Dustin Johnson’s Valuable Lessons Go to Waste as Health Scare Forces Lando Norris to Give Up Golf Dream

Lando Norris is many things. A professional Formula 1 driver, a professional Twitch streamer, and a semi-professional DJ. What he isn’t is a professional golfer. But that doesn’t stop him from trying to get better at it. Over the years—especially through Carlos Sainz’s influence—golf went from being “the most boring thing ever” to Norris saying, “I’m fully addicted. I can’t describe how addicted I am to golf.” This addiction has resulted in numerous hilarious golf streams on Twitch but also earned him an invite to one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the world—Michael Jordan’s Grove XXIII.

Earlier this year, when Norris headed to Grove XXIII, he played with American professional golfer Dustin Johnson. Taking inspiration and lessons from wherever he could get, Norris didn’t pass up the opportunity to learn a thing or two from Johnson. Well, turns out that everything he learned could go to waste.

Why is Lando Norris having to give up his golf dream?

Lando Norris is one of those people who could never get enough of learning. So, when he picked up golf and got invited by Jordan to play alongside Johnson, he revealed how he looks up to professional golfers. In an interview with Golf Digest, the 23-year-old said, “To see how they think on the course, their mentality, is amazing. They always try to give me tips to help me out. I may not be very good at translating them into improvement straight away, but I do my best.” Pushing himself to his limit is something he’s used to doing in F1, and it became evident he was doing it in golf as well. While the discussion of a post-F1 golf career hasn’t come up yet, it likely never will.

The 2022 F1 season introduced a significantly newer car concept from what Norris was used to earlier. Due to the new ground-effect regulations, cars running closer to the ground would have a considerable advantage. The new concept has been more physically taxing, with cars hitting the ground more often and firmer suspensions. For Norris, it’s severely affected his back, causing acute pain. While it has affected his F1 lifestyle, Norris told Speedcafe, “It’s not just racing. It’s also other things.”

The McLaren driver continued, “It got to quite a bad point last year. Every day, I was struggling, struggling with sleep and everything, just in constant pain. Now I’m in a much better position, but I’m also limiting a lot more things around it. Even like golf, I’m playing a lot less golf just because of my back.” 

Read More: 3 Months After Dissing His Own Golfing Skills, Dustin Johnson’s Disciple Lando Norris Marches Steadily Towards Steep Goal

After just falling in love with golf, having to limit it must have come as a huge blow. But considering he’s already had to take a backseat from golf, he’s not ready to give up the passion that trumps all—F1. To avoid that, the young Brit has made a few changes in his lifestyle.

Lando Norris’ coping mechanisms after the new regulations

The new regulations have been tough on everyone. Remember how Mercedes struggled with porpoising almost throughout 2022? When F1 went to Azerbaijan, do you recall Lewis Hamilton struggling to walk after the race? Yes, all of it came down to the 2022 regulation changes. But owing to the changes in F1, Lando Norris has made a few changes to sustain in the pinnacle of motorsport. 

He told Speedcafe,  I’ve had to make quite a few seats and do a lot more training just to try and strengthen my back, my lower back. It obviously was worse last year than it is this year. Every year until last year, I could get away with just hopping in the car and not doing any physio in a way. Not the best thing. I always did it, but I could get away with it. Now I have to [work with a physio]. I have to stretch. I have to do all these things morning and evening and before every session.”

Did you ever think Lando Norris would consider a golf career post-F1? Could he still give it a shot?

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