Greg Norman's year- long layoff from golf due to shoulder surgery has given him a new perspective on life -- one he hopes will finally carry him to victory in the Masters after years of frustration in the tournament he cherishes the most.

"I still feel I have it in me," the newly relaxed, 44-year- old Australian said on Tuesday shortly after arriving at Augusta National Golf Club for this week's Masters -- days later than he would have shown up in the past.

Norman, who underwent major surgery on his left shoulder shortly after last year's Masters, where he missed the cut, said the forced hiatus had allowed him to reevaluate his outlook on life and golf.

"One thing I realise is that golf is not everything, even though there is nothing in the world I enjoy doing more than golf," Norman told reporters before going out for his first practice round on Augusta's newly strengthened course.

"Yes, I want to win the Masters, absolutely," he added. "But it's not a priority. There are other priorities that I enjoy.

"I don't haveincluding golf here -- is not the way it was 12 months ago. I enjoy it so much more this way than I did 12 months ago. I'm more in balance."

Norman, who has a 16-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son, said having more time with his wife and children enabled him to realise there is more to life than golf.

"Spending time with my family is really something I haven't done in 16 years, and that to me was an eye-opener," he confessed. "I wouldn't mind doing it every weekend."

Norman also admitted he needed his long vacation from golf, which he has been playing professionally since 1976, when he was 21.

"It (golf) takes everything else out of your life," said Norman, who has won more than 75 tournaments around the world in his 23-year career, including two British Opens.

"You don't have the chance to sit back and see and understand the other good things in life that are really out there but you don't have the time to spend on."

Norman, however, has not given up of golf -- or winning the Masters, where he has finished second three times, including in 1996, when he blew a six-stroke lead and lost to Nick Faldo by five shots.

The Australian, who now lives in Florida, is so serious about his golf that he has turned to David Leadbetter, the famed instructor who helped turn Faldo into the top player in the world.

"If I was just happy going through the motions, I wouldn't be out there hitting balls like yesterday in 85-degree heat (in Florida)," he said. "I wouldn't spend hours with David Leadbetter."

Norman admitted that in the past he may have wanted "too much" to win the Masters. "I'm a triple-A personality, maybe quadruple-A, and sometimes that can be a little detrimental."

But Norman does not deny his love for the Masters.

"Even if I never win this golf tournament, there wouldn't be a golf tournament on this planet that I can say I've enjoyed more than this one," he said. "If this was my last tournament and I didn't win it, I'd still say the Masters had a great stamp on my life and how my life turned out."

But Norman would prefer to retire with at least one Masters green jacket in his closet.