At Haesley 9 Bridges, souped-up carts of a slate of luxurious options.
GOLF
When you assume a caddie’s job is to maintain up and shut up, you haven’t performed golf in South Korea.
Like many features of the sport on this golf-mad nation — clubhouse design, course upkeep, delicacies and extra — caddie tradition goes above and past.
For starters, hiring a looper isn’t non-obligatory. Wherever you play in South Korea, caddies are required. And passive pack mules they aren’t. Membership choice? Certain. They assist with that. Ditto divot and ball-mark restore. However in addition they double as bartenders, pouring drinks at their purchasers’ request; vocal cheerleaders, crying “Good shot!” nearly each time they see one; scorekeepers; and — get this — chauffeurs. In South Korea, strolling the course is just about exceptional. Everybody takes carts, together with caddies, who pilot foursomes round in a five-person buggies, with all the luggage strapped to the again.
Virtually with out exception, these loopers are girls, a part of an more and more professionalized workforce that has steadily expanded for the reason that Nineties, when golf in South Korea started to growth. There are actually upward of 500 programs within the nation, practically double the quantity from 20 years in the past. And whereas sure caddie customs maintain regular from one membership to the following, not all looper packages are created equal. Some are extra upscale and detail-oriented than others.
Take Haesley 9 Bridges as a living proof.
Located on the outskirts of Seoul, Heasley ranks among the many most prestigious programs within the nation and boasts facilities to match. Overlooking its pristinely manicured championship course is a 170,000-square-foot modernist clubhouse, a three-story architectural marvel of glass partitions, timber columns and conventional stone masonry.
In line with the resplendent infrastructure, the caddie program is as dialed-in because it will get. So is the on-course transport. Haesley loopers don’t drive unusual golf carts. They drive what are referred to as “limousine” carts, which the membership spent years designing. These first-of-their type carts look and act like mini-luxury automobiles, with streamlined curves and a spate of refined options, together with a complicated heating and cooling system (golfers in South Korea expertise all 4 seasons) individualized cushioned seats and a large, curved windshield for higher viewing.
By no means thoughts stroll, spoiled. Golf at Haesley is a leisurely trip, improved.
To see these specialised carts in motion — and study extra about South Korean caddie tradition — take a look at this video.
