One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

Today, I played nine holes with two gentlemen who were about eight years older than me. There were six golfers in total, and we planned to play in two groups of three. After a little confusion about which group I should join, I ended up playing with two gentlemen I hadn't played with for a while. Our group leader smiled and said, “Angie, you've joined the champion group!” I immediately replied, “Of course! I'm a champion, aren't I?” (Smile.) And so, our round began. A Little Teasing Before the First Tee One of the gentlemen usually plays from the blue tees. He told me that he had just returned from the United States and hadn't held a golf club for a month and a half. I looked at him and said with a big smile, “Oh, you're going to have a terrible day today!” (Smile.) Then, at the first tee, he suggested a 2,000-won bet per stroke. I wasn't sure whether he really hadn't played for a month and a half or whether he was trying to fool me! So I said, “I haven...

Today, I played nine holes with my golf band. The weather was beautiful, the course was green, and the sky was almost too blue to be real. And yes, I had a good day on the course. I even broke my personal best. But golf still made me struggle. For a while, I had been wondering why my backswing felt blocked. Today, during the round, I finally noticed something small in my left-hand grip. I had been holding the club with one finger more than I should have. It sounds like such a small thing. But in golf, a small thing can change everything. The club cannot move naturally. The hands change. The wrists change. The backswing changes. And before you know it, the whole swing feels different. I haven't completely fixed it yet. But now I know what I need to work on. That is one reason I still love golf. Golf can frustrate me, confuse me, and sometimes even make me want to cry. But it also keeps me curious. I watch great players like Hyo Joo Kim, Jin Young Ko, and Sung Hyun...

Austin Smotherman’s 100th PGA TOUR Start — and His First Win Today, I happened to watch the final round of the Bank of Utah Championship live. At first, I was just going to watch a little golf. But as the round went on, I became more interested. Before I knew it, I was watching one player very closely. Austin Smotherman. Then I found out something that made the moment even more special. Today was his 100th career start on the PGA TOUR. And even more amazingly, it was his first PGA TOUR victory. What a moment. His First Win Came on His 100th Start Smotherman opened the tournament with a 63. Then he shot an incredible 62 in the second round . He followed that with a 65 in the third round and a 68 in the final round. His final score was 26-under 258 , two shots ahead of Doug Ghim. But the final round was not perfect. He made a double bogey on the 13th hole, and his lead became much smaller. That could have changed everything. Instead, he made a birdie on the very next hole. Then another ...

Sometimes I think I have been “reshaping” myself for most of my life. Not with plastic surgery, though. More like… with a little creativity, good habits, and a lot of humor. 😂 To be honest, I was never unhappy with my face. I thought I was pretty cute—and maybe even a little pretty. ^^ I’ll admit that only here. 😂 But when I was young, there was one funny problem. Everyone in my family had double eyelids. Everyone except me. I had a double eyelid on only one eye—even in my high school graduation photo. My older sister used to help me fix that. Her solution? She would cut a small piece of tape with scissors and put it on my eyelid. That was my very first “cosmetic procedure.” 😂 And somehow, it worked. When I was younger, my double eyelids eventually looked so natural that people often asked me, “Did you have double-eyelid surgery?” I would think, “Nope. My sister made them for me with scissors and tape.” 😂 And then there was my nose. Once, a boyfriend told me, “Your nose would look...

I used to think that having a full life meant having a full schedule. Work. People. Appointments. Things I had to do. There was always something filling the next empty space. But somewhere along the way, I started doing something different. I began letting go. Not dramatically. Not with anger. Just quietly. Some relationships no longer needed my time and energy, so I stopped forcing them. Instead, I made more room for the people I genuinely enjoy. And then something interesting happened. I had more space for myself. These days, I still teach English. Sometimes I teach for five hours straight, and yes, I still get tired. 😂 But I don't teach every day anymore. I play golf with friends. I practice at my driving range, which has slowly become my little lounge. I go swimming. I take care of my garden. I walk with Ruby and Rich. And I write. None of these things are particularly extraordinary. But they feel different now. Because I have chosen them. I don't...

Yesterday, I suddenly ended up playing a round at Raon CC because there was a 50% green fee discount for a last-minute round. The three friends I played with are all very close friends, so we started the round in a relaxed and happy mood. The weather was nice, and Raon CC is a relatively easy and comfortable course to play. It is a little long, though, so making birdies is not always easy. One of my friends had been going through a bit of a golf slump for a while. But yesterday, something changed. Her shots suddenly became much more stable, and her good shots came back. So every time she hit a great shot, we shouted, “Nice shot!” and enjoyed the round together. Then, on one hole, two of my friends hit their balls into the bushes. They went all the way to the other side of the fairway with the caddie to look for their balls. Meanwhile, my friend and I were waiting in the cart. Suddenly, she pointed to the middle of the fairway and said, “Stand right there.” So I stood there. And she sta...

To be honest, when I first started this blog, I had a simple goal. I wanted to become a popular blogger. There is nothing wrong with that. We all enjoy knowing that our stories are being read and appreciated. But somewhere along the way, something quietly changed inside me. These days, I no longer write to become popular. I write because I enjoy it. Writing has become a conversation with myself, almost like keeping a journal. Instead of trying to create impressive stories, I simply write about whatever feels real that day. Some days it's golf. Some days it's English. Some days it's just an ordinary moment that makes me smile. I've realized that forcing a story never feels as satisfying as letting one naturally appear. Maybe that also reflects my personality. I've always enjoyed laughing, finding small joys, and keeping life lighthearted. So I decided to stop trying to write the "perfect" blog post. I would rather write an honest one. At sixty, becoming a f...

Today was the first day of my summer vacation. I had a 9-hole golf gathering at 6:30 in the morning, so I woke up around 4 a.m. I took Ruby and Rich for their morning walk, got ready, and drove about 30 minutes to the golf course. It might sound a little crazy to get up that early just to play golf, but during the hot summer, early morning is actually the most comfortable time for me to play. So when I have the chance, I don't hesitate. When I arrived, the band leader was already there. We were divided into two groups of three. But I wasn't placed with my usual friends. Instead, I was paired with two men I had never met before. Since we were strangers, we started our round rather quietly. At the first tee, I stood there with my ball and tee and asked, “May I tee up first?” One of them smiled and asked, “Do you play from the white tees?” That's a question female golfers often get. They kindly let me go first. So I put my tee into the ground and hit my first drive. And… It we...

Some days go just as planned. Most days don't. There is one morning routine I always hope to complete: an early walk with my two dogs, a simple breakfast, practice at the driving range, and a refreshing swim. It sounds like an ordinary routine, but it isn't easy to complete. There are always other appointments, unexpected errands, or mornings when I simply don't have enough energy. Even though I want to do it every day, I usually manage to complete the whole routine only two or three times a week. That was why today felt different. By lunchtime, I realized I had finished everything I had hoped to do that morning. The temperature had already climbed above 32°C, and I didn't feel like cooking. So I prepared a simple lunch: tofu, seasoned perilla leaves from my garden, some sour kimchi, and a can of beer. It was one of the most satisfying lunches I've had in a while. Not because the food was special. Not because of the beer. But because I had already lived the morning ...

There was a time when I believed progress meant never getting lost. In golf, I thought improvement meant building a swing that would never break down. If my shots started going offline, I felt frustrated. I would search for the problem, analyze every movement, and wonder why something that felt so natural yesterday suddenly felt unfamiliar today. Life wasn't much different. Whenever I faced uncertainty, I felt pressure to find the answer quickly. I thought confidence came from always knowing what to do next. But years of golf taught me something different. The goal is not to avoid getting lost. The goal is learning how to find your way back. Every golfer eventually experiences it. One day the swing feels effortless. The next day, something seems off. The rhythm disappears. The timing changes. Confidence fades. The same thing happens in life. We lose our balance. We lose motivation. We lose clarity. Sometimes we even lose sight of ourselves. For a long time, I treated thes...

Today, I became a yearly member of my driving range again. After hurting my finger last December, I hardly visited this place for seven months. For more than five years, this had been part of my daily life. To be honest, I sometimes wondered if I would ever come back as a yearly member again. Today, that thought disappeared. As soon as I walked through the entrance, it felt like coming home. This isn't just any driving range. It is a beautiful 250-meter outdoor driving range with Halla Mt. standing proudly in front of me. Many driving ranges in Korea are indoors or much shorter. But I love seeing the open sky, watching my ball fly into the distance, and looking toward Halla Mt. between swings. That view relaxes me as much as golf itself. Somehow, this place has become more than a driving range. It has become my lounge. Today, I didn't try to hit hundreds of balls. Instead, I spent more time making free swings and hit only about fifty balls. I also practiced putting and focused ...