One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

I used to think that getting older meant slowing down. I thought that as I got older, I would naturally prefer quieter music, take things more slowly, and play golf a little more carefully. But now that I am 60, I am not so sure. I still love rock music. Of course, I enjoy quiet music too. There are days when I want something soft and peaceful. But sometimes, I still want a strong beat, a powerful guitar sound, and music that makes me feel alive. And golf? I definitely don't want to slow down my passion for golf. Yesterday, I practiced for about 80 minutes. My full swing wasn't working well at first. So I picked up my 7-iron and worked on my full swing for about 20 minutes. Again and again. I focused on the swing, the impact, and finishing the swing properly. Then something changed. During the last 20 minutes, my swing suddenly started feeling really good. The kind of swing I love. A sharp, clean sound came from the clubface. Crack! The impact felt great. The swing looked good....

For the past year, I've been paying a lot of attention to my health. After discovering my finger condition, I became much more careful about using my body. Of course, taking care of my health was the right thing to do. But at some point, I started wondering if I had become too careful. Actually, I hadn't visited the driving range for almost seven months. Instead, I continued playing regular rounds of golf. For a while, everything was fine. I enjoyed my rounds, and I didn't feel that I needed to practice much to enjoy the game. But one day, my swing rhythm started to fall apart. Apparently, playing on the course wasn't enough to maintain the swing I wanted. So I went back to the driving range. It's been almost two months since I started practicing again. Getting my old swing back has been harder than I expected. Once my familiar rhythm was gone, it took time to find it again. Only recently have I started to rediscover the swing I had a year ago. It's not perfect ...

This morning, I suddenly asked myself a question: “What kind of person do I truly admire?” The answer came to me surprisingly quickly. I admire people who live their lives sincerely and wholeheartedly. But when I thought about it more, I realized there are three qualities I value most: Consistency. Personal responsibility. Social responsibility. I admire people who don't just work hard for a short time, but keep going. People who take responsibility for their own choices instead of always blaming someone else. And people who don't live only for themselves, but also care about the people and society around them. Those are the people I find truly impressive. Recently, I realized that I had come to admire someone I have known for quite some time. We have played golf together for more than a year. So, of course, it wasn't something I decided after seeing him for a few minutes. 😊 Over that time, I had the chance to see how he approaches golf, how he treats other people, how he ...

About a year ago, I learned a new name for something happening inside my body: Rheumatoid arthritis. Honestly, I was scared. My finger joints had been swollen for quite a while, and eventually the pain became so severe that I could barely hold a golf club, let alone swing it. But the biggest problem for me was something else. “Does this mean I can never play golf again?” That thought made me surprisingly depressed. I thought I could handle almost anything else. But no golf? That was serious. 😂 If I could never play golf again, what was I supposed to do with the rest of my life? Would my golf clubs become decorations? Would the driving range become a place from my past? Would I have to go to the golf course just to watch other people play? I imagined everything. Looking back, it makes me laugh. But at the time, I was genuinely devastated. “This is the end of my golf career.” For a while, I was practically holding a funeral for my golf career. 😂 At first, I thought the finger problem w...

Venice, Vienna, Paris, London… I traveled to Hong Kong many times, visited Singapore, and went to Hawaii more than once. I lived in San Francisco and played a lot of golf there. I have seen many beautiful places around the world. And of course, there were places like Niagara Falls that were simply breathtaking in scale. But something interesting happened as I traveled more. The more of the world I saw, the more beautiful my hometown, Seogwipo, became to me. Not just because of the scenery. Because it is home . My neighborhood friends are here. My old school friends are here. My family and relatives are here. If I have a problem, I can call someone. There is always someone who will help me. When I was younger, I sometimes thought having too many people who knew me was uncomfortable. I wanted my privacy. I wanted to be independent. But now, I see it differently. Having people who know me makes me feel safe. Sometimes a relative or one of my siblings will call and say, “Come and get some ...

It had been raining for almost two days. The weather forecast said it was going to keep raining this afternoon, too, so I thought I should just stay home. But after staying inside for so long, my back started to hurt, and I felt so restless. Around noon, I took my dogs for a walk and looked up at the sky. For some reason, I had a feeling that it wasn't going to rain anymore. The forecast still said rain, but the sky looked different to me. I thought, “Hmm… I don't think it's going to rain.” So I decided to go to the driving range. I was getting so restless that I thought I was going to go crazy if I stayed home any longer. ㅎㅎ Of course, I had to be careful because of my two Jindo dogs. When I'm home, they stay inside the living room with me. But when I go out, they stay in the yard. There is a small shed where they can get out of the rain, but especially in summer, I try not to make plans when it's raining. So I told myself, “I'll go to the driving range, and if...

After playing golf for a long time, I think every golfer has had this thought at least once: “I think I've finally figured out my swing.” I did, too. For a while, I was playing pretty well even without practicing much. My shots were good, my swing felt comfortable, and I started to become a little too confident. At one point, I honestly thought: “Maybe I've conquered my golf swing.” Now that I think about it, that's hilarious. 😂 I mean, I'm an amateur golfer! If Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, or Adam Scott had heard me say, “I think I've conquered golf,” I wonder what they would have thought. They might have looked at each other and said, “You conquered golf?” 😳 And then quietly thought, “This woman must be joking.” 😂😂😂 The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it sounds. But that ridiculous thought taught me something important. Golf is not an easy sport to conquer. When I stopped practicing regularly, my shots slowly became less consisten...

I Dreamed of Becoming Capable Enough to Protect My Own Life and Kind Enough to Help Others Along the Way. When I was younger, I worked hard. Like many people, I wanted to succeed. I wanted to learn, grow, and become better at what I did. Over the years, I worked in different roles, met different people, and experienced different challenges. Looking back, however, I realize something important. I never dreamed of becoming powerful. I was not chasing status for its own sake. I was not trying to become someone important. What I truly wanted was much simpler. I wanted to become capable enough to protect my own life. I wanted the freedom that comes from competence. The ability to solve problems. The confidence to stand on my own feet. The wisdom to make decisions without constantly depending on others. Perhaps that was why I worked so hard during those years. Not because I wanted power. But because I wanted independence. Today, my life looks much quieter. I spend time with my two dogs. I pl...