Rainmaker: Superagent Hughes Norton and the Money-Grab Explosion of Golf from Tiger to LIV and Beyond Hardcover – March 26, 2024

Rainmaker is a great overview of professional golf from the 1970’s to today as described by long-time IMG super agent Hughes Norton. Norton joined IMG/Mark McCormick straight out of Harvard Business School in the early 1970’s and quickly became IMG’s top golf agent. Over the next 25 years he represented some of the game’s major talents including Greg Norman and Tiger Woods. This book chronicles the meteoric growth of professional golf during that period-a growth largely steered by IMG and the energy, creativity and marketing genius of McCormick,The story is fascinating and reads like a novel. While it occasionally seems a bit self-serving, it also appears to be generally accurate. If you are interested in professional golf, this is a must read book. Strongly recommend.

A wonderful read of life, ambition and disappointment in the world of professional golf. How money is made and the people who generate it as agents.

A little more than just an anecdote book. While there is plenty of interesting tidbits about the golfers the author worked for the book also contains an interesting retrospective of the author's own life. I found if thoroughly enjoyable with lessons on the life to be learned by the reader. I highly recommend it!

Whether you're a golf fan or not, even a sports fan or not, this revelatory story of what goes on behind the scenes in professional golf is quite fascinating. Hughes Norton pulls no punches regarding the greats and near greats with whom he dealt for 25 years as an agent. The unprecedented millions in sponsorship money he negotiated for some of the top names in professional golf, the attitudes of the sponsors and the golfers reactions to his efforts is a great story. His crowning achievement was negotiating deals for Tiger Woods which gave him enough money for the rest of his life before he had hit his first shot as a pro. He then chronicles his own fall from grace and loss of his job which happened relatively shortly thereafter.This is also the story of IMG, where Norton worked. The company was founded by Mark McCormack on a handshake with Arnold Palmer. That agreement to represent Palmer as his agent was the springboard to the formation of a company that generated well over a billion dollars in revenue with offices all over the world.In many ways it's a story of greed, arrogance and hubris, but most importantly it is a story of people driven to excel in their chosen vocation whether it be professional golf or all the tangential industries. This is an excellent book which takes the reader to places inside the business of golf and the world of sports agents most of us have never seen. I highly recommend it.

Overall, a decent read although for any astute follower of the game there isn't much that you probably didn't already know. Hughes by his own admittance got caught up in the lives and careers of the egomaniacs that he represented like Greg Norman and Tiger Woods.To his credit, he admits he needed to be humbled and he was.It's a very easy read. Good but not great.

Working for Arnold Palmer from 1991 to 2003 as Director of Golf at the Bay Hill Club, I knew many of the people in this book. Bev Norwood came every year to the tournament in March. He loved playing solo on the Charger nine holes, usually absent of golfers. Of course Alistair Johnston was there often.Mark McCormick was a frequent visitor. McCormick was eternally grateful for the loyalty and friendship from Arnold Palmer.It dismayed Mr. Palmer when he died unexpectedly.A great read. George Pepper knows how to intrigue the reader.

Excellent for a golf lover on vacation! Easy to read and really well written. Hughes and IMG changed the entire golf landscape.

This is a great book! I've been waiting for this book for many years. I caddied at Norton's club in Cleveland in the 80's and caddied for him many times. I also caddied for Greg Norman when Norton brought him out for a clinic; what a thrill! I always wondered what it was like working for IMG. This book covers it all from the big deals, bigger personalities and missteps Norton acknowledges looking back. This comes off as a factual recounting of history without it turning into a mudslinging event. I would have to think there many anecdotes that Norton chose not to reveal.I loved every page. Well done!!