I was never a golfer.
Growing up, I played basketball and soccer. I loved sports, competition, training, and working out. Golf was never really on my radar.
That changed last September. Just 8 months ago.
My wife’s aunt and uncle visited us in Toronto from Korea. They were absolute golf fanatics. Out of the three weeks they stayed with us, they wanted to golf almost every single day — except for the five days they flew to Alberta to see the Rockies.
They asked me to help book tee times all over the Greater Toronto Area. Cheap courses. Expensive courses. Public courses. Bougie courses. Everything.
They also invited me to join them, along with my mother-in-law, which made us a group of four.
That was my first real golf experience on a proper golf course.
Technically, it wasn’t my very first exposure to golf ever.
I grew up in Vancouver, so over the years I had casually tried driving ranges and pitch-and-putt courses here and there. I had also done screen golf with friends whenever I visited Korea.
But honestly, I was terrible.
I never took golf seriously, and I definitely didn’t think it was a sport I would ever get into long-term.
In Korea, there is a funny expression people say when they bring someone golfing for the very first time:
“머리 세워줬다”
It literally translates to something like:
“They stood your hair up for you.”
Weird translation, I know.
But culturally, it basically means someone introduced you to the world of golf for the first time.
At that point, I had absolutely no idea how golf bookings worked, so I downloaded the GolfNow app to figure things out.
For our first day, I booked Kirby Links, an 18-hole par-3 course.
Haha…rookie mistake.
My wife’s aunt and uncle thought it was too easy and were already bored by the end of the round, but honestly, I had an amazing time.
By around hole 9, my forearms were already hurting because I was trying to crush the ball with all my strength every swing. I had no understanding of tempo, technique, or how effortless good golfers actually make the game look.
That first round also became my introduction to golf etiquette.
They taught me:
- where to stand
- when to stay quiet
- how to respect pace of play
- how to repair divots and ball marks
- basic golf manners
They also explained how golf culture in Canada is much more relaxed compared to Korea.
In Korea, golf can feel much more formal, strict, and status-oriented. In Canada, the atmosphere felt more casual and welcoming, especially for beginners like me.
Why did I love it so much?
Honestly, it was everything around the game.
It was the perfect fall weather.
Blue skies.
Birds chirping.
Fresh green grass everywhere.
Being outside for hours without looking at my phone.
Coming from years of busy schedules, airports, flights, and city life, the golf course almost felt peaceful in a strange way.
But the thing that really hooked me was the sound.
That clean “pop” sound after a perfectly struck golf ball.
Hearing it echo across the course for the first time felt unbelievably satisfying.
Even as a complete beginner, I immediately understood why people become obsessed with golf—I understood what people meant by “catching the “Golf Bug”.”
Right after finishing all 18 holes, they immediately asked me to find another course. I guess 18 holes at a par 3 course was slightly disappointing to them. Again, I honestly thought it was great! Now that I know a slightly bit more about golf, I’d go there to practice my short game.
Luckily, I found an opening at Uplands Golf & Ski Club about 30 minutes later, which worked out perfectly because it took almost exactly that long to drive there from Kirby Links. Now, Uplands…that place was another level. We had thought we wouldn’t need a cart as we didn’t need one at Kirby Links so we just got one for my wife’s aunt and my mother in law. I was wrong. I should have paid attention to the.. “Ski Resort” part at Upland Golf AND Ski Resort. The place was hilly as hell. Imagine how I had felt for the uncle. Hahaha. “Aura Loss -100” (I think my 9 year old son would approve of using this phrase at this appropriate moment).
That was basically the beginning.
Since then, golf has slowly become more than just a random hobby I picked up later in life.
Now I want to improve. It’s only been 8 months since my first green. But I have to say, I was hooked after I hit that one good fluke ass shot that made the ball go pop.
But now I want to break 100. Consistently.
Play courses around the world during layovers— which I plan to make a YouTube series about “Golfing in (insert city) during my 24hr layover” (I’m a flight attendant— been one for almost 16years).
Experience golf culture in different countries.
And document the entire journey along the way.
I’m still terrible.
But maybe that’s the fun part.
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