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| Lee Won-be |
Lee Won-be, a KLPGA golf pro, is working at Nineplex in southern Seoul's affluent Gangnam District. She is a member of LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals (LPGA T&CP), which is the LPGA's teaching program to become a certified LPGA professional, the most authoritative teaching pro status in the United States. She said she is in the final step to receive Class A.
Lee expressed a deep interest in volunteerism. She was the finalist at the World Miss University (WMU) in 2014. That status helped her to pursue her dream of charity and donation. The competition was to select the representatives of the World University Peace Service Corporation Foundation who will later work on the U.N.'s International Year of Peace.
"I studied about world peace and my contribution towards it, with a focus on the services and efforts to pursue values such as curbing global warming," she said.
She said her experience at WMU helped boost her golf career. "I could create new relationships aside from golf. I felt refreshed when talking with people from diverse sectors of work. I learned about volunteerism, which I am eager to pursue through my job as a teaching pro."
As a graduate of Korea Golf University, Lee said she had difficulties when she was in college moving back and forth between Korea and the U.S. She had enough opportunities to explore her path by attending university since her school provided places to practice golf, including fields and short games. Also, the school offered different ways of earning a living such as golf businesses and fitting shops.
She completed the LPGA T&CP. "It is like a license to offer golf lessons. Specialized for amateur golfers, I help them find their swings by grasping at problems. It is mostly done through one-on-one lessons," she said.
"Surely there is a big merit in teaching with a certificate. It is more systematic and customized to each golfer to figure out their range of motion while swinging. I test each of my member's abilities and try to understand their personality in order to teach them well."
She said she is satisfied with her job and hopes to improve her lessons for members. "If one of my members gets a good score, I feel prouder than if I fared well."
Lee also completed a sports mental coaching program designed to help golfers maintain their mentality to play more effectively. "It is to make a routine for each player. It also aims to remove unnecessary routines and enhance concentration. I recommend the players to take a deep breath. It makes the muscles relax before the swing," she said.
"Golf is a sport that requires manners and mental strength. Men and women become equal on the field, in that they compete to get better scores. Therefore, it is very important to have a solid routine to get through the long-lasting rounds."
Regarding tips for female golfers, Lee suggested weight training. "Female golfers relatively lack muscular strength, so they hardly swing powerfully with a proper pose. However, flexibility is more important than muscular strength in golf. With low flexibility, they have difficulties swinging in full. Swinging can become more powerful by twisting the body with flexibility."
Lee is eager to improve her career as a teaching pro. "I enjoy my job a lot. I will keep enhancing my skills to teach amateur golfers more efficiently. I hope to offer positive energy to the people around me. Later, my dream is to donate and volunteer for people in need," she said.
Kim Hee-su is an intern at The Korea Times.
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