Virtual Golf

           This past Wednesday night Changsoo Lee (a Samsung Mfg Eng Manager) and Sung-Keun Kang (a.k.a. “Ken”, a Senior Samsung Mfg Eng Manager) took me out to play a round of golf after work. About a mile from work up we drove up a tall hill to a brand new, vacant 6-story building. The entire glass front first floor was empty but when we got out of the elevator on the 6^th floor it was an indoor golf paradise. It was a new building and the top floor was the best for golf because it had great views of Changwon at night. I tried on the largest golf shoe available and I think in America it was like an 8.5. With my size 11.5 foot it was clear I was going to tee off in my Converse sneakers. After the shoes came the glove which was the equivalent on me trying on a tee-ball baseball mitt. I could get my fingers inside but there was no chance of getting the Velcro to stay. At the end of the hallway was our room and inside it was about 600 sq. ft. of golfing fun. There was a large virtual golf projector screen and a very comfortable lounge couch with a small table.

The shoe locker between two golf rooms

The putting green in the main hallway

Myself, Changsoo Lee, Ken, and Ed

Tee Box

In the zone

            The golf course of choice was Pebble Beach up the coast in California. There were about 100 different courses to choose and only about ten were in the U.S. I find it ironic that I flew to Korea to play a golf course located in America. Pebble Beach was rated the most difficult course but at the same time it had the easiest greens. I ended up shooting a 94, a little over my 14-16 handicap. The hardest part was everything was in metric…wind speed in m/s, distance and elevation in meters. I was doing more math in my backswing than ever before. For those who have never played virtual golf, you just hit into a big projector and all these launch monitors track the ball and amplify it on the course.  It was easier to tee off and hit clubs because every stance was a perfect lie but harder to putt because you have to putt based on math in your head not on seeing the cup 10, 20, or 30ft ahead of you. Changsoo Lee and Ken were both around 22 handicaps but Changsoo Lee shot an amazing 79.

            Dinner during golf was Kimchi Soup, delivered. Delivery is very interesting because not only do they deliver but they also come back and pick up the dishes when you are done. The soup was spicy with a lot of onions and some pork, a very common Korean dish.

Kimchi Soup

            The entire round took just under four hours and we all had a great time. These guys golf here about one to two times per week so virtual golf and I are not done. The total cost was W25,000: W20,000 for golf and W5,000 for dinner. Rental clubs were free and very nice – all Taylormade Burner irons, woods, and a driver. One interesting thing about virtual golf here is that almost everyone plays it because it getting on a real course is easily $200. All virtual golf places are networked so players get a membership card that tracks statistics, loads money, and shows how you compare vs. your friends. The graphics were not quite like the latest video games but I would say they are comparable to a Playstation 2, about 5 years behind in modern videogaming. With all the technology required I am not surprised the graphics suffer a slight bit. The network is connected at all facilities so you can play at multiple locations through the year and be on the same system.  As an engineer and someone who likes statistics I think this is awesome and wish we had more virtual golf in America. This was a fun event and I really am enjoying getting to hang out with Koreans outside of work, it gives great insight to their true characters.