This article was machine-translated from the Korean original. Read the Korean original
I was definitely hitting well at the driving range. The club head struck the back of the ball with a satisfying crisp sound that echoed through the room, and the trajectory unfolding on the screen flew straight as if measured with a ruler. My pro also instilled confidence in me, saying, "Now all you have to do is go out on the course and swing comfortably." However, today, as I stepped onto the grass with excitement, my body froze stiff, like the body of a stranger. When I take my address, my mind goes blank regarding how to start the backswing, and my playing partner's advice to relax actually causes me to grip even tighter. The ball curves wildly to the right and disappears into the woods, and my approach shots around the green repeatedly dig into the grass, leaving me with a disastrous score.
On the way home, a sense of guilt and inexplicable sadness washes over me. 'Why am I spending this expensive money and precious weekend time to put myself through this stress?' I turn on YouTube and search for technical videos like 'correcting driver slices' or 'how to hit the ball squarely with irons,' but the perfect swings of the pros on screen only make me more anxious. When our swing is tangled and our play is stalling, what we need is not blind practice that further overworks our bodies. We need a mental refresh to unravel the tangled knots of our thoughts, one by one, and loosen the screws of our tightly bound minds.
This is because, although golf may seem like a physical sport, it is actually a 'mental game' that strictly follows the trajectory of the mind. Interestingly, as you read a thin essay filled with life's wisdom, you discover a 'parallel theory' revealing that the tangled knots of your life and the missed shots on the course bear a surprising resemblance. Today, the tenth story of 'WILD IMAGINATION' is not a golf technical manual, but a tale about bedtime life essays that will soothe a weary mind and restore balance to your swing, along with the philosophy of golf hidden within them.
011. "It Takes 3 Years to Let Go" — How to Lighten Your Enthusiasm for Life
There is a phrase you hear until it becomes ingrained in your mind while learning golf: "Relax your shoulders," and "Grip gently, as if holding an egg." However, the moment the desire to send the ball far and straight takes over the brain, the body reacts in the opposite way. It is an irony that the excessive eagerness to play well stiffens the muscles throughout the body, and that rigidity ultimately leads to the worst possible mis-shot.
These principles of golf align perfectly with the way we live our daily lives. The compulsion to perform well and the impatience to be recognized by others often ruin the swing of life. At times like these, books well-suited to read by your bedside are everyday essays that discuss the attitude of living "comfortably and effortlessly."
- Escaping the Trap of Perfectionism: Many essayists say that many mistakes in life occur when we become overly immersed and struggle too hard to do something well. The same is true for golf. Rather than trying to smash the ball down as if to crush it, the ball flies farthest and follows a beautiful trajectory when you simply let it drop, feeling the weight of the club head.
- Loosening the grip: As I lie in bed at night, turning the pages of a thin essay and imprinting words like "So what if it's a little clumsy?" and "Even if my life's score wasn't that great today, the sun will rise tomorrow," I am amazed to find that the tension in my shoulders and wrists, which had been so tight on the tee box, gently relaxes. Only when effortless comfort becomes ingrained in my body does my true, smooth swing tempo finally emerge.
022. "Forget the hole already passed" — The practice of letting go of regret and lingering attachments
The reason golf is cruel is that the mistake made just on the previous hole follows you like a ghost through the next and the hole after that, holding you back. After recording a triple bogey on the first hole, the regret from the first hole lingers in your mind even when you stand on the tee box of the second. 'I shouldn't have used the utility club then,' 'I should have putted a little more aggressively.' A mind trapped in the past prevents you from focusing on your current shots, ultimately staining the entire 18 holes with regret and self-reflection.
For golfers who cannot coolly forget past mistakes and kick their blankets in frustration all night, mindfulness essays that teach 'how to let go of past emotions and stay fully in the present' serve as an excellent prescription.
- A ball that has already passed is not yours: Amidst the countless choices of life, we always live with regret. However, just as a ball that has already gone out of bounds will not return to the fairway no matter how much you lament it, being bound by past choices only causes you to miss the opportunities in life that are right before your eyes.
- Treat every hole like a new first hole: Let's simulate the "practice of letting go" while reading the gentle sentences in books. Resolutions such as "That was the best I could have done back then" and "Let go of the past and focus on where I stand right now" become powerful weapons on the course. A solid mentality that allows you to cast your gaze entirely on the single small white ball lying at your feet, regardless of the score on the previous hole—that is the fine line that separates a true master from a novice.
033. "The grass simply stays in its place" — A center unshaken by external circumstances
When we step out onto the field, countless variables shake us up. From a sudden strong headwind, damp grass, interruptions in the flow of the game caused by the group ahead, to the stares of playing partners staring intently at us. If our inner core is not solid, these external stimuli easily shake our swing trajectory, and our mental fortitude crumbles like a sandcastle in an instant.
I recommend a simple essay that tells the story of 'how to find inner peace through the principles of nature' to golfers in their 20s and 30s who are exhausted from being easily swayed by the opinions of others or the standards of the world.
I found that my scores are better on days when I feel at ease than on days when I play well. Ultimately, the golf course is a mirror that reflects my state of mind exactly.10-year single golfer
- The aesthetics of acceptance that acknowledges the difficulty of the course: If the wind blows, simply lower the trajectory of your shot as it blows; if the grass is wet, hit down on the ball with a slightly steeper clubface. It is an attitude of calmly accepting reality as it is and making the best choice possible, rather than resenting the environment or trying to change it.
- Becoming Free from the Gaze of Others: The comfort conveyed by the sentences in these essays is always clear. It is to "turn your heart's antenna inward, even amidst all the noise of the world." Let go of the worry about how your playing partners view your shots or whether you will be ashamed of your score. The wind, the grass, and the gaze of your partners are merely background elements existing in that place. When you realize the essence that the only things that matter are you, the ball, and the flagstick in the distance, a quiet atmosphere unique to you begins to linger on the field.
04Outro: Closing the book, looking forward to next week's tea box
The English word 'peruse,' while meaning 'to read thoroughly,' carries the etymological meaning of 'to observe closely.' The time spent turning the pages of a sophisticated essay, one by one, at my bedside is ultimately a time of healing—a time to quietly look into and observe the shape of my heart, which has been battered and wounded on the vast fields of golf and daily life.
Let's not stay up all night trying to correct the swing angles in YouTube videos to evoke the frustration of a day when our swing didn't work out. Instead, let's linger among sentences that warmly soothe our hearts and gently stretch the stiff muscles of our minds. When we learn from books how to let go of the desire to hit well, let go of lingering regrets over past mistakes, and become detached from the gaze of others, our inner mental trajectory will finally find a perfectly symmetrical balance.
A weekend night, quietly closing the book and turning off the lamp. A pleasant sense of ease fills my heart, now much lighter. "Today's score was a bit disappointing, but so what? I feel like I'll be able to swing much more enjoyably and smoothly next weekend." In this way, through a single book, we grow into more mature and sophisticated golfers with our own wonderful philosophies and tastes, even off the course. Play More, Read Deeper, Swing Free!
