Golf experience and culture in Korea

[SoundandFury]

I live in Mexico City and we have a large Korean community here. Many are expats living in Mexico for only a year or two. They play a lot of golf and most public golf courses in the area are always packed with Korean players. This has been my experience:

Caddies don't like them. They are rude. I have heard this in many courses. In contrast, caddies  say Japanese players are very nice and polite.

Four times out of five Korean groups will NOT let me pass through, even though I'm playing alone. When I politely ask them to let me pass, they just wave their hands at me saying no.

They take a lot of time to play. They bet a lot and they will pay the bets at every hole!!!

When I have been paired up with a Korean group, most times they will not have a conversation with me.

I took the time and effort to learn to say "thank you" in Korean (it sounds something like kamsa amnida), I know I pronounce it well, but when I say it to korean players they don't say anything back, like you are welcome. Only once did a korean player say kamsa amnida to me, but this was a gentleman who had been living here twenty years and obviously had good manners.

I have a mexican friend who works for LG in Mexico. About a year ago I asked her how to say "please" and "thank you" in Korean, and she said I don't know, they never say please or thank you. True story.

I don't think they are bad people. I feel sorry for them, it seems that's just their culture.

It probably is the their culture, and thus their culture is shit.  I certainly don't feel bad for them.  Joining a private club has been the best decision I've ever made for golf.  We don't have to deal with this problem at all.

[rkim291968]

I live in Mexico City and we have a large Korean community here. Many are expats living in Mexico for only a year or two. They play a lot of golf and most public golf courses in the area are always packed with Korean players. This has been my experience:

Caddies don't like them. They are rude. I have heard this in many courses. In contrast, caddies  say Japanese players are very nice and polite.

Four times out of five Korean groups will NOT let me pass through, even though I'm playing alone. When I politely ask them to let me pass, they just wave their hands at me saying no.

They take a lot of time to play. They bet a lot and they will pay the bets at every hole!!!

When I have been paired up with a Korean group, most times they will not have a conversation with me.

I took the time and effort to learn to say "thank you" in Korean (it sounds something like kamsa amnida), I know I pronounce it well, but when I say it to korean players they don't say anything back, like you are welcome. Only once did a korean player say kamsa amnida to me, but this was a gentleman who had been living here twenty years and obviously had good manners.

I have a mexican friend who works for LG in Mexico. About a year ago I asked her how to say "please" and "thank you" in Korean, and she said I don't know, they never say please or thank you. True story.

I don't think they are bad people. I feel sorry for them, it seems that's just their culture.

I agree that Japanese golfers are very polite.

The Koreans would have treated you nicely and even let you pass if you have blue eyes.   They kowtow to Caucasians but look down on other races, Hispanics and blacks.  This is worse with older generations (people in their 60s and over).   These 60 something guys are generally less educated and don't understand the concept of melting pot.   It gets much better with younger generations as their education level is one of the highest in the world.

[rkim291968]

It probably is the their culture, and thus their culture is shit.  I certainly don't feel bad for them.  Joining a private club has been the best decision I've ever made for golf.  We don't have to deal with this problem at all.

Like all cultures, they have good and bad sides.   When it comes to golf etiquette, they suck big time.   I'd say it is pretty much the same with various ethnic groups learning golf from their friends.   It's like blind leading blind.  One learns how to play golf without properly learning etiquette, he passes it down to his friend, and the cycle continues.    One thing I noticed is that their children are doing very well on manners as they learn properly from schools, and instructors.

[Lihu]

Only the wealthy play golf in Asia, the wealthy generally treat the poor like, well poor. Most of these folks don't give a hoot about anyone else anyway. Unlike the wealthy of modern western nations, they are not taught to be polite to everyone regardless of class or social status. So, they come off as real jerks and are deservedly regarded as such as stated in a few posts made in this thread.

[arturo28mx]

The Koreans would have treated you nicely and even let you pass if you have blue eyes.   They kowtow to Caucasians but look down on other races, Hispanics and blacks.

I totally agree.

[Yukari]

I travel to Asia about once every month or two due to business, and I have played many rounds of golf in Korea, Japan, Thailand, and China as part of my business development.

Here is what I found as far as playing golf in Korea:

Green fees: most courses are about $200-$300.  Some private courses can be as high as $400-$500

Pace of Play:  I have not had any slow rounds.  All my rounds have been under 4:30.

Caddies: Yes majority of them are females in 20's to early 30's.  However, we had some male caddies (who were KPGA players working at the course, obviously not on the top tier caliber).  All caddies make sure that you keep pace with the group in front.  They will even tell you to pick up the pace, if your group falls behind.

Abuse: I've heard stories of how some men tried to get dates with caddies.  But that seems same as some guys here trying to pick up on cart girls.  Men are no different where they are from.

Etiquette: As far as I can tell, all of the people I've played with had good golf etiquette, unless they were newbies--but again that is same here.

As far as playing with Korean Golfers in the U.S., I also played many rounds in L.A. and I can only offer my own personal experience:

Etiquette: Yes there are some with poor golf etiquette, but no more than your typical average of general population.

Pace of Play: Again no more than your average general population.  Some were fast player, some were not.  It should be noted, in L.A. they allow 5-somes.  So no matter how fast or slow you are playing, you are always waiting.  So it may seem like Koreans are slow players, but I think the courses are not conducive to allowing any fast pace of play in L.A. area.  5 hour + is a typical round in L.A. public courses.

Betting: I've seen some Korean bet and pay off each hole.  In fact, in Korea, that seems to be the norm.  And they bet big.  $10 to $20 per stroke or per hole for the first nine and $20 to $40 per stroke or hole on the back nine seems to be typical wager--may be that's just my clients trying to take my money :-).

On being rude: Like some of you have said, I think it is in their culture that makes them seem standoffish.  The older generation--old traditional folks--does not typically talk to anyone outside of their group.  Younger generation seems lot more friendly, though.  In fact, I had a very difficult time in the beginning trying to establish business contact in Korea.  Unless you get introduced by someone who knows someone, it is almost impossible to arrange a meeting.  That culture is prevalent throughout Asia (Korea, Japan, China, etc.).

Overall, I don't see any ethnic group being particularly "bad".

Most of the time, I go out as a single and get paired up with a lots of interesting people from all ethnic background.  I honestly can say, no ethnic group has particularly bad golf etiquette.

[Parker0065]

I played a lot of golf in Korea when I was stationed there over 22 years ago so my experience was probably too long ago to apply to Korea today, But anyways back then I'm guessing there may have been more US military golf courses on bases than there were in the public sector, not sure but guessing that was the case.

Being that we were technically only leasing the land from the Korean government they were allowed to come on base and play our courses. The kicker was what the Koreans paid to play our course at Camp Casey. For me I could play 18 holes for $5, for the Korean Civilians that price was $50 which equates to probably around $200 today so the only Koreans we ever saw were the wealthiest in the area.

They were an interesting group and would have some sweet sticks in their bags for that time. Forged blades, persimmon woods, leather staff bags and the works. The funny part was I never saw one that could play worth a lick. A good drive for them would be in the 150 yard range and they were a little slow to be behind but I figured it was mostly because they were such bad golfers.

I had the privilege to play with a group of them one day and it was quite an experience. So on the first tee one of them chunks it down the fairway about 100 yards and the rest of them instantly chime in "Good Shot, Good Shot"! Now I'm thinking are these guy's f**ing with their friend? So the next guy gets up and hit's the same kind of shot and they all chime in again with "Good Shot, Good Shot"! Now I'm just cracking up inside because no matter how bad anyone hit a ball that entire round the group would chime in with "Good Shot, Good Shot"! After a few holes of this I realized that the only English these guy's knew was "Good Shot" lol!

Obviously golf in Korea has come a long, long way in the past 22 years and I think the US Military presence there definitely had a hand in bringing golf to that country.

[rkim291968]

They were an interesting group and would have some sweet sticks in their bags for that time. Forged blades, persimmon woods, leather staff bags and the works.

That's an interesting story.  Time has changed and golfers now  will definitely speak more than 2 words in English.   One thing that has not changed will be equipment.  They won't be caught with outdated equipment or no name brand ones.

[Parker0065]

That's an interesting story.  Time has changed and golfers now  will definitely speak more than 2 words in English.   One thing that has not changed will be equipment.  They won't be caught with outdated equipment or no name brand ones.

Yes I would imagine that golf in Korea is still mostly played by the wealthy with high end equipment.

I was stationed about 17 miles from the North Korean border and was lucky to have a place to play at all. I believe our course was the closest to the northern border at that time,(well within artillery range) lol! Although our 9 hole course wasn't much to look at it is one of my most fondest memories in golf. We had a certified PGA Pro running the course and he and I became good friends and would play money matches straight up against each other. He would always buy me a couple drinks in the bar before we went out because he said it equalized the match, lol! He always gave me compliments on my swing and really boosted my confidence in myself.

My year there I dominated not only our base course but won the 2nd Infantry Division championship for all of Korea! That earned me a top spot in the 8th Army golf championship which encompassed all of Asia, Japan, and  Australia for all US military Navy, Air Force, Army, Marines and US government employees. The tournament was a blast set up like a 4 day Tour Event. Unfortunately I played pretty poorly the first three days(too much rice wine at night) but bounced back the final round shooting the low score of the day and finishing 3rd place over all in the Championship Division.

Like I said I have a lot of fond memories of golf in Korea. Towards the end of that season I was messing around on the practice green like I always would when I wasn't on duty and the Pro comes out and says hey were you going to play today? I said no I'm just putting in some practice time. He said well you are now because there is someone waiting on the first tee who wants to play with you. I said who is it, he said the Commanding General of the 2nd Infantry Division wants to play with the 2nd ID champion. It was obviously an honor to get to play with the Commanding General but I was pretty nervous at the time being a lowly enlisted soldier. I played pretty poorly at first and he had me by a couple shots and I started thinking maybe I should let him beat me. But the competitive golfer in me kicked in and I finished him off by a couple, I didn't want to beat him too badly, lol!

[Mulligan Jeff]

There are Koreans that play in our area but play with peculiar characteristics. Now I have seen this first hand - they tee off, run back to their cart and scurry to their next shot, then get out of cart grab a club and run to their ball and hit it then run back and so on.