In early December 2022, there was no time to cancel the booking due to a sudden cold wave.
The temperature dropped by almost 10 degrees more than usual, and the ground and grass all froze. Armed as heavily as possible, we arrived at a golf course near Seoul around 8:00 in the morning.
On the other hand, I also heard the expectation that I could learn the taste and skills of winter golf. The cold air from the mountain enveloped my whole body, but fortunately the sun did not blow the wind.
The temperature was still hovering below freezing. Among the companions, there was a winter master. He had already arrived at the clubhouse an hour earlier and had his preparations completed.
He was different from his attire. He was fully armed with a hot pack, a fur hat with earplugs, a neck warmer that covered his mouth, and gloves on both hands. He was wearing thick winter socks and studded golf shoes.
These days, golf shoes made of iron studs are not available, and most golf shoes are made of rubber studs or non-slip bottom materials. He wore several layers of thin clothing over functional underwear, and a windbreaker was worn on the outside.
At first, he wondered if he needed to prepare so cumbersomely, but he realized the reason while playing golf. It’s good to keep in mind the saying that wearing thin and freezing to death in winter golf.
One person arrived at the teeing area late. According to the rules of golf, if you arrive within 5 minutes of starting, you lose per hole in match play and get a penalty of one stroke in stroke play. If you arrive after 5 minutes, you will be disqualified.
In the teeing area, according to the caddy’s guidance, Gosu stretched enough and warmed up by swinging the club lightly. My first tee shot ended up sending the ball into the right side of the penalty area.
Gosu made a smooth swing about 70% of the time. He was different from me, who didn’t use his upper body at all and hit the ball face down with his hands only. His biggest struggle was his approach shot.
I tried two-on every time, but the ball bounced off the green. He laid the trajectory low, dropped the ball far in front of the green, and made it roll on the green strangely.
Eventually, I asked him for advice. He told me the secret that if you hold a club longer, put your weight on your left foot, and hit the club face higher than usual, the trajectory will be lower. On winter greens, if the trajectory is low, the ball does not bounce much.바카라사이트
Near the green, I benefited from using a rolling strategy. Coincidentally, the ball rolled with the 8-iron 10m in front of the green hit the flagpole, hit the pin straight into the hole, and caught a birdie.
I rarely saw him lift a wedge that day. Near the green, he unconditionally rolled the ball with an iron and put it on the green. It was to prevent topping or back ground.
There were even moments when he almost fell. A companion stumbled down a low wooden staircase after a shot from the teeing area. I managed to keep my balance and there were no accidents. The moment I finished my tee shot, my caddy informed me that it was common to slip and fall down the stairs because I was relaxed.
The day warmed up a bit in the second half, but it was still cold on the shady course. Gosu caught the par with an exquisite bunk shot. Holding his stance with his feet, he checked to see if the sand had frozen, then held his pitching wedge short, turned his body slightly toward the pin, and gently shot a bunker shot. The ball went over his chin and landed right near the pin, conceding.
It was not a bunker shot (explosion shot) that knocked out sand as if exploding it. On this day, if the sand in the bunker is completely frozen, a winter rule was made to take the ball out with no penalty strokes to prevent accidents. In the unfrozen hard bunker, when his chin was low, Gosu used a putt or rolled an iron to hit the ball on the green.
Eventually, his other companion had a minor accident that left his arm painfully numb. At a distance of 120m in front of the green, I tried to put the ball on the green with an iron, but I ended up with a roaring sound. He liked the lie, so he missed the club that bounced on the frozen ground while shooting down as usual.
He was incomplete and could not properly play the 2nd and 3rd holes. It was a dangerous moment that could injure his entire arm and body. Being greedy for birdie almost broke his ribs. According to the master, the correct answer is to hold one club long and sweep it in winter.
Winter putts are hard too. I rolled my putt as usual, but the ball fell far short of the pin, so I ended up doing 3 putts. Sometimes the greens were slow and sometimes they were fast, so I couldn’t control the power. The speed of drawing in the sun and in the shade was completely different. In frozen areas, the ball was slow, slipping or bouncing. I had to hit a putt, but it wasn’t really easy to control my strength.
He continued to hit the ball with putts and caught par several times with 2 putts. The winter green is hard and the ball seems to roll well, but in reality it does not roll as well as usual. This is because of the skid phenomenon in which the ball slides on wet or thin ice. It was a valuable experience to learn winter tee shots, approach shots, bunk shots and putts from a master. I got about 7 strokes more than usual.
During the Corona 19 crisis, most golf courses are open this winter, riding a special golf course. Golf booking cannot be canceled for reasons such as cold, heat, fog, or snow or rain. Most of all, the secret to winter golf is to play the game without getting injured.