[비즈한국] South Korea is a golf powerhouse. It is a nation obsessed with golf. On a land that is not very large, there are over 500 golf courses. In terms of the number of individual courses, that figure exceeds 800. Despite having long summers and winters with short springs and autumns—a climate not exactly ideal for golf—the golfing population has surpassed 6 million. We proudly rank 4th in the world, following the United States, Japan, and Canada. There are even claims that the actual number of golfers has already surpassed that of Japan, a country with more than double our population.
It is not just the number of golfers that is massive in South Korea; the number of caddies is also world-class. This is because most golf courses in South Korea operate on a system where rounds are played with a caddie. It is a system where the caddie cares for the golfer and manages the flow of the round—a practice common in South Korea, China, and Southeast Asia. Even if you visit golf courses in nearby Japan, there are more golfers playing without caddies than with them. For golfers in the US or Europe, the term "caddie" strongly evokes the image of a professional who works with pro athletes. In fact, many golfers there go their entire lives without ever playing with a caddie.
Even South Korean golfers who once couldn't imagine playing without a caddie have begun to think, "Oh, I can actually play a round without a caddie." This is because "no-caddie" or "self-round" golf has started to take hold. It began with a labor shortage for caddies. It was estimated that the supply of caddies was falling short of the total demand by about 10,000. While golf courses near the metropolitan area or large cities fared better, remote golf courses were not attractive workplaces for caddies. In particular, there were not enough caddies to support the third round of play, which often extends into night golf. The golf courses’ solution? "No-caddie rounds." It wasn’t that golfers wanted it; the courses simply had no other choice.
Personally, there are several reasons why I like "no-caddie rounds." First, having played for a long time, I can say, "I can do this well on my own." This is especially true since the advent of the amazing rangefinder. In reality, the two things we relied on most from a caddie during play were "remaining distance" and "green slope." One of them has been solved by the introduction of rangefinders. To be more honest, it has been solved more accurately. Disputes like "Why did you give me the wrong distance?" or "Was that distance you just said accurate?" have vanished without the need for argument. It’s just like how heated protests over ball-strike decisions disappeared in Korean professional baseball once the ABS (Automated Ball-Strike System) was introduced. While it is difficult to read the green slope accurately on a course you are visiting for the first time, the thrill of making a putt based on your own assessment is doubled compared to following someone else's advice. Why pass that exciting fun on to someone else? Besides, some golfers are more confident in their own ability to read a green's slope than a less-experienced caddie.
The atmosphere of a round depends heavily on your playing partners. Occasionally, a caddie you've never met before can make the relationship between the partners feel awkward. Of course, it’s rarely easy to hear someone blaming a caddie, but if there is no caddie, you don't have to worry about anyone blaming them either. The greatest satisfaction of a "no-caddie round" comes at the very end. You don't have to pull out your wallet and fumble around to collect money for the caddie fee after the round is over.
It is true that annually rising caddie fees place an extra burden on South Korean golfers who already find green fees to be heavy enough. Sometimes, for a special tee time with an incredibly cheap green fee, the proportion of the caddie fee is even higher than the green fee itself. People often say, "The green fee was cheap, but after paying the caddie fee and cart fee, it wasn't much of a difference.”
Of course, there are golfers who need a caddie and those who prefer the care provided by one. It might be hard for some to change since that is how they have always played. If you meet a capable caddie who keeps the game running smoothly, the joy of the round can increase, and you are more likely to achieve a better score.
That is why we should expand the "caddie selection system." Instead of just offering a few "no-caddie" tee times during unpopular slots as we do now, shouldn't we allow no-caddie rounds for at least one-third of all tee times? The argument from golf courses that full-scale no-caddie implementation is difficult because of Korea's mountainous terrain, which makes moving between holes challenging, might just be an opinion prioritizing "flow" to maximize the number of teams they can manage.
The caddie selection system will eventually become the norm, so there is no reason not to expand it ahead of time.
Who is the author, Kang Chan-wook? He is an advertiser and author. Starting as a copywriter at Cheil Worldwide, he is now the CEO of the video production company 'Sidae-ui Siseon' (The Gaze of the Times). A lover of golf, he earned his USGTF teaching professional certification. With a passion for writing, he has published books on golf such as 'The Joy of Golf', 'Bad Golf', 'Sincere Golf', and 'Golf Thoughts, Thinking Golf'. He runs the YouTube channel 'Bad Golf', sharing various stories and thoughts about the game with readers and viewers.