Gene Sarazen

So many things that Greg Norman has touched in the business world have turned to gold.

But beyond all of his successful ventures -- from his apparel to his wine to his cattle to his real estate and even to his asset-based debt lending practice -– Norman's most profitable enterprise remains his golf course design business.

Established in 1987, when he was the no. 1 ranked player in the world, Greg Norman Golf Course Design has created more than 100 courses, spanning six continents and 34 countries.

Included on the resume are five courses that ranked among the world's top 100 (Golf Digest) in 2016. And true to his cosmopolitan image, the five are scattered in luxurious, exotic locales -- Ellerston in his native Australia, The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip in Vietnam, Nirwana Bali in Indonesia, Jumeirah in the United Arab Emerates, and an Alister MacKenzie course that he renovated, New South Wales in Australia.

Commanding fees of up to $2 million, Norman has created a niche by capitalizing on his name and projecting his Great White Shark image onto the courses that he designs.

Progressive thinkers and developers with outsized ambition, regardless of location, have often found a soulmate in Norman.

One such man was the late Kerry Packer, the richest man in Australia, who tasked Norman to build the nation's toughest course. The result was seaside Ellerston, so exclusive that it remains something of a mystery to the golf cognoscenti.

"Through my globetrotting background, we have been fortunate enough to make inroads in non-traditional golf areas," Norman said. "We look forward to expanding the GNGCD footprint and continuing to grow the game in ways never thought possible."

Some of Norman's other standouts include Doonbeg in Ireland and Colorado classics Cornerstone and Red Sky Ranch, which Golf Digest ranks among the nation's top 100 public courses.

Norman also has designed two of the top golf courses in Florida -- Shark's Tooth and Grande Lakes -- and two of the best in the Caribbean -- Sandals Emerald Reef in the Bahamas and Cuisin Art in the British West Indies.

Norman also has a trio that have hosted PGA Tour events: El Camaleon at Mayakoba in Cancun, Mexico; TPC San Antonio in Texas; and TPC Sugarloaf in Georgia.

And it should be no surprise that at the world's largest golf resort -- Mission Hills in China, which has 12 courses -- the Norman-designed track sets itself apart as the toughest and most dramatic.