[비즈한국] There was a well-known ‘slow player’ among my regular golfing partners. Slow players are high-risk golfers who frequently top the list of people nobody wants to play with. One day, I suddenly remembered a phrase I saw in a golf course restroom: “The only way to fix a slow player is to pair them up with someone even slower.” Eventually, another slow player was invited, and a round with two slow players was arranged. It was, without a doubt, the longest five hours of my life.
However, a truly ironic situation unfolded. Every time one of the two slow players took a shot, the other would say to me, “That guy is way too slow... it’s a bit much.” An absurd situation occurred where one slow player was criticizing another. Perhaps they finished the round thinking, “Compared to that slow player, I’m doing just fine.” My strategy to instill a sense of urgency and improve their pace of play failed spectacularly. Both of them finished the round without recognizing their own sluggish pace, comforting themselves that their own speed was perfectly acceptable.
At one point—no, even now—the term ‘Naeronambul’ (if I do it, it’s romance; if others do it, it’s an affair) is widely used in politics. When criticizing or attacking the opposition party, the go-to line is, “What would you have done if this had happened in our party?” This old, coined phrase, which has now become a common noun, is equally valid on the golf course. I have met countless people through golf, but not a single one has ever called themselves a ‘bad-mannered’ or ‘clueless’ golfer. The conversation was always filled with backbiting about some rude golfer they met in the previous round. It’s quite strange. No golfer ever holds their own manners and etiquette to a harsh standard. One of the mottos of golf is ‘Be strict with yourself, and lenient with others.’ Flipping this adage to practice ‘being lenient with yourself, and strict with others’ is the very essence of ‘golf Naeronambul.’
Writing down a score based on ‘Ilpamanpa’ (giving everyone a par on the first hole) or ‘All-par’ isn’t a real score. I really can’t understand people who do that. I’ve even seen a golfer say this and then tell the caddie, “The first hole score is supposed to be printed as par anyway.” I’ve also seen golfers who wax lyrical about the importance of ‘Ball played as it lies’—the essence of golf and the basic foundation of its rules—only to nudge their ball with their foot to improve their lie.
The ultimate king of ‘golf Naeronambul’ is the ‘mulligan.’ There are golfers who grant themselves infinite mulligans with the vague excuse, “I’ll hit one more.” If you asked them, they probably wouldn’t even remember how many mulligans they’ve used. Of course, a skilled player might offer a mulligan to a struggling beginner, but I have rarely seen a golfer who frequently takes ‘self-mulligans’—what we call ‘Seumull’—give a generous mulligan to someone else.
Golf is a ‘promise.’ Rules are promises, but it is also a ‘time promise’—an agreement on when to play. The tee time is a time promise, and the meal arrangement before the round is also a time promise. The person who is always late remains late. It might sound strange, but the person who is always late is the one who cannot wait. They are the type who are late themselves but find it difficult to wait for others. This, too, is a form of ‘Naeronambul.’
Golf is a sport played by moving forward. You tee off, head toward the fairway, and on a par 4, you take your second shot toward the green. We move forward, and forward. If the group ahead is slow, looking back occasionally reveals the teeing area where I hit my drive and the patch of grass where I took my second shot. Just as we look back at our journey, let’s look back at ourselves once in a while. Before talking about others, let’s talk about ‘me.’ ‘What kind of golfer am I?’ ‘Am I a partner who others would want to play with again?’ As I write this, I reflect on the ‘me’ who has often felt deeply ashamed while out on the golf course.
Who is the author Kang Chan-wook?
An advertiser and writer. Starting as a copywriter at Cheil Worldwide, he currently serves as the CEO of the video production company ‘The Gaze of the Times.’ Passionate about golf, he obtained his USGTF teaching professional certification, and out of his love for writing, he has published books on golf including ‘The Joy of Golf,’ ‘Bad Golf,’ ‘Sincere Golf,’ and ‘Golf Thoughts, Thoughtful Golf.’ He runs the YouTube channel ‘Bad Golf,’ sharing various stories and thoughts about golf with readers and viewers.