My first time playing golf in Korea
So the first time I played golf in Korea was through work. Our company went on a tour at a data center facility and when we got there, the guy giving the tour was my friend so he was so happy to see me, etc. One of my colleagues noticed it and later approached me to play golf with my friend because my colleague was really trying to do a deal with them. So my colleague said that I really need to play since I’m the guy who is friends with the potential client.
So my colleague set up the round a month or so later and I showed up. This was my first time playing golf out on a real course (let alone in Korea) so I made every single rookie mistake you can make. It was hilarious now that I look back.
I showed up with my old golf clubs that I bought in the 1990s. This was a set of ping zing 2 irons, Callaway great big bertha driver and woods, and an old Odyssey putter. Everything (including the bag) was from that era. I know I looked absolutely ridiculous.
My bag didn’t even have a rain cover on it. I didn’t have iron covers. I didn’t have my name on the bag. Everyone in Korea uses the rain cover and has iron covers.
I drove over to the golf course and just parked. I didn’t even go to the front area to drop off my bag. I just parked in the parking lot, changed my shoes in the parking lot, and carried my own bag to the clubhouse.
Once I got to the clubhouse, the guys there took my bag from me. I remember thinking “uh…where are they taking my bag?”
And when I got into the clubhouse I think I saw my colleague so he got me checked in, etc. He probably had no idea how foreign golf is in Korea as well as it literally being my first time playing at a real golf course.
After we ate lunch we went down to the cart. I remember thinking “how are they going to know which bag is mine?” and sure enough, the cart only had 3 bags so my bag wasn’t there. The caddie said that she couldn’t find my bag so I walked back with her and pointed out my bag.
She brought the bag over and loaded it up and looked at my clubs saying that she had never seen clubs like that before. Everyone else kind of laughed and said “there were really good clubs at one time”…
The round itself was fairly uneventful. I actually played better than I thought I would. I didn’t play well of course but I didn’t whiff. I just kind of hit it a little bit and just kept going. Oh well, it was fun enough I guess. My friend kept saying that I’m good but it’s just the clubs…these clubs are way past their expiration date. I was smart enough to realize at the time that it wasn’t the clubs…
After the round we went to dinner. By the time I got home it was around 10pm. I had left the house at around 10am so it was a long day and I realized that golf is basically an all day event in Korea…welcome to playing golf in Korea!
Pro Shop – Unscrupulous Customers
I was at the The Crosby a little early and was chatting with the pro shop owner. She told me about some of the unscrupulous customers that she has to deal with on a regular basis. She has a sign at the cash register that basically says that all sales are final with no refunds or exchanges.
Golf ball switcharoo
There was a guy who bought a box of Titleist Pro V1s for 100k. This is about 30k or so overpriced but that’s just the price at the pro shop. He seemed like a nice guy and they had a short chat where he told her about his newborn son and how he’s a new dad, etc. Anyway, after the round he came back saying that he didn’t use the golf balls because he ended up playing well so he’d like a refund. She generally doesn’t give refunds but she said that she felt bad because he didn’t seem like a wealthy guy and he seemed nice enough so she issued the refund. Later she found out that he had replaced all of the balls in the box with old used balls and kept all of the brand new Pro V1.
Returning worn clothing
This usually happens with women but they will buy a new golf outfit, wear it for the round, and then try to return it after the round. Of course since they wore it for a round the clothing is soiled, etc. Sometimes it’s full on golf outfits (shirt, pants, etc.) or sometimes it’s just a hat that they worse but in all cases, no refunds!
In general, these customers will complain to management of the golf course thinking that the pro shop owner might get kicked out but the pro shop owner says that she has a good relationship with the course management and they know that there are many unscrupulous people out there so they are generally on her side anyway.
Caddie Stories
Caddie near death experience
I was talking to a caddie once at Gapeyong Benest and she said that she has a plate in her head and a lot of stitches in her head. She was caddying once about 8 years ago for a group of women who were new golfers. One golfer was out for pretty much her first time.
Caddie was looking out into the fairway to watch for the drive as one of the women was at the tee box when all of a sudden, the caddie felt warm liquid on her head. She thought it was sweat but then realized that the weather wasn’t hot…and she looked over and saw faces of shock from the other women.
One of the women had taken a practice swing with her driver and swung and hit the caddie’s head! Her head was bleeding profusely.
They called in, staff came out and drove the caddie back to the clubhouse where the ambulance came. Caddie said that there was a huge gash the size of the edge of the golf driver in her head. She needed major surgery and was out for about 6 months to recover. She was close to death.
Practice swings are ok but I never swing at full power and always way out of the reach of anyone nearby.