How a Gaston County teen became friends with a PGA pro, won golfer of the year
When he was 15 years old, Nick Norman — the reader’s choice for Charlotte Observer boys golfer of the year — met PGA Tour pro Harold Varner at a golf tournament.
Norman is a student at Forestview High School in Gastonia, where Varner once went to school before playing at East Carolina and eventually turning pro 10 years ago. They have a mutual swing coach, Bruce Sudderth, at the Gaston Country Club.
“He knew we had gone to the same high school,” Norman said, “and I met his agent first. I wasn’t really nervous meeting him because he’s such a nice guy and likes to joke. So it just kind of happened. I was talking to him at the tournament, and he said, ‘Here’s my number. Text me if you need anything.’”
Norman did eventually reach out to Varner, who has famously supplied his high school with the Jordan Brand shoes and apparel he represents, but Norman didn’t expect much back.
Turns out he got a friend and a mentor.
Varner, who lives in Charlotte now, built his parents a home with a practice facility, and it’s near where Norman lives. The two often get together there and hit balls, and Varner is always around for advice.
“They have developed a bond,” Norman’s father, James, said. “They text all the time and play Xbox together, and it’s pretty special (for Nick) to be able to play and practice with his idol. It’s kind of crazy stuff. He’s been very good to my son and he’s a special human being, that’s for sure.”
Last month, Norman finished runner-up at the NCHSAA 3A state finals. It was the second straight year that Norman had finished second, but he was one of 11 Charlotte Observer-area golfers to finish in the top five at states, which made him a finalist for the Reader’s Choice competition..
Norman received nearly 12,000 votes, topping Marvin Ridge’s Jack Wieler and Gaston Day’s Seamus Bogan to win the player of the year award.
He’ll play at Division II Belmont Abbey next season, and whenever Norman needs some advice, he will be able to ask one of the best players in the world to give it to him.
“He gives me great advice and helped me out in basically every aspect of golf,” Norman said of Varner. “He lets me borrow clubs, and gives me advice not only about golf but in life. It’s pretty crazy and pretty cool that someone I look up to that I can send him a text anytime and talk about anything.”
This story was originally published May 18, 2022 at 5:10 PM.
