Golf daddies take larger role in parenting

Pak Joon-chul, left, watches his daughter Se-ri practicing for CJ Nine Bridges Classic at Nine Bridges Golf Club on Jeju Island in this Oct. 23, 2002, file photo. / Yonhap

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The term “golf daddies” was once used to refer to Korean fathers who practice excessive parenting to train their children as future world champion athletes.

These demanding fathers, and their overall role in Korean society, have come under the spotlight again recently, following Korean women’s dominance in major international golfing championships.

“Golf daddies are parents who put their children’s success first, and they even sacrifice their careers just to carry their children’s bags and clubs and give them insightful advice and moral support,” sociologist Kwak Dae-kyung said. “They play golf and know the golf industry is growing fast.”

Kwak said those fathers encourage their children to pursue golf as a career because of the many perks that high-flying golfers can enjoy.

“They travel all around the world, as competitions are held in several different overseas locations,” he said. “Their success doesn’t end with their personal gains. Their wins in major championships help their home country’s international profile as well. So those fathers believe golf is the career that can help their children earn money and fame while also becoming patriots.”

The sociologist said the relatively longer careers of professional golfers, compared with those of other athletes, is another merit.

“Professional golfers can earn money while playing the sport as long as their health permits. Golf daddies know this and believe it’s the career they can recommend for their children to pursue.”

The dominance of Korean or Korean-born women in the sport was evident in the recently concluded LPGA Evian Championship and at the Rio Olympics.

On Sunday, Chun In-jee won the LPGA tournament with a score of 21 under par, breaking the record for men and women of 20 under par held by both Henrik Stenson and Jason Day. She went up against fellow Koreans Park Sung-hyun and Ryu So-yeon, who tied for second place.

In August, seven-time major winner Park In-bee clinched a win in the women’s four-round golf championship during the Rio Olympics, becoming the first woman in 116 years to win an Olympic gold in golf. Her rival was Korean-born golf sensation Lydia Ko, who represented New Zealand.

Chun’s father, Jong-jin, is a typical golf daddy. After his daughter started to pursue golf seriously, he quit his job to fully take care of his daughter during her training. He was not rich enough to sponsor his daughter’s costly golf training, so his wife, who ran a small restaurant, became the breadwinner.

According to experts, parents need to spend 10 million won ($9,000) or so per month to train a child to become a professional golfer and another 15 million won per year for winter training overseas, depending on the location.

Meanwhile, Park’s father, Gun-gyu, was inspired to take his daughter to a golf club after watching Korean golf legend Pak Se-ri’s stunning LPGA win in 1998. The senior Park closed his business to become his daughter’s caddy for five years.

Korean parents’ single-minded pursuit of their children’s success is well-known. However, Korean fathers have long played a limited role in their children’s upbringing. Fathers have largely remained breadwinners who work to support their families, including financing their children’s education.

On the other hand, mothers are the primary caretakers and play a dominant role in key decisions about their children’s educations and careers. Their extensive role in their children’s upbringing has created a joke about the formula for children’s success _ that the three key elements for children’s academic success are inherited wealth, fathers’ passiveness about mothers’ control over education matters and mother’s ability to collect information about effective tutors and developments in universities’ admission policies.

The golf daddy phenomenon reflects the increasing role that Korean fathers are taking in parenting, according to experts.

“Golf daddies show that fathers are aware that there is a role they can play to help their children succeed in their careers,” said Kim Se-won, a professor of the Catholic University of Korea. “It is usually fathers who play golf, and they know the sport very well. Helping their children pursue a golf career is something that fathers can do better than mothers.”

Kim said fathers usually are good at making decisions on matters that necessitate considerable financial investment. “Hence, the golf daddies,” she said, pointing out that golf is still an especially expensive sport in the country.

Golf daddies have invited criticism for their extremely strict disciplining of their children to train them for international competitions. Some have called them control freaks because some golf daddies push their children around, making them focus on playing golf to improve their game.

But some have also said their parenting, albeit flawed, comes from tough love and they are demanding because they want their talented children to succeed.