One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

Small Things, Big Smiles This morning started with a few very ordinary things, but somehow, they made me really happy. 😂 1. Fixing My Golf Watch Band ⛳⌚ Yesterday, while I was playing golf, my golf watch band suddenly came off. Because it was so hot and I was sweating a lot, I should have wiped the band after playing. But I simply charged the watch and kept using it without thinking much about it. After about a year, the band finally gave up. 😂 Luckily, it came off right when I was sitting in the golf cart. Talk about bad luck turning into good luck! I carefully put it in my golf bag and decided to replace it this morning. Fortunately, there was an extra band in the box. But then… “How am I supposed to replace this?” YouTube to the rescue! I put on my glasses and wrestled with it for more than 30 minutes. And finally… Done! I replaced it myself! 😂👏 It was such a small thing, but I felt strangely proud of myself. 2. The Six-Meter Clothesline That Was One Meter Too Short 😂 My outdo...

Financial stability is important. Mental stability is important too. But I do not believe that having more money automatically makes people happier. I think happiness depends more on how a person manages life internally. In my case, if I have more, I spend a little more. If I have less, I naturally spend less too. Of course, this only works when there is no serious debt and basic financial stability exists first. Balance has always been more important to me  than simply having more and better. Even when I was young, I spent most of my time working because I genuinely liked working. Of course, work brings stress sometimes, but I still enjoyed being productive. Because I stayed busy, I did not spend money carelessly. Instead, I had more opportunities to save naturally. I think diligent people often worry less about the basics of life. Not because life is easy, but because steady habits quietly protect them over time. Golf taught me something similar. I love golf, but I also know how ...

I recently started a very important project. Project: Flat Belly. 😂 And there is actually a reason why I started it. Ever since I started my blog, I've been taking a lot more photos of myself. Golf photos. Walking photos. Everyday life photos. Pictures with friends. Pictures of me doing all kinds of things. And when I started looking at all those photos… I noticed my belly. 😂 Not in the mirror. In the photos. Apparently, cameras are much more honest than mirrors. 🤣 At first, I thought, “Hmm… maybe it's just the angle.” Then another photo. And another. And another. Okay. Maybe it isn't the angle. 😂 So I decided to do something about it. I'm giving myself about six months to work on my posture and gradually make my belly flatter. I'm not adding another workout to my already busy routine. I already play golf, swim, walk my dogs, and stay active in my everyday life. Instead, I'm paying more attention to my posture and the way I use my body throughout the day....

Today, the title says it all. I survived the golf course today. 😂 Summer golf in Jeju is not something to take lightly. Before the round, I looked perfectly fine. In fact, I looked quite cheerful in the photo I took before teeing off. But there are no photos of me after 18 holes. Maybe I was too tired to take one. 😂 One of my friends, PD, suddenly started feeling sick from the heat during the round. He ended up resting in the cart for about two holes. Luckily, I had brought some chilled watermelon with me. “Stay in the cart and eat some of this,” I told him. Honestly, watermelon tastes especially good on a hot golf course. 🍉 Then something funny happened. The first hole where PD decided to rest was a par 3. From the cart, he called out to us, “Make lots of putts. I’m going to rest a little longer.” Well... I hit my approach shot beautifully and left it very close to the hole for par. Another friend chipped in for a birdie. So neither of us even needed to use a putter. We simply fin...

At the beginning of this week, I didn't have any special plans. The rainy season had just begun, and the weather forecast called for rain throughout the week. I thought it would be a quiet, uneventful few days. But life has a funny way of surprising us. Yesterday, I was unexpectedly invited to play golf with good people. That same evening, my younger sister quietly sent me a box of fresh corn and vegetables without saying much. Earlier in the week, I also received a call from the police asking if I could help as an interpreter. Normally, I wouldn't have been available in the evening, but because it was exam week, my schedule happened to be open at exactly the right time. Sometimes I feel that life brings me unexpected blessings more often than hardships. When I was young, my mother often joked that I had been born with good financial luck. Believe it or not, she said that on the very day I was born, my father won a lottery prize and brought home more money than usual. Whether t...

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...

Yesterday, I played nine holes with five gentlemen, and somehow, I was the youngest in the group. Yes, even after turning 60, I can still be the youngest! 😊 We had two groups playing that day. Originally, I was supposed to play in the second group with PD, but when I arrived, I noticed that most of the members of the first group were already there. The band leader still had his golf bag in the second group, so I asked, “Are you not putting your bag in the first group?” He simply told me, “You decide.” So I did. Honestly, I wanted to play with PD. But then I thought about the two gentlemen in the first group. They might have a little more fun if I joined them. So I moved my golf bag to the first group. And as soon as I arrived at the first tee, one of the gentlemen handed me a cup of coffee. “Here, have some.” Well… I guess I made the right decision. ☕😊 There were six of us in total, and I was the only woman. Whenever I play with these older gentlemen, they always make me feel welcome...

Today was one of those beautiful days in Jeju when you just want to open every window you have. After several days of intense heat and rain, the weather suddenly became cool and fresh, almost like early autumn. On my way home after golf, I was driving through one of my favorite roads in Jeju—the beautiful mountain road lined with rows of hinoki cypress trees. There are hardly any traffic lights, and the speed limit is 60 km/h. I usually set my car to that speed and enjoy a relaxed drive. But today, the air was just too good. The breeze was cool, the sky was beautiful, and the air smelled so fresh. So I suddenly thought, “Why not turn my Morning into a convertible?” 😂 Of course, my Morning isn't actually a convertible. I simply opened all four windows as wide as possible. And off I went. The cool breeze rushed through the car and blew all over me. It felt fantastic. I had just come from the sauna after golf, so the cool air felt even better. I could breathe in the fresh Jeju moun...

For many years, I believed that the second half of life should become quieter. I thought peace meant protecting my small world. Living simply. Enjoying golf. Taking care of Ruby and Rich. Reading books. Growing vegetables. That seemed like enough. If you had asked me ten years ago whether I would openly share my mistakes with the world, my answer would have been simple. "Never." Back then, I would have shared only my good shots, my achievements, and my successes. The rest would have stayed hidden. But something changed this year. When I turned sixty, I didn't just grow older. I changed the direction of my life. Instead of asking, "How can I protect my peace?" I started asking, "How can my experiences help someone else?" That one question changed everything. Today, many people post perfect moments on social media. Beautiful trips. Beautiful swings. Beautiful lives. There's nothing wrong with that. But I've discovered that perfect stories rarely ...

My summer vacation started yesterday with a fun nine-hole golf gathering. Today was the second day of my vacation, and I went straight to my Hwangchil field. To be honest, I was a little worried. Jeju has been extremely hot, and we haven't had much proper rain for almost a month. I hadn't visited the field recently, so I kept wondering if the weeds had taken over. I also wondered if I might have missed a few spots when I sprayed weed killer last time. So, of course, I loaded my weed sprayer and weed killer into the car before leaving. But when I arrived… There were hardly any weeds. What a relief! In fact, today was the first time I had ever taken my weed sprayer to the field and brought it all the way back home without using it. 😂 There were still little things to do. I cleaned up some branches, removed a few vines, and checked the Hwangchil trees carefully to make sure they were doing well in this intense summer heat. I spent about an hour there. But there wasn't much wo...

Golf is sometimes funny. The best memories are not always made by perfect shots. Sometimes, they come from a small joke between friends. One day, during a round of golf, PD hit his driver shot and his tee disappeared into the bushes. He looked at the bushes and said with a serious face, “Ah… next time, I should bring a 5 million won pure gold tee.” I couldn't miss that opportunity. I smiled and said, “Then that tee will disappear after just one shot.” PD looked at me. “Why?” I answered, “Because I will take it. ㅎㅎ” For a moment, there was silence. Then PD laughed and said, “It's okay if Teacher Angie takes it. ㅎㅎ” We both laughed out loud. Of course, nobody was thinking about a 5 million won tee. It was never about the tee. It was about the joy of sharing a silly joke on a beautiful golf course. As we get older, I think we realize something. A good friend is not someone who only talks about serious things. A good friend is someone who can laugh with you about something complete...

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...