There is a person named Cindy Reid. She is an American and a woman. When he was young, his family was not well off. Like most of the main characters in a touching legend.
Fortunately, his body was strong. Because of it, he got on the softball team and got a scholarship to barely finish college. Then he became a part-time PE teacher at an elementary school.
It was thanks to his tight budget that he first encountered golf. He landed a part-time job at a public golf course (commonly called the Public Course). It was a place introduced by a friend. When he finished his school work, he went to the golf course and drove around the course in a food and beverage vending machine remodeled from an electric golf cart. It was a job to go from hole to hole and sell drinks when a golfer called. I worked like that and added the allowance and tips I received to livelihood.
It was around the time when I was tired of the repetitive routine. His friend took him to the driving range (outdoor golf driving range). The friend was learning golf from a fairly reputable golf instructor. After being introduced by a friend, the instructor briefly explained how to hold a golf club and asked me to give it a shot. Cindy Reid hit the ball as hard as she could. Was it fate? The ball made a sound and flew away through the air.
At this point, I can’t help but look back on how Baepsae Kim Yong-jun’s first swing was. My first swing is hmm hmm! It was a swing. I swung a few times, but the golf club cut through the air every time. Nevertheless, I was obsessed with golf and eventually became a professional golfer at the age of 40. So don’t just look at someone’s first swing and predict his limits.
Oops, the conversation has leaked elsewhere. Let’s go back to Cindy Reid.
Cindy Reid’s eyes must have widened at the thrill that any golfer would have felt at least once. The instructor asked if it would be like learning how to play golf. Cindy Reid wanted to do the same. But I couldn’t afford to pay for lessons. After hearing the pity, the tutor said he would teach without paying the lesson fee.
Instead, he said, “If you’re going to do it, don’t come to me again.” At this point, I was stumped. I teach golf too, but how easy is it to open up to someone regardless of profit? Maybe that’s why I’m still staying at the 5th level merchant. Are you a 5th grade resident? If you ask me what I’m talking about, I’m sure you’re the first reader to read Baepsae Kim’s pro column. Today is already the 3rd episode, so please read the previous episodes.
That’s how Cindy Reid started her fateful golf life. He saved $150 from his part-time job and saved up tips for a set of used golf clubs at a local lost and found center. And he practiced at the golf course three times a day without missing a day. At dawn, he practiced his putting and short game (roughly 10 to 30m) on the putting green, then went to work at school. He had a quick lunch and practiced his short game at the golf course. It is a very enviable thing for us living in Korea where there is little space to practice short game. There is a golf course that allows you to use the practice green for free even if you do not play a round!
He still had to drive a drinks cart on the golf course when his school days were over. And only then could he take lessons and practice his long game at the driving range. However, the way he practiced is pitiful to listen to. He couldn’t afford to hit a lot of practice balls, so he could only hit one basket a day. He said it was only five dollars a basket. After all, he practiced for about two hours each time with that one basket that could fit less than a hundred golf balls. How is that possible? He says he took a dozen more practice swings before he hit one ball at a time.
Cindy Reid practiced like this almost without missing a day for two years. Even without ever going out to the field. Because he couldn’t afford to pay the green fee. Then the opportunity finally came. A teacher invited him to play a round with two members of the LPGA. When he said he had no money to pay the green fee, he even said he would pay.바카라
So he went on the first round of his life. And that too with two LPGA pros from the white tee (female professional golfers usually play from the white tee). How many strokes Cindy Reid hit that day will have to be told in the next episode. Because the space allowed is full.
If you have anything you want to share about golf with professional ‘Baepsae’ Kim Yong-jun, please send an email to Gmail (ironsmithkim).
▶ Kim Yong-jun, a KPGA pro
, fell in love with golf while running a business after working as a newspaper reporter. After knocking on the door for a while, he soon became discouraged and became a referee for the KPGA Korean Tour. He made up for the regret of not being able to go on tour by occasionally showing his side profile on TV while making judgments. He was in charge of relaying golf channels for a while and appeared on golf entertainment programs. He is now working as an adjunct professor in the golf department of a certain university.