Opinion & Analysis

Korea’s answer to help grow the game

Published

1 year ago

Apr 20, 2022

When the golfing world was first introduced to Mark Broadie’s Strokes Gained Index (SGI) in 2011, it forever changed the way we look at the game. In direct contrast to legendary Bobby Locke’s iconic phrase “drive for show, putt for dough,” the new method showed that driving the ball well was actually the bigger factor in lowering scores.

Related: East vs. West: The major differences between golfers in the U.S. and Korea

At first, I recall thinking that it couldn’t be right. After all, the longest drive and the shortest putt each count the same one stroke, right? But then again, where are you more likely to make a birdie from if your ball is 50 yards and 150 yards from the pin, respectively?

Should the new saying be “Putt for show, Drive for dough?”

Even before Broadie’s method showed the advantages of longer drives, nearly all club and ball manufacturers have been focused on marketing distance. In response, many golf courses tried to lengthen the course to keep the game challenging. But no matter how long golf courses became, long bombers like Bryson and Dustin continued to make short work of them reaching “monstrous” par 5s in two with an 8- iron. It was only a matter of time before golf’s governing bodies declared that things had gone too far.

Related: Golf in Korea during COVID-19

I understand where the USGA is coming from. But surely there are other ways to make professional golf more challenging than limiting golf ball distance for everyone. After all, why penalize average Joes like me who can barely drive 250? Instead, let’s make the course set up more difficult for professional tournaments and let the rest of us continue our valiant struggle with all the help we can get.

With all the heated online arguments for and against USGA’s stance on distance, however, I found it odd that it has never been an issue here in Korea. In fact, whenever I tried to discuss the topic and how it's dividing golfers in the West, no one here seemed to bat an eye. I too soon came to dismiss it as a non-issue, but after subconsciously mulling about it for a while, I came up with an interesting theory.

Could it be that the courses here are already hard enough without having to add extra sandbags around our ankles?

Flat land for building a golf course is rare in Korea

To be sure, I’m not trying to compare Korean courses to beasts like Bethpage Black or Whistling straits. However, it is my contention that most Korean courses have very narrow fairways and an over-abundance of penalty areas in comparison to their Western counterparts. As such, Korean courses support my claim that difficult setups can make the game plenty challenging without limiting equipment distance. Plus, some of the course features and local rules here also act to help grow the game by speeding up play considerably.

Size Matters

To give you some perspective on size, South Korea is a small peninsula about the size of Indiana with mountains covering 70 percent of the country. As a result, the majority of 550+ golf courses here are carved out on top or steep sides of mountains. A typical golf hole here features a hill along one side of the hole and a steep drop-off on the other side. So if a tee shot happens to stray a little off the narrow fairway, the ball is usually declared to be out of bounds or lost.

When I first began playing here in 2001, my first impression was that the courses seemed relatively short and easy. Back in Canada, if a tee shot strays onto the adjacent hole or under a tree, it would simply make for a fun and challenging attempt to scramble for par, right? Nope. Not here. Uh-uh. With almost every hole lined on both sides with OB or hazard stakes, I realized quickly that golf here required a very different approach than what I was used to.

Most of Korea’s 550+ golf courses are carved on top or sides of mountains.

At first, there seemed to be no reason or rhyme as to why the courses had so many penalty areas. In particular, what frustrated me most was having an easy wedge over relatively short trees from an adjacent hole; only to be told it was out of bounds. What good is the ability to pull off amazing Seve-esque recovery shots if I’m not even given a chance to attempt them in the first place?

Easy 9 iron to the green? Nope. OB for D-bogey or worse.

Inevitably, I soon developed a severe case of the driver yips in trying to keep my ball in play. No matter how I tried, every round would have at least two or three balls out of bounds. My handicap quickly grew from being a toddler to the legal drinking age, and my foursome began to doubt I had ever broken 80 before. Likewise, my preference for long-distance quickly took a backseat in favor of accurate shot-making.

To be sure, I’m not suggesting a dozen new penalty areas be added or your golf courses are built on the sides of mountains. I’m just saying that before any definitive decision is made on the equipment side of golf, I hope the powers that be can first explore diverse course setups at iconic tournament courses to challenge the best players in the world. After all, there are so many more amateur golfers than professionals, and we certainly need all the help we can get.

Just your typical tee shot with 90 meter drop, OB on both sides to a sloping fairway. No pressure.

Course setup to grow the game?

Aside from an abundance of OB stakes, Korean courses also have several features and local rules which may baffle newcomers. Even though some of them may not be welcomed in all parts of the world, and are certainly not practiced for pro tournament play here, they have undeniably helped the game grow in Korea by speeding up play immensely.

OB tees to save time and ego.

Your home course probably has a drop area on par 3s where hazards come into play. The same applies here but with one big difference in that, we also have a designated drop area for par 4s and par 5s. You see, when a tee shot’s fate is in question, amateur golfers are urged to play from a special set of tees 220~250 yards ahead. So, rather than playing a provisional ball, the golfer would be playing their 3rd or 4th shot from these forward tees, depending on whether the ball landed in a
hazard or out of bounds.

Although it took a bit of getting used to, I have found this common local rule to help in two ways here. One, it speeds up the pace of play considerably; and two, it helps to preserve the sanity of golfers from having to re-tee with the potential to hit multiple balls out of bounds.

Not gonna lie. These look great with hard breaking downhill putts.

I can’t recall if I’ve ever encountered an actual gimme circle back when growing up in Canada, but more often than not, golfers here will see a circle drawn around the hole cup ranging in radius from 1~1.5m. The obvious intent is that if the ball ends up inside the circle, the next putt is considered a gimme, and the golfer can pick up the ball. At the start of a round, the foursome can decide whether they will put the circle in play or hole out each time.

For the purist, the length of the gimme circle may seem absurd, but I can attest that it does wonders for one’s ego and score, and keeps arguments to a minimum. Of course, it also helps to speed up play.

Notice something with the first and last holes too? That’s for another time.

Another aspect of golf that may raise some eyebrows out there is our concept of “double par”. It is common practice here for strokes to be counted only up to double the par of the hole played. For example, the maximum score on a par 3 would be a triple, a quadruple for a par 4, and a quintuple bogey for a par 5.

So even if you were to dunk three balls at the treacherous 17th hole at Sawgrass, the maximum score would be a six (provided that the course was in Korea). Wild stuff, huh? Can you imagine how many pros would love to settle for a triple at that hole during the Players Championship this year?

Again, the main idea for this practice is to speed up play, save some golf balls, and keep one’s handicap comfortably vague for sandbagging purposes.

Carts prevent cardiac arrest.

Last but not least, over 90% of Korea’s public and private courses require golfers to ride a 5-person power cart and employ a caddie with the cost shared among the foursome. What if one doesn't want to ride a cart, or use the services of a caddie?
Unfortunately, it is not a choice at these courses but there are some darn good reasons too.

First, the mountainous topography of Korean courses makes it incredibly hard to walk and play18 holes. The distance between holes can literally be a mile over incredibly steep hills or winding paths down a side of a mountain. So unless you are training for the Iron Man triathlon, there is no shame in riding the cart here. Even for a professional tournament, I understand that special measures are taken to protect the players and caddies in case such a course is played.

Super caddie in action. Not only does she memorize who uses which clubs and wedges for what
shots, she carries up to 12 clubs at a time for your convenience. Bravo.

Caddies also play a pivotal role in Korean golf culture. Usually, a lone caddie is assigned to a foursome at the start of the round. They driving the cart, cleaning and fetching clubs for all four players, explaining the layout and potential dangers at each hole, and providing yardages, and reading the greens.

It is not an easy task to say the least, but that’s not nearly all. The caddies are also responsible for the safety of the golfers while on the course, and to ensure that the pace of play is maintained in a polite and professional manner (I’m sure they were the most ecstatic when the rule to tend the pin was eliminated). Without a doubt, the caddies here are the true unsung heroes behind the recent growth spurt of golf in Korea. If it were not for them, I know that most of us would be either lost on course
or stuck behind first-timers struggling to play 18 under 6-hours. They deserve every penny they earn.

So there you have it. If speeding up play really helps to grow the game of golf, then the local rules that I have described above will definitely make a difference.

Which one would you be willing to try? Which ones will you fight to your dying breath as a golfer? Please comment below!

For a detailed look at a round of Korean style golf, check out my previous article: “A typical day of Korean golf, Gangnam style”

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Opinion & Analysis

The best bets for the 2023 Scandinavian Mixed

Published

4 days ago

Jun 6, 2023

Jason Daniels

There could hardly be a more distinct difference between two courses holding consecutive events.

Last week, 20-year-old Tom McKibbin pounded his way around the 7500-odd-yards of Green Eagle to break his maiden in impressive fashion, courtesy of this outstanding approach shot to the 72nd hole. Remind you of anyone at that age?

Leading the tournament, 20-year-old rookie @tommckibbin8 hit this incredible shot into 18 to claim is first win on Tour. ?#PEO23 pic.twitter.com/F0Sl3hXo43

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 5, 2023

Fast forward not long and the DPWT arrives at Ullna Golf and Country Club for the third renewal of the mixed-gender Scandanavian Mixed.

The welcome initiative sees male and female players on the course at the same time, playing to the same pins. Only movement of the tee boxes distinguishes the challenge, and whilst there is water aplenty at this coastal track, yardages of no more than 7000 and 6500 yards should frighten none of the top lot in each sex.

Genders are one-all at the moment, with Jonathan Caldwell winning the inaugural event thanks to a lacklustre Adrian Otaegui, and the brilliant Linn Grant winning by a country mile last season.

Most will be playing their approach shots from the same distance this week and with neither particularly stretched, this may be the most open of mixed events yet.

Defending champ Linn Grant and fellow home player Madelene Sagstrom look on a different level to the rest of the European ladies this week, but preference is clearly for the 23-year-old winner of eight worldwide events, including her last two in Sweden.

Last season, the Arizona State graduate took a two-shot lead into the final round before an unanswered eight-birdie 64 saw her cross the line nine shots in front of Mark Warren and Henrik Stenson, her nearest female rival being 14 shots behind.

Since that victory, Grant has won two events on the LET, the latest being a warm-up qualifying event for the upcoming Evian Championship, held at the same course and at which she was 8th last year. The Swede is making her mark on the LPGA Tour,

Given the yardage advantage she has off the tee amongst her own sex, the pin-point accuracy of her irons and a no-frills attitude when in contention, this looks no more difficult than last year. If there is a a market on ‘top female player,’ there may be a long queue.

He’s been expensive to follow for win purposes, but Alexander Bjork is another home player that will revel with the emphasis on accuracy.

There isn’t a awful lot to add to last week’s preview (or indeed the previous week’s) which both highlighted just how well the Swede is playing.

Recommended Bets:

Linn Grant
Alexander Bjork

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Opinion & Analysis

Winning and the endowment effect

Published

2 weeks ago

May 30, 2023

Brendan Ryan

A central concept in behavioral economics is the endowment effect. Coined by Richard Thaler at the University of Chicago, the endowment effect describes how people tend to value items they own more highly than they would if they did not belong to them. So how does this relate to sports, or more specifically, to golf? Let me explain.

Golf is hard. Winning is harder. Golf has created a lure where winning major championships is the hardest of all. The problem is that mathematically a win is a win. This means that valuing wins differently is actually an instance of the application of the endowment effect in golf.

Winning in golf creates an inverse normal distribution where winning can be very hard, then easy, and then very hard again. To win, players must evoke the “hot hand”; this is the idea that success breeds success. In golf, the reality is that birdies come in streaks; players typically enjoy a run of birdies over a couple of holes. The goal for every player is to hold this streak for as long as possible. The longer and more often they are able to do this, the more likely a player is to win.

Another question is, how much do players value wins? At the current moment, up to the PGA Jon Rahm sees winning as easier (or less valuable) with his recent win at the Masters and other early season events to accompany his U.S. Open win from 2021. However, that changed at the PGA, when he opened with a round in the mid-70s. All of a sudden the lure of the trophy distracted Rahm. Likewise, we saw both Corey Conners and Hovland hit extremely rare shots into the face of the bunker on Saturday and Sunday. These are shots that do not happen under distribution. In my opinion, the prestige of a major was at the root of these shots.

To overcome the barrier of becoming a champion, players must first understand that winning is not special. Instead, winning is a result of ample skills being applied in duration with the goal of gaining and holding the hot hand. The barrier for most players with enough skill to win, the endowment effect tells us, is that they overvalue winning. Doing so may prevent them from ever getting the hot hand. So maybe, just maybe, the key to winning more is wanting to win less. Easier said than done when one’s livelihood is on the line, but to overvalue a win at one specific tournament, be it the Masters or the two-day member guest, may be doing more harm than good.

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Opinion & Analysis

The best bets for the 2023 Porsche European Open

Published

2 weeks ago

May 30, 2023

Jason Daniels

Green Eagle hosts the European Open for the sixth consecutive time, missing only the pandemic year of 2020.

Known for its potential to stretch to 7800 yards, this monster course in Hamburg is able to reduce itself to around 7300, a far less insurmountable proposition that allows the non-bombers to make use of their pin-point iron play.

Of the top 16 players last year (top 10 and ties) nine fell into the top 12 for tee-to-green, split into those that made it off-the-tee (six in the top-12) and those from approach play (total of four players). Go back to 2021 and champion Marcus Armitage won the shortened three-round event with a ranking of 40th off-the-tee, whereas four of the remaining top-10 ranked in single figures for the same asset.

It’s a real mix, and whilst I’m definitely on the side of those that hit it a long way, there are more factors at work here, particularly a solid relationship with the Italian Open, as well as events in the Czech Republic and Dubai, weeks that allow drivers to open up a tad.

Last year’s winner Kalle Samooja has a best of 2023 at the Marco Simone Club, a tournament won by Adrian Meronk, and with a top-10 containing the big-hitters Julien Guerrier, Nicolai Hojgaard and Daniel Van Tonder, with Armitage a couple of shots away in ninth place.

Like Armitage, the Finn also boasts a win in China (although at differing courses) where solid driver Sean Crocker (third) carries a link between the Czech Masters, being runner-up to Johannes Veerman (10th here, eighth Italy), and another bomber Tapio Pulkkanen, whose best effort this year has been at the Ryder Cup venue to be.

Of the 35-year-old Englishman, his only other victory came in the 2018 Foshan Open, where his nearest victims included Alexander Knappe, Mattieu Pavan and Ryan Fox, all constantly there in the lists for top driving, with Bernd Ritthammer (tied runner-up here 2019) in ninth place.

Amidst plenty of Crans and Alfred Dunhill form on various cards, 2022 Italian Open winner Robert Macintyre was the second of three that tied in second place here behind the classy Paul Casey in 2019, as well as tying with Matthias Schwab at Olgiata, Italy, in the same year.

The Austrian, now plying his trade on the other side of the pond, also brings in the third of three players that ran up here, a seventh place at Green Eagle, two top-10 finishes at Albatross and top finishes at the Dubai Desert Classic and China.

Current favourites Victor Perez and Rasmus Hojgaard both disappointed last week at the Dutch Open, and whilst that occurred in completely differing circumstances, they give nagging doubts to what would otherwise be solid claims on class alone.

The Frenchman hadn’t recovered from a week away at Oak Hill when missing the cut, but probably should have won here last year when eventually third, and his ball-striking doesn’t quite have the same sound at the moment. On the other side, the Dane star again had a chance to prove best last week, but for the fourth time in nine months, failed to go through with his effort after entering Sunday in the final two groups.

If wanting a player to link up all the chosen comp tracks, then Jordan Smith would be the selection, even at 20/1 or thereabouts. However, having been safely in the draw for the weekend after 12 holes of his second round at Bernardus, the 2017 Green Eagle champ completely lost control of his tee-to-green game, dropping nine shots in his last seven holes. The 30-year-old is made for this place, as his two further top-11 finishes indicate, but last week’s effort needs a large bunker of forgiveness and I’ll instead nail my colours (again) to Alexander Bjork, the man that beat Smith in China in 2018.

I was with the Swede last week based on crossover form, and this week he makes similar appeal being able to back up that Asian form with top finishes in Dubai, Abu Dhabi (see Casey) and Crans (Armitage and shock winner of this event Richard McEvoy). Of that sole victory at Topwin, it has to be of interest that former China Open specialist Alex Levy won the last running of the European Open at Bad Griesbach before finishing second and 13th here, whilst impossible-to-read HaoTong Li, the 2016 Topwin champ, was 18th on his only try around the monster that is Green Eagle.

Last week’s top-30 made it 10 cuts in a row for 2023, with some impressive displays through this first half of the year, including top-20 in Dubai, second in Ras and back-to-back fourth placings at both the Soudal and Italian Opens.

The 32-year-old ranks fifth for overall performance over the last 12 weeks comprising 32nd in total driving, 24th for ball-striking and 12th for putting. He is exploiting his excellent tee-to-green game, and now ranking in third for scrambling, remains one of the rare players that can recover well when missing their target – although at 19th for greens-in-regulation, this isn’t that often.

Bjork has made all four cuts here, with his last three finishes in the mid-20s, but is in probably the best form of his life. With doubts surrounding many of the rivals at the top, his constant barraging of the short stuff should see him challenging over the weekend.

Home favourite Yannik Paul has been well backed from a far-too-big early price, and there is a case for making him still value at 30+, but Jorge Campillo needs forgiving for an awful display from the front last weekend, even if that was an outlier to his otherwise excellent run, that includes a victory and top-10 in Italy.

There seem to be an awful lot of doubts about the top lot in the market (save a mere handful) so take a trip downtown and try nabbing a bit of value prices that will pay nicely should they nab a place.

Whilst Gavin Green would seem to be an obvious place to go, he sits in the range between 50/1 and 100/1, full of untapped talent and players, that have least not had too many chances to put their head in front.

Jordan Smith won on debut here, so it’s not impossible, and whilst Jeong Weon Ko may need another year or two to reach his peak, he is one that appeals as a ‘watch’ for the rest of 2023.

The French-born Korean dominated his home junior scene before taking his time through the Alps and Challenge Tours, eventually settling in during the second half of 2022. From July to September, Ko played 14 times, recording four top five finishes, two further top-10s and a pair of top-20s, those results including a fourth place finish at the Challenge Tour finale.

His rookie season at this level started well with a 30th and fourth place in Africa, and he has since progressed steadily as the DPWT ramped it up a level.

Top-20 finishes in Korea, India and Belgium, where he was in second place at halfway, suggest he should soon be competing on a Sunday, whilst in-between those, a third-round 67 was enough to launch him to inside the top 10 at St. Francis Links.

On the tour-tips.com 12-week tracker, Ko ranks 12th with positions inside the top-30 for all the relevant stats.

15th for distance, 25th for greens, and top-10 for par-5s, he has a bit of Green about him but without the question marks. Whilst he hasn’t won on the professional stage, his second to bomber Daniel Hillier at the Swiss Challenge reads nicely, as does his top-15 at the Di-Data in 2021 when surrounded by longer hitters, and he appears to be of the quality that will leave these results behind in time.

Hillier himself can be fancied, especially after last week’s fifth at the Dutch Open, but I’ll go with the man that beat him by a single shot last week in the shape of Deon Germishuys.

The DPWT rookie has already had a season to remember, leading home fellow South African Wilco Nienaber at U.S Open qualifying at Walton Heath at the beginning of May, and securing his ticket to his first major.

Interestingly, two of the other five qualifying spots were won by Alejandro Del Rey and Matthieu Pavon, all four names being some of the longest drivers on the tour.

That may well have been the boost that pushed the 23-year-old to record his best effort on the DPWT so far, his third at the Dutch Open marking another step up from the 15th in Belgium just two weeks previous, and a top-10 in Japan when just behind Macintyre, Paul, Smith and Campillo.

In what is a fledgling career, this event starts just a few days after the anniversary of his first victory on his home Sunshine Tour where he beat some of the country’s longest hitters to the biggest prize for a non co-sanctioned tournament, before nabbing his DPWT card via a 20th place ranking at the end of the Challenge Tour season.

The three mentioned top-15 finishes have all appeared on his card since the beginning of April, and this rapidly-improving player now has last weekend’s finish fresh in the mind, finishing in front of Meronk et al, despite not being able to buy a putt on Sunday.

A lot of what Deon is doing on the course reminds me of compatriot Dean Burmester, who had a terrific record at the Di-Data at Farncourt, something being repeated by the younger man (20th and 7th). Now signed by LIV, Burmy also had a solid record at Albatross and in Italy, where a best of fifth place should have been higher at the bizarre Chervo track, biased towards long-hitters but won by a demon putter instead.

I’m tempted by the names Tom Mckibbin, nowhere near a finished article and keen to attack this course, flusher Dan Bradbury, and bomber Marcus Helligkilde (still not convinced he is absolutely one-hundred percent), but they may only make the top-10/20 bets.

Kalle Samooja should go well in his bid to defend his crown, but I’m taking fellow Finn Tapio Pulkkanen to improve on his 18th here last year with the chance to again make his length count.

Having won both the Nordic League (2015) and the Challenge Tour Order of Merit (2017), the be-hatted one was always going to be a player to look out for and, in truth, it hasn’t really happened.

However, his case lies with the best of his efforts, all of which combine to believe that should organisers stretch this course to over 7500-yards at any point, then he is one of a few that could handle the layout.

Silver and bronze at the Czech Masters, Pulkkanen thrived on the open layout of the Dunhill Links, finishing top-10 twice since 2019. Add those to a second (Hainan) and 14th in China, top-20 finishes in Dubai and Himmerland, as well as good finishes at the classier BMW at Wentworth and he just needs to show something to make appeal at one of only half-a-dozen tracks that he could be fancied around.

The 33-year-old led in Chervo in 2019 before showing he enjoys Italy with his best-of-the-season 16th at the Marco Simone at the beginning of May, where he should have done better, having been in the top five for all the first three rounds.

By no means one to place maximum faith in, he is similar to the likes of Veerman and Joakim Lagergren in that they suit certain types of tracks, and they are the only ones they could be backed at. This one, Green Eagle, together with Pulkkanen, seems like one of those times.