Amateur golfer records 11 holes-in-one, 200 eagles, 1 double eagle

“I have had 11 holes-in-one. I can hardly count my eagles but it must be around 200. I also scored an Albatross, which is the most memorable.”

With some 30-year golfing history, he has displayed truly amazing performances in the field. Song Bong-seop, 58, has clinched the titles for three consecutive years at the Korea Senior Amateur Golf Championship, which ended at Daegu Country Club on Wednesday. Eighty-four talented amateur golfers aged 55 or older fiercely competed to win the only champion’s trophy at stake at the event hosted by the Korea Golf Association. A self-employed in the printing industry, Song had a stellar record of a 7-under-par 65 in the first round and secured the title with a 6-under-par 138 overall in the second round. Winning the titles at three events ties the record high for this championship.

Holding the official sixth dan of (nine-dan grade) taekwondo, Song started playing golf at recommendation of his senior alumnus in the early 1980s. “I had my first hole-in-one about four to five months after I started playing golf. It was like hitting the wall, but I was very lucky,” Song said. His best score was an 11-under-par 61, which he shot at Balan Country Club in Gyeonggi Province. He also had an Albatross (scoring three under par) at Balan. He scored the Albatross as he hit his second shot at 230 meters off the 13th hole (par 5) to make a birdie.

Song said, “There is no royal path when it comes to winning a good golf score.” He practices for one and a half hours every day, focusing on short approaches. Practicing his weaknesses repeatedly after golf rounding is also one of his secrets to stellar performance. Thanks to continuous workouts at fitness center, he maintains his average driving distance of around 250 meters.