Ildong Lakes GC offers distinguished value as Korea's legacy golf club

The seventh hole of the Hill Course at Ildong Lakes Golf Club in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, features a pine tree standing atop a rocky knoll known as Ildongsong, the golf club’s symbol. Courtesy of Ildong Lakes Golf Club

In 1996, when LPGA stars including Annika Sorenstam and Helen Alfredsson came to Ildong Lakes Golf Club (GC) in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, for the Samsung World Championship of Women’s Golf, a lesser-known 19-year-old Korean golfer finished third outright, helping raise the global profile and presence of Korean women’s golf.

The teenager was Pak Se-ri, who joined the LPGA Tour a year later and went on to build a legendary career with 25 LPGA Tour victories. The course later cemented its status as a proving ground for stars, hosting multiple Korea LPGA Championship tournaments and other top-tier competitions that served as a launchpad for players such as Shin Ji-yai and Kim Sei-young.

Opened in 1995, Ildong Lakes GC is one of Korea’s legacy golf courses, designed to host international-level tournaments. Nestled between Mount Unak and Mount Wontong, the course spans 1.59 million square meters in the city’s Ildong area, offering 30 holes, including an 18-hole members’ course and a 12-hole public course.

The members’ course, which also hosts tournaments, stretches 7,209 yards at par 72 and is divided into two distinct nines. The Mountain Course is laid out to deliver a bold, expansive feel, while the Hill Course is designed to demand more precision. Each of them is structured to offer a complete competitive narrative of its own, functioning as a complete course in itself.

The green at the eighth hole of the Hill Course / Courtesy of Ildong Lakes Golf Club

For tournament play, the Mountain-to-Hill sequence creates a dramatic finish by ending with a challenging par-3 hole. Designed in a stadium-style layout, that last hole allows galleries to gather around the green, creating a theatrical effect of championship play.

In 2020, the HAZZYS Golf KPGA Open at Ildong Lakes GC was played in a Hill-to-Mountain sequence, a setup that also delivered a dramatic finish. A demanding par-3 seventh hole invited bold shot-making, the par-5 eighth offered chances for both eagle and costly mistakes, and the subsequent par-4 finale presented one last birdie opportunity, creating some of the tournament’s most memorable moments.

The course was designed by Kim Hak-young, a former KPGA player who later became a course architect. With support from the late Samsung Group Founding Chairman Lee Byung-chull, Kim studied golf courses in Japan and Britain in the 1960s and gained practical experience at a Japanese golf course design firm.

The ninth hole of the Hill Course / Courtesy of Ildong Lakes Golf Club

He went on to design notable courses including Jaeil Country Club in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province; A-One Country Club in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province; and Crown Country Club and Teddy Valley Country Club, both on Jeju.

Of them, Ildong Lakes is regarded as one of his most renowned courses, as its varied green contours and the direction and angles of its fairways offer diverse challenges and enjoyment for golfers. It also features a layout whose difficulty can be significantly raised with slight adjustments to rough length and green firmness, making it suitable for international-level tournaments.

An aerial view of the ninth hole of the Mountain Course / Courtesy of Ildong Lakes Golf Club

Course full of legacy

Construction of the course began in 1989 when a development entity was formed and the project plan received regulatory approval. It opened the first nine-hole members’ course in 1995 under SK Group. In 2001, it was acquired by Nongshim Group, one of Korea’s largest food companies, and has since been operated primarily as a members’ club under Nongshim Development.

Given its history, the course has been maintained with a focus on preserving its legacy. While the clubhouse has undergone ongoing upgrades across its facilities, including renovations to the men’s and women’s locker rooms, improvements to the lobby and other updates for accessibility, its overall exterior has been kept largely unchanged aside from enhancements to materials and finishes for pillars and walls.

A pine tree planted to celebrate late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-he's selection as a member of the International Olympic Committee / Courtesy of Ildong Lakes Golf Club

On the second hole of the Mountain Course, a mushroom-shaped pine tree draws players’ attention. The tree commemorates an eagle made by late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee during a celebratory round in 1996, marking his selection as a member of the International Olympic Committee. Lee personally chose the tree from those managed at Everland, Samsung Group’s theme park, to be planted at the course, and Ildong Lakes GC has also taken extra care in maintaining it.

Behind the green on the seventh hole of the Hill Course stands a distinctive pine tree on a rocky knoll. This is Ildongsong (Ildong pine tree). It was planted on the advice of a renowned master in feng shui, a form of traditional geomancy known as pungsu-jiri in Korean, who said a single tree should temper the overly strong energy of the rocky hill seen from the clubhouse. The tree later became the symbol of Ildong Lakes GC, remembered by many as one of the course’s enduring landmarks.

The clubhouse of Ildong Lakes Golf Club / Courtesy of Ildong Lakes Golf Club

Distinguished value

Ildong Lakes GC primarily operates as a membership-based golf club accessible to qualified members. Tee times open five to six weeks in advance on a first-come, first-served basis, while members are allowed to make additional bookings on weekdays in proportion to the number of rounds played.

According to Ildong Lake GC, the system was designed to address inconveniences associated with a conventional booking system and ensure members can secure at least two rounds a month on a stable basis.

The club also highlights its management of playing pace to keep rounds within four hours and 30 minutes, so that it can ensure a more comfortable playing experience for members.

The powder room inside the clubhouse of Ildong Lakes Golf Club / Courtesy of Ildong Lakes Golf Club

The clubhouse spans about 6,900 square meters and offers hotel-quality dining, a range of light dishes and full-course meals, along with hot spring baths.

Players can also take in three waterfalls from the fifth, sixth and ninth holes of the Mountain Course, each evoking vitality and grandeur, allowing golfers to enjoy the surrounding scenery during play.

Jeong Cheul-su, CEO of Ildong Lakes Golf Club / Courtesy of Ildong Lakes Golf Club

“Since the 1990s, golfers here have been saying, ‘Hwasan to the south and Ildong to the north,’ admiring the scenic views of Hwasan Country Club in southern Gyeonggi Province and Ildong Lakes GC in the northern part of the province,” Ildong Lakes GC CEO Jeong Cheul-su said. “That speaks to the legacy and reputation the course has long enjoyed among golfers.”

“The most important value of a membership golf club is making players want to come back after a round. To achieve that, every employee strives to serve each guest with care so they leave feeling they have been genuinely well treated.”

Seeking to go beyond a membership model, the club opened its public course, ROCKGARDEN, as a nine-hole layout in 2008 and expanded it to 12 holes in 2024. Also designed by Kim Hak-young, the course features specifications comparable to many full-length courses, with a par 46 layout stretching 4,109 yards.

Under this operating philosophy, Ildong Lakes GC has received multiple awards. In 2025 and 2026 alone, it was named one of Korea’s Top 10 and Five-Star Courses by Golf Magazine Korea, selected among the Best 10 in the membership-course category for customer preference by Golf Journal and included in Korea’s Top 10 Golf Courses by Seoul Economic Daily.

“We plan to continue investing and making improvements to meet customers’ expectations,” Jeong said.