Trusting Myself More on the Golf Course

Somewhere along the way, I began to trust myself more.

Not just in golf—
but especially in golf.

For many years, I thought improvement came mostly from correction.

Fix the swing.
Adjust the timing.
Practice harder.
Think more carefully.

And of course, those things matter.

But lately, I’ve been learning something different.

Golf becomes easier when the mind becomes lighter.

The more relaxed I feel,
the better I play.

That may sound simple,
but it took me a long time to truly understand it.

Now, when I stand on the tee box, I sometimes joke out loud.

“ I need to hit a good one here, or they may not invite me back.”

Everyone laughs.

And then, strangely, I often hit one of my best drives.

It still surprises me.

But maybe it shouldn’t.

Maybe that little joke is doing more than I realized.

Maybe it softens the pressure.
Maybe it reminds me not to take the moment too seriously.
Maybe it allows my body to move freely.

Confidence, when softened by humor,
feels different.

It feels lighter.

A younger golfer might have tried to control every detail.

Now, I simply try to trust what is already there.

Interestingly, one of my younger golf friends often introduces me to others in a funny way.

She says,

“Her shots don’t always look perfect on the practice range, but somehow, on the course, she plays incredibly well. She’s a very strange older sister.”

I always laugh when I hear that.

But perhaps she is right.

Something changes when I step onto the course.

Maybe I stop trying to perform.
Maybe I start simply playing.

And maybe that playful part of me—the mischievous child I used to be—is still helping me now.

I was always a bit of a troublemaker growing up.

Curious.
Playful.
Never too serious.

Perhaps that part of me disappeared for a while.

But now, I feel it returning.

And I’m grateful for that.

As we get older, we often think growth means becoming more disciplined, more careful, more composed.

But sometimes, growth means something else.

Sometimes, it means recovering the relaxed parts of ourselves we almost forgot.

The playful parts.

The fearless parts.

The parts that can smile before a difficult shot.

Golf keeps teaching me this:

The more I trust myself,
the freer my swing becomes.

And perhaps freedom—
not perfection—
is what I was looking for all along.

KR Summary

골프를 오래 하며 알게 된 것은, 결국 나 자신을 믿고 마음을 편하게 할 때 가장 좋은 샷이 나온다는 것이다. 티박스에서 농담하며 긴장을 풀고 웃을 수 있는 지금의 여유는, 어릴 적부터 있던 장난기와 개구쟁이 같은 성격 덕분인지도 모른다. 나이가 들수록 무언가를 더 얻는 것이 아니라, 원래 내 안에 있던 자유롭고 편안한 나를 다시 찾아가는 것이 더 중요한 것 같다.

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