Post by jumpcut on Jun 20, 2021 16:51:39 GMT
The NY Times has discovered that night golf is popular in S. Korea...
Night Golf Is Taking Over South Korea
www.nytimes.com/2021/06/18/sports/golf/white-night-golf-south-korea.html
For golf fans worldwide, the game’s grip on the country is most easily observed in its surplus of elite professional players, particularly in the women’s game. As of last week, 32 of the top 100 players in the women’s world rankings, including 4 of the top 10, were from South Korea.
But on the ground, golf is very much a participatory pastime, even if the popularity of the sport and the undersupply of courses in metropolitan areas make opportunities to actually play scarce and expensive. Seoul, a city of nearly 10 million people, has only one course, and it is open only to military personnel.
According to Seo Chun-beom, president of the Korea Leisure Industry Institute, South Korea now boasts a whopping 117 golf courses of 18 holes or more (83 public courses, 34 private clubs) that offer nighttime play for willing golfers, with tee times as late as 8 p.m. Seo said there are countless other 9-hole courses that also feature floodlights and do not close until midnight or later.
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The sun may be long out of sight, but visors still rest atop many golfers’ heads. (A recent study found South Koreans spend more per capita on golf apparel and equipment than residents of any other country.)
And for all of the minor hassles, there is one considerable upside of being a night owl: Golf tans, at least, are out of the question.
Night Golf Is Taking Over South Korea
www.nytimes.com/2021/06/18/sports/golf/white-night-golf-south-korea.html
For golf fans worldwide, the game’s grip on the country is most easily observed in its surplus of elite professional players, particularly in the women’s game. As of last week, 32 of the top 100 players in the women’s world rankings, including 4 of the top 10, were from South Korea.
But on the ground, golf is very much a participatory pastime, even if the popularity of the sport and the undersupply of courses in metropolitan areas make opportunities to actually play scarce and expensive. Seoul, a city of nearly 10 million people, has only one course, and it is open only to military personnel.
According to Seo Chun-beom, president of the Korea Leisure Industry Institute, South Korea now boasts a whopping 117 golf courses of 18 holes or more (83 public courses, 34 private clubs) that offer nighttime play for willing golfers, with tee times as late as 8 p.m. Seo said there are countless other 9-hole courses that also feature floodlights and do not close until midnight or later.
---------------------
The sun may be long out of sight, but visors still rest atop many golfers’ heads. (A recent study found South Koreans spend more per capita on golf apparel and equipment than residents of any other country.)
And for all of the minor hassles, there is one considerable upside of being a night owl: Golf tans, at least, are out of the question.
