Hughes Norton, Tiger Woods’s first golf agent, has written a book recounting his years as head of IMG’s Golf Division, where he worked alongside some of the game’s biggest stars, including the man who would go on to win 15 major titles.
Widely regarded as ‘golf’s first super-agent’, Norton’s 256-page book, entitled ‘Rainmaker’, details everything from his life-changing work with Woods and former world no.1 Greg Norman, to his thoughts on golf’s current era of nine-figure signing-on fees, multi-million dollar prize funds and LIV Golf.
When 21-year-old Tiger Woods stunned the world by winning The Masters by a mind-blowing 12 strokes in 1997, the first thing he did was embrace the three most important people in his life – his father, his mother, and Hughes Norton.
At the peak of his career, Norton earned a million-dollar salary himself, flying to all corners of the world in first class, and enjoyed a lifestyle nearly as lavish as his A-list clients. That dizzying success, however, came at a high price. The 70-hour work weeks, constant travel, and intense pressure – both from his players and their corporate partners – took Norton away from his family and ultimately led to divorce.
At the same time, in an effort to protect his players and his career, he found himself making ethical and moral choices he would later regret. Soon, he realized he had made as many enemies as friends.
In Rainmaker, which was co-written by George Peper, the former editor-in-chief of GOLF Magazine, Norton draws back the curtain on his meteoric rise and abrupt fall. With never-before-told stories and exclusive insights, he discusses what it was like being Tiger’s first agent, his time representing Norman, and shining a bright light on his sudden – and controversial – departure from his role as the head of IMG’s Golf Division – a juggernaut he helped build.
Rainmaker is published by Simon & Schuster and is available from all good bookshops, and Amazon, priced at £14.99 in paperback and £20 in hardback.