This article was machine-translated from the Korean original. Read the Korean original
01Prologue: A Cruel Noise Raid That Shatters the Silence of Dawn
At 6:30 on Saturday morning, the fog of the prestigious course nestled at the foot of the mountain quietly blankets the fairway. Stepping onto the teeing ground, even the sound of the wind holds its breath, and only the refreshing chirping of nameless mountain birds from afar brushes past your ears. It is the moment you set down your bag, tighten your gloves, and fully focus on the sounds of nature and your inner breath. This time of silence, so still it borders on sacred, is the ultimate meditation and the essence of luxurious healing that golfers, worn down by the noise of the city and the stress of the concrete jungle, can enjoy on the fairway for just one day on the weekend.
However, the moment the tee shot on the first hole is finished and the cart starts sliding toward the fairway, this noble mood of nature instantly degenerates into an unpleasant and vulgar marketplace.
This is because Mr. Han, a companion sitting in the back of the cart, stealthily takes a red portable Bluetooth speaker out of his pouch bag and hangs it on the cart's net. With a mechanical "click," the smartphone pairs, and soon, techno trot music with bizarre beats or stale 70s and 80s acoustic guitar songs burst forth, making hearts pound uncontrollably across the green grass and the foothills. The noise echoing through the cart speaker amplifier strikes the mental state of the other team's players and caddies preparing for their tee shots on the next hole.
What is even more absurd is the fact that no one dares to openly scowl and tell the speakers to turn them off regarding this blatant "auditory terror" that anyone who has played a round at a South Korean golf course encounters once or twice a week. Pushed aside by Korea's uniquely awkward business relationships or the ignorant logic of enthusiasts who claim that "you need to listen to exciting music to hit the ball well," golfers with hearing comparable to that of non-smokers are forced to share the suffering for five hours straight inside moving carts blasting loud noise, much like non-smokers endure cigarette smoke.
Established media outlets, surviving on advertising fees from major manufacturers and promotional partnerships with golf courses, turn a blind eye to this phenomenon, packaging it with the absurd and forced frame of "golfers' free spirit and cheerful energy on the course." This is because those "noise-generating middle-aged men" are precisely the primary consumer base that splurges on golf equipment without discrimination.
However, Club14, which dissects the hypocrisy and chronic bad habits on and off the field in Korea with a sharp microscope, does not tolerate this cartel of silence. This article is a full-scale, targeted essay that starkly and realistically uncovers the nuisance psychology of some middle-aged golfers who let out a trot-style vocal bend the moment a playing partner reaches the top of their backswing, confidently place speakers next to their tee markers, and mistake the great outdoors for their own giant karaoke room.
02Shameless Behavior 1: "It's exciting!" — Trot vibes that ruin a playing partner's backswing
The most fatal and ill-mannered behavior committed by some golf course Bluetooth speaker enthusiasts on the field is a lack of respect for their playing tempo and concentration.
As has been emphasized countless times before, golf is a static mental sport that demands extreme concentration. In the mere few seconds from taking the address to striking the ball, a golfer mentally calculates the tempo countless times and visualizes the swing trajectory. In this fleeting moment, even the sound of a twig snapping or the faint footsteps can be a fatal distraction that mercilessly shakes the player's balance.
However, the noise villains who left their common sense in the sauna do not even think to turn down the volume of the trot music playing from the cart, even when their companion is on the teeing ground watching the aiming. Instead, they stomp their feet and swing their hands in unison to the beat of the music.
The real tragedy occurs at the moment a playing partner passes the top of the backswing and comes down with the strongest impact. Just then, the speakers explode with a "boom" of a trot singer's flashy, shrieking vocal technique or an exciting drum beat. Resounding on an open outdoor fairway, rather than a closed indoor screen golf facility, this bizarre sound instantly disrupts the auditory cells of the golfer swinging.
The result is invariably a missed-timing shank or a terrible out-of-bounds shot. When the angry golfer turns around, President Han, fiddling with the speaker, brazenly turns the tables and quipped, "Oh, Mr. Kim, was the music tempo too fast just now? I'll switch it to a calmer ballad for the next hole."
It is an arrogant and ignorant selfishness that does not care about the fact that the noise pollution it caused has miserably destroyed its friend's swing rhythm, and believes that a nicotine-level music rush to please its own ears is more important.
03Disgraceful Behavior 2: "This is manner music" — The frequency of nuisance spreading to the adjacent hall
The second disgraceful behavior witnessed by speaker villains on the field is the infringement of the golf course's most basic rules, namely etiquette toward other teams and the right to silence.
They claim that they turned the volume down low enough to be heard only inside the cart, but due to the nature of the golf course located in the mountains, the sound echoes through the valleys and spreads far beyond imagination. The lyrics of Manager Park's favorite song clearly pierce not only the hole I am playing, but also the ears of golfers from other teams preparing for their second shots on the fairway and green of the adjacent hole.
Hey, why is that kart out on the field playing karaoke music and making such a fuss?Golfer on the adjacent hole
Even when players on the adjacent hole stare in disbelief and send silent protests through their caddies, they remain indifferent. Instead, they raise their voices, saying, "Listening to music in nature is emotionally calming and good for manners, but kids these days are too sensitive."
It is a one-dimensional mindset that prioritizes their own excitement above all else, mercilessly shattering the concentration of users from other teams who are facing a careful 1.5-meter par putt on the green. It is a bitter scene where the inherent tranquility and dignity of a golf course are completely degraded to the level of a nightlife district by a single cheap Chinese speaker costing only a few tens of thousands of won.
04Disgraceful Behavior 3: "Don't you know youthful vibes?" — Hipster gaslighting using idol music as a weapon
A new noise trend that has recently emerged among young golfers and business owners in their 40s who pretend to be stylish is "hipster gaslighting using idol music or trendy pop songs as a weapon." While criticizing seniors for listening to trot music as being "old-fashioned," they bombard the ears of those around them by packaging the loud EDM or girl group dance music they blast from their carts as "trendy golf culture."
If a partner subtly hints at discomfort that the music is too loud, they immediately resort to gaslighting.
Brother, these days it's the trend on the US PGA Tour for players to practice with loud music playing. Have you been to LIV Golf? There, they even set up a DJ booth right at the course and play music. We should enjoy golf in a hip way now, too.Anonymous boss in his 40s
This is a truly brazen and self-serving interpretation. There is a completely different issue between professional players playing music during exhibition games or at private practice facilities and ordinary amateurs forcibly injecting noise pollution into others at regular membership courses where strict etiquette is enforced.
The brain structure of those who seek to defend only their own 'hipness' while blocking the auditory freedom of others on a field without soundproof walls operates solely for the sake of showing off on social media feeds, completely paralyzing the inherent etiquette of sports.
05Editor's Note: Turn off the speakers and turn on Mother Nature's score
Golf is an honest and noble sport. A golfer's true 'class' is perfected on the wide-open green grass by listening to the sounds of nature and focusing on the sound of one's own breath and the clean, crisp sound of the club head gliding across the grass. Even if one is draped in designer clothing worth millions of won and limited-edition custom equipment, a golfer who torments their fellow players with the noise of a Bluetooth speaker hanging from the side of the cart is no longer a gentleman but merely a pest on the fairway.
The true dignity of a master is not achieved by the low numbers written on the scorecard, but rather by the self-control to prioritize the pristine silence of one's companions over one's own desire for entertainment, and by the impeccable etiquette of leaving not a single speck of noise on the grass throughout the round.
To all you middle-aged business owners out there tonight, stuffing your latest wireless speakers into your golf pouches just to charge them, thinking only about livening up the atmosphere during next weekend's round: I urge you to turn off the power button on the device in your hand for a moment before the next tee-off bell rings, and instead, as the sole honest sportsman, first check your noise etiquette on the course.
Rather than irresponsible beats that block the air at the foot of the mountain, receiving sincere respect from your playing partners as you simply and cleanly take off your gloves on the 18th hole green and say, "Thanks to the serene silence you gave me today, my mind and swing were clear throughout the round"—that is truly the most valuable and greatest 'gentleman's class' you can reach through the genre of golf.
