[비즈한국] When playing golf, you encounter countless famous sayings. Some have been passed down from legendary players, while others circulate like myths with unclear origins. To golfers, these are more than just clever phrases; they are accepted as truths and become personal mantras for improving their game.
However, sometimes you can't help but feel a twinge of doubt, thinking, "Is that really true? It feels half-right and half-wrong..." Take the saying, "It takes three years to learn how to relax your muscles." The origin of this likely stems from the idea that "learning to relax in golf takes at least three years, it's not easy." But look at the golfers around us. Have they truly relaxed after three years? Some golfers joke, "I've been 'trying to relax' for 30 years now." It is certainly true that it takes a long time to learn to relax, but the specific timeframe of three years is definitely open to debate.
Data, however, tells a different story. Analysis using the "strokes gained" metric shows that among the four key elements—tee shots, approach shots, greenside shots, and putting—the one with the greatest impact on prize money is the approach shot, i.e., most iron shots, followed by the tee shot, i.e., most driver shots. There is even data suggesting that hitting a long drive into the rough is more advantageous than playing it short to stay in the fairway. While a miraculous putting performance might seem to lead to victory, how close you get the ball to the hole is a much more critical factor. Perhaps we should change the saying to "Drivers are money, but irons are even bigger money."
We often use the term "golf experience" (guryeok) when humbly referring to our skills, saying things like, "I haven't been playing that long yet..." But does an increase in years played translate directly to an increase in skill and a better score? Experience and scores are proportional up to a certain point. However, after a certain period, most hit a plateau, and for some, their game even enters a decline. That’s why you sometimes hear people say, "I played my best in my fourth or fifth year." The phrase "I've been playing a long time" is used in that same context, and some people even start downplaying how many years they’ve played once they hit a certain point.
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus once said, "Golf is 50 percent mental, 40 percent address, and the remaining 10 percent is the swing." While I agree that the mental game is incredibly important, it is hard to readily agree with that order of importance at the amateur weekend golfer level. How would Nicklaus respond to the argument, "How can you talk about the mental game when your swing is not even functioning?" At the professional level, where players compete with consistently high-level swings, the mental game naturally carries more weight. But aren't almost all weekend golfers in the world still "working on their swing" and remain "unfinished"?
Gary Player, the legendary South African golf hero, is said to have remarked, "The more I practice, the luckier I get." I use the phrase "is said to have" because the origins of countless golf quotes often bounce back and forth between different people. The saying is correct; practice is important. But just as important as practice is actual experience—the round itself, or what we call "grass time." There is a term for people who are only "driving range pros." These are golfers who hit shots that draw admiration from everyone at the driving range, yet produce high, beginner-level scores on the course. Shouldn't this saying be updated to, "The more you practice and play rounds, the luckier you get"?
Let’s talk about golf advertising. One famous slogan that still gets mentioned today is "Trust your irons." Honestly, how many people don't trust their own irons? With modern golf club manufacturing technology, is there really that much difference between irons? Perhaps it isn't the golf clubs that create the difference in shots, but rather the difference in shots that highlights the limitations of the golf clubs. That is why we still say today, "I trust my irons, I just don't trust myself."
Countless words of wisdom circulate around golf. We remember and believe in them, but some might simply not work for us. Even if a saying fits you perfectly, golf is rarely as easy as words make it seem.
Words are easy; golf is harder than words.