if he lists someone as the number one greatest golfer of all time, he could make a lot of enemies.” Now on the surface, the reader may infer that Snead wanted to name himself the best golfer of all time. Indeed, that would be a reasonable assumption. However, a little digging uncovers another potential candidate for the number one spot, and he is not Tiger Woods.

Moe Norman was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada in 1929. He was known by many nicknames including “Pipeline Moe,” because he hit the ball so straight. Later in life, he was often called “The Unknown Legend,” for reasons that will become clear shortly. Moe was a golf prodigy, and more than that. Moe was a unique and gifted individual.

In 50 years, Moe Norman had 17 holes in one, nine double eagles, won more than 50 tournaments and set more than 30 course records. Not the farthest hitter. Not the greatest trick-shot artist or putter — putting bored him. Norman played competitive golf more than 50 years, and witnesses say he played 11 of those years — that’s about 230,000 golf shots — without hitting a ball out of bounds. Source

But Norman played only briefly on the PGA Tour. He suffered from extreme shyness, and once hid in the bushes when his name was called to accept the championship trophy in a tournament which he won. Many people believe he was actually borderline autistic, maybe even a savant.

“Eccentric” doesn’t begin to describe Norman’s life. He often showed up for golf tournaments wearing terribly mismatched outfits. He played extremely fast, sometimes not even bothering to read a putt before making his strokes on the green. He was a trick shot artist on the driving range, but he sometimes took those tricks out onto the course with him - hitting his tee shots off Coke bottles, for example, during tournament play. He spoke very fast and often repeated phrases, and he never interacted well with galleries or strangers. Source

Autism was poorly understood back then and organizers and Tour officials thought Moe was disrespecting the game. They accused him of being irreverent of golf’s traditions, and eventually drove him back to Canada where he felt more comfortable. And he continued to win, snagging 7 straight Canadian Seniors PGA Championships from 1979 - 1985, and again in 1987. He never did go back to the PGA, and died in 2004 of congestive heart failure.

What did the greats think about Moe Norman? Sam Snead and Lee Trevino openly said Moe was the best striker of a golf ball in the game. Lee said, “I don’t know any player, ever, 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.” One famous story of Snead playing with Norman goes like this:

Norman and Sam Snead were playing an exhibition. Both players needed about 250 yards to clear a stream. Snead laid up, then watched Norman 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. Source

Even Tiger Woods had this to say about Norman: only two golfers in history “owned their swing.” Moe Norman and Ben Hogan.

Ben Hogan believed straight shots were an accident. After watching Moe hit many straight shots in a row, Hogan told Norman, “Just keep hitting those accidents, kid.”

Did Snead want to put Moe Norman’s name in the number one spot on his list? Maybe he did. He may have felt to do so would draw the ire of the golfing establishment, who always regarded Moe as an outcast; undesirable. Only Sam Snead knows for sure. So, how’s about it, Mr. Snead: who is the number one greatest golfer of all time?

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