This article was machine-translated from the Korean original. Read the Korean original
01Prologue: A Foul Smell Tearing Through the Freshness of Nature
The morning at the golf course, reached by pushing through the dawn fog, is brutally beautiful. Dew glistening on the well-tended bentgrass catches the morning sunlight, sparkling like jewels, and the scent of phytoncides from deep in the mountains—something never found in the city—awakens every cell in the body. Walking 18 holes while breathing honestly in and out amidst this refreshing natural environment—that is truly the most luxurious and gentlemanly time for healing that weekend golfers can enjoy, having escaped the stifling forest of concrete buildings. The air the moment you step onto the first teeing ground after a light stretch with your companions is, quite literally, harmlessness itself.
However, the moment the cart stops at the waiting area for the next hole after passing the second hole of the front nine, this peaceful and noble natural mood instantly turns into an unpleasant scene of terror.
This is because President Park, one of the companions, pulls out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket with practiced movements the moment he gets out of the cart. With a "hiss," the fire is lit, and soon white cigarette smoke billows out between the green grass and trees. Carried by the gentle breeze, the foul smell of cigarettes spreads across the entire fairway, mercilessly stinging the noses of the other companions and the caddie who were quietly preparing for their tee shots.
What is even more absurd is the fact that no one dares to openly blush and stop this blatant "secondhand smoke terror," which anyone who has set foot on the grass at a South Korean golf course encounters every week. Pushed aside by Korea's uniquely awkward relationships with playing partners or the shallow logic of smoking golfers who claim that "smoking a cigarette on the course is the only joy of the weekend," non-smokers are forced to share the suffering inside a moving chemical warfare cart for five hours straight.
Established media outlets, which survive on advertising fees from major manufacturers and partnership promotions with golf courses, turn a blind eye to this phenomenon, packaging it within the absurd frame of "golfers' free rest and romance on the course." This is because those heavy-smoking old farts are the very main consumer base that lavishly buys golf course equipment.
However, Club14, which dissects the hypocrisy and chronic bad habits on and off the field in South 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 golfers who exhale smoke at the moment of a playing partner's driver impact, secretly discard cigarette butts next to tee markers, and mistake Mother Nature for their own giant smoking room.
02Disgraceful Behavior 1: "Just send it and smoke it" — An impactful acting villain that shakes their partner's mental state
The most fatal and ill-mannered behavior some heavy smokers commit on the course is a lack of respect for their playing partners' timing.
Golf is a mental sport that demands extreme concentration. In the mere few seconds from addressing the ball to striking it, a golfer focuses all their attention on the direction of the wind, the grain of the grass, and the rhythm of their body. In this fleeting moment, even the slightest rustling sound or subtle movement becomes a fatal distraction that can mercilessly disrupt the player's swing trajectory.
However, the heavy-smoking villains who left their common sense in the locker room brazenly take a deep drag of cigarette smoke next to the cart behind their playing partner while the partner is on the teeing ground tightening their gloves. Then, at the most critical moment of impact, as the partner passes the top of the backswing and descends into the downswing, they exhale the smoke they had been holding back with a long "hoo."
The smell of burnt smoke carried by the wind to the middle of the fairway and the white afterimages obscuring the vision momentarily disrupt the brain cells of the golfer swinging.
The result is invariably a vicious slice or an out-of-bounds shot caused by lifting the head. When the angry golfer turns around, President Park puts on a performance of feigning disappointment, stealthily hiding the smoke behind his back with a cigarette held between his fingers. "Oops, Mr. Kim, your aim was just slightly to the right. The club face was too open when it hit."
It is shameless selfishness that doesn't care at all that the toxic gas it emitted destroyed its friend's mental state, believing only that the nicotine refill between its fingers is more important.
03Disgraceful Behavior 2: Dark History Blooming on the Grass — Masters of Illegal Cigarette Butt Disposal and 'Zapping Out'
The second transgression of smokers on the field is the 'ruthless destruction of the turf and environment,' which are the golf course's most valuable assets.
Recently, most prestigious courses place ashtrays inside golf carts or provide designated smoking areas around the teeing grounds of each hole. However, for villains who are like walking time bombs, these guidelines are merely rules meant to be easily ignored.
They smoke while walking along the fairway preparing for their second shot, and when they reach the vicinity of the green, they nonchalantly toss the burning cigarette butt onto the green grass. Then, they extinguish the butt by rubbing it out with the spikes of their golf shoes, coolly burning the grass.
The sight of those who show off with luxury shafts worth millions of won and limited-edition custom heads, yet leave behind black tar stains and cigarette butts on the grass they played on as a legacy, is the epitome of the nouveau riche mentality.
Some inconsiderate seniors even secretly stuff cigarette butts into pieces of wood used as tee markers or into the corners of flowerbeds. After the round, the caddies, who must clean up the area left behind, end up holding piles of crumpled cigarette butts and ash instead of scorecards recording strokes. This is a terribly selfish and filthy duplicity hidden behind the sweet words of those who claim to play golf out of a love for nature.
04Disgraceful Behavior 3: E-cigarette Gaslighting Inside a Locked Cart
A new nuisance trend that has recently emerged among young golfers and middle-aged business owners trying to act stylish is "e-cigarette gaslighting inside golf carts." Using the excuse that they do not produce a strong smell like traditional cigarettes and the smoke evaporates quickly, they brazenly puff on e-cigarettes inside golf carts enclosed on all sides by plastic tarpaulins during winter or night rounds.
Manager Kim, this is fruit-scented, so it doesn't smell. It's harmless to you, too. It's just steam, steam.Anonymous golf course smoker
It is truly shameless and ignorant gaslighting. No matter how fragrant the mango or grape scent may be, it is clearly a chemical substance containing nicotine and a substance of secondhand smoke that causes severe headaches to others.
The insides of subordinates and non-smoking companions, who have to endure the full force of their boss's e-cigarette smoke on their clothes and hair inside the tightly sealed cart like a soundproof wall, burn darker than the stress of the week.
The brain structure of those trapped in the self-justification that "it is polite smoking because it doesn't smell" operates solely to safeguard their own smoking urges, completely paralyzing the respiratory health of others and public etiquette on the field.
05Editor's Note: Put out the cigarette smoke and turn on the gentleman's breath
Golf is an honest and noble sport. A golfer's true class is perfected in the process of honestly facing oneself amidst wide-open nature, breathing in fresh air, and controlling the tempo of the swing. Even if a golfer covers their entire body with millions of won worth of expensive brand logos, a golfer who causes suffering to their playing partners with toxic fumes spewing from their mouth is no longer a gentleman but merely a pest on the course.
The true dignity of a master is not achieved through a single-digit score on the scorecard, but rather through the self-control to prioritize a playing partner's clean breathing over one's own smoking urge, and by leaving a clean trail behind without leaving a single cigarette butt on the grass throughout the round.
To the avid smokers and business owners who tonight are packing the latest e-cigarettes or expensive cigar cutters into their golf bags, thinking only of showing off during next weekend's round: Before the next tee-off bell rings, I recommend that you bury the cigarette stuck between your fingers deep inside your pouch for a moment and first check your smoking etiquette on the field as a truly honest sportsman.
Rather than irresponsible smoke that blocks the fresh scent of nature, taking off your gloves cleanly and simply on the 18th hole green and receiving sincere respect from your playing partners saying, "Thanks to your manners today, my lungs 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.
