Rainmaker - Hughes Norton

Rainmaker

By Hughes Norton

  • Release Date: 2024-03-26
  • Genre: Golf
Score: 4
4
From 35 Ratings

Description

A rollicking tell-all from golf super-agent, Hughes Norton, detailing everything from his life-changing work with Tiger Woods and Greg Norman to his thoughts on golf’s current money-grab era. The ultimate read for fans of Alan Shipnuck, Bob Harig, and Michael Bamberger.

When twenty-one-year-old Tiger Woods stunned the world by winning The Masters by a mind-blowing twelve strokes, 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, agent Norton earned a million-dollar salary, flew 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 seventy-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.

Now, in Rainmaker, 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 the narcissistic Greg Norman, and shining a bright light on his sudden—and controversial—ouster as the head of IMG’s Golf Division—a juggernaut he helped build. This is an engaging and unforgettable memoir that explores golf as never before.

Reviews

  • Too BIG and draped in GREED

    5
    By Rusty Tuffputts
    Not Norton, but golf as an industry in and of itself. They’ve lost me as a fan and this book explains why and how it all happened. For the first time in a very long time I’m not even going to watch the Master’s this year. I have something else scheduled for me to actually do (not watch). I still love the game, though, and will play it from time to time but it will probably be alone on an unheralded course in the evening, as the sun sets and the shadows are long. I sincerely believe in life and definitely golf, what goes around comes around and you get what you deserve. They just have a way of working out like that. Good luck and always remember to enjoy yourself.
  • Great read

    5
    By ccmtacks19
    Great read; very insightful and informative about sports agents and the business of golf
  • Decent book.

    3
    By Bigbadwolf1999
    I never knew much about sports agents but the author does a good job of telling the history of IMG and its origins. I lost interest when he began talking about all the money he’s made for players that, to anyone younger than 35 Or not golf enthusiasts, know little about. But his claim to fame is landing Tiger. Which he dives into the last 2 hours of the audiobook. It gets kinda boring hearing him brag about the millions he made Tiger, as if nobody else could’ve landed his multimillion dollar endorsements. Then, gets mad when Tiger fired him after a scathing article surfaced about author in a golf magazine. Basically, an expose about his manipulative tactics, bridges burned, etc. Kinda hard to sympathize with a guy whose job made him millions to do little more than ask companies to sponsor his athletes.
  • Excellent!

    5
    By WINGEDFOOT97
    Very well written. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this one.
  • Must read for golf fans

    5
    By jc33
    Truly compelling. Read in one sitting. A history lesson and personal lesson.
  • Great book

    5
    By wk7976777
    Great book and insights into the img global powerhouse and great golfers!

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