One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

When I was young, I had so much energy. I did not always know how to manage my emotions, so sometimes I burned myself out with my own energy. Now I am 60. My emotions are calmer. I can think before I react. I can say YES when I want to, and NO when I don't. And I really like this version of myself. 😀💓💕 I still love people. I still love being playful. I still enjoy a little adventure. But now I know how to keep my balance. I can be alone. I can be with people. I can open my door a little. I can close it when I need to. I can make a mistake. I can change my mind. I can simply say, “Well, that was interesting.” 😂😁 Maybe that is why life feels more exciting these days. My life is not perfectly quiet. It moves. It surprises me. Sometimes it feels like a little roller coaster. But this time, I am not being dragged along. I am choosing to ride it. I do not need a perfect life. I just want a life that feels alive. So, today's verdict is simple. I love myself at this moment. Nobody...

People in Korea often say, “If you’re jealous, you lose.” Well, yesterday, I lost. And today, I’m still laughing about it. 😄 Let me tell you why. Four Women Were Dancing on the Golf Course! Yesterday, I had an early morning tee time at Shineville Country Club in Jeju. The weather forecast had been worrying me since the night before. A strong autumn typhoon was expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to Jeju from around noon. Our tee time was 7:50 a.m., so there was a chance we might get caught in the rain during the last two or three holes. I spent the evening preparing clothes, an umbrella, and all sorts of things I might need. Even that morning, I kept wondering what to wear. What if my clothes got wet? What would be comfortable in the wind? I finally got dressed, drove to the golf course, and joined my group. While waiting on the golf cart near the first tee, I noticed something happening in the distance. Four women, who looked to be around my age, were dancing on the grass n...

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...

These days, I’m not dating anyone. And honestly, I’m not very interested in dating. I quite like my life the way it is. But somehow, whenever I go to a golf course, I often end up in a group with three men. (smile) When I join a game through a golf group, I’m often the only woman. Three men and one Angie. At first, it felt a little uncomfortable. But then I thought about it. I’m not dating these men. I’m dating golf. The problem is, golf is much better at playing games with me than any boyfriend could be. Yesterday, my driver and 5-wood were unbelievably good at the practice range. I thought, “Ah! My body has finally learned this swing.” I was feeling pretty confident. Then I went back to the practice range the next day, and golf calmly looked at me and said, “Who are you?” For almost 80 minutes, I tried this and that. I thought about my left shoulder. I thought about my arms. I tried to fix one thing and cover another. I was desperately trying to find that beautiful impact again. And ...

Today, I played golf with three people I had never met before. We joined the same small golf group, so we were a little shy at first. One of the men was in his 40s. He was strong, athletic, and a very long hitter. I thought, “Wow. He is scary. He hits the ball so far.” 😂 And then golf did what golf always does. Yesterday, my driver was terrible at the practice range. I could not hit the ball the way I wanted, and I felt a little down. But today? Boom! My driver was flying. Again. Boom! I was laughing to myself. Golf is crazy. Yesterday, it made me sad. Today, it made me feel great. 😂 Then one of the players said, “You hit your driver very well.” In Korean, he used a word that means something like “neat, solid, and skillful.” So I asked, “Is that a compliment?” He laughed. “Of course!” 😂 From that moment, I started to notice something. At first, I was just the new woman in the group. But after a few holes, the atmosphere seemed to change. My driver was...

I went to the driving range today, just as I had planned. And something amazing happened. My full iron swing was coming back. My wood and driver swings were also starting to feel natural again. As I hit ball after ball, I suddenly realized something I had forgotten for a while. Golf gives you back what you practice. I think I had become a little too proud of myself. Because of my finger pain, I hadn't been able to practice properly for quite some time. Yet I kept playing rounds, and somehow, I was still able to enjoy golf. I even had some surprisingly good shots and scores. So, for a while, I started to believe: Maybe I don't really need to practice that much to enjoy golf. Today, the driving range reminded me that I was wrong. Golf is not a sport you can truly enjoy without practice. Especially for an amateur golfer. When you stop practicing, your swing slowly disappears. And when that happens, a round of golf that should be fun can become surprisingly painful. Golf is such a ...

People often think golf is an expensive hobby. And yes, if you play 18 holes at expensive golf courses every week, golf can certainly cost a lot. But does golf really have to be that expensive? I don't think so. I live in Jeju, and I have found my own simple way to keep enjoying golf. I don't need to play 18 holes every week. I can play 9 holes once a week . And the 9-hole course I often visit, Castlex, is not just a small or simple course. The grass is very well maintained, just like a regular 18-hole course. So even when I play only 9 holes, I still feel like I am having a real golf round. And then there is my driving range. It is an outdoor 250-meter driving range , not an indoor screen. And the best part? I can see Halla Mt. while I practice. 🏔️⛳ Honestly, I love that. I can hit golf balls while looking at the sky, the green field, and Halla Mt. in the distance. For me, that is already a pretty good golf life. What does it cost? My 9-hole rounds cost about: ₩160,000 a mon...

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...