{"id":109338,"date":"2025-08-31T06:50:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T06:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/109338\/"},"modified":"2025-08-31T06:50:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T06:50:11","slug":"golf-park-association-tees-up-professional-league-as-popularity-grows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/109338\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf park association tees up professional league as popularity grows"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Players <\/p>\n

Players play park golf at a course in Daegu on July 31. [YONHAP] <\/p>\n

\u00a0
Park golf, long regarded as a leisurely pursuit for retirees, is preparing to reinvent itself as Korea’s next professional sport.
\u00a0
The Korea Professional Park Golf Association (KPPGA) said it will launch a professional league next year, beginning with the inaugural Park Golf Pro Test, scheduled for Oct. 22 to 24 at Hanyeoul Park Golf Course in Pocheon, Gyeonggi. Applications opened Monday and will run through Sept. 12, but interest has already exceeded expectations.
\u00a0
\u201cWe had 158 applicants in just two days,\u201d said Jeon Young-chang, senior vice chairman of KPPGA. \u201cThey range from a player born in 1947 to one born in 1999. Among them are a former Miss Korea, celebrities and even professional golfers.\u201d
\u00a0
\"Players <\/p>\n

Players play park golf at a course in Daegu on July 31. [YONHAP]<\/p>\n

\"Players <\/p>\n

Players play park golf at a course in Daegu on June 25. [NEWS1]<\/p>\n

A game of simplicity and speed
\u00a0
Park golf, a blend of golf and croquet, was created by its founders to be accessible for all ages. Players aim to sink the ball in as few strokes as possible, but the sport is equally defined by its social atmosphere and its focus on enjoying the outdoors.
\u00a0
The sport’s appeal lies in its accessibility. Park golf is designed for smaller spaces, with only one club used for tee shots, approaches and putting. The ball is slightly smaller than a baseball. Holes are shorter \u2014 40 meters (44 yards) for par-3s and up to 150 meters for par-5s \u2014 so a full round can be finished in about an hour without carts.
\u00a0
“It’s cheap, fun, good for your health and a way to make friends,” said\u00a0Kwon Dae-hyun, vice chairman of the Korea Park Golf Association (KPGA).
\u00a0
\u201cAdmission ranges from 300 to 8,000 won [20 cents to $6], and many municipalities offer discounts for local residents,” Kwon added.
\u00a0
Enthusiast Heo Cham-hwa, 70, said, \u201cSometimes I spend four hours a day playing, walking the grass and chatting with friends.\u201d
\u00a0
\"Players <\/p>\n

Players play park golf under cherry blossom trees at a course on Jeju Island on March 27. [YONHAP] <\/p>\n

From Japan to Korea
\u00a0
Originating in Hokkaido, Japan, in 1983, park golf arrived in Korea in 1998 with courses at Phoenix Park in Pyeongchang and the Sangrakwon nursing home in Jinju, South Gyeongsang.
\u00a0
Today, there are about 423 courses nationwide, 12 of them built this year alone. By repurposing unused land, local governments are actively supporting new facilities for their welfare and tourism benefits.
\u00a0
At this pace, the number of park golf courses could soon surpass Korea’s 525 regular golf courses.
\u00a0
Membership has surged as well. Registered KPGA players jumped from about 16,000 in 2017 to 200,000 this year, with unregistered enthusiasts estimated at 300,000 to 500,000.
\u00a0
\"A <\/p>\n

A limited-edition park golf club sold by Honma [HONMA GOLF KOREA]<\/p>\n

A growing industry
\u00a0
The equipment market has also taken off.
\u00a0
\u201cThe most expensive set sold for 2.8 million won and sold out immediately,” said Koo Byung-doo, vice president of the Korean distributor for Honma park golf clubs. “Even the next level of four-star clubs is hard to find now.\u201d
\u00a0
More than 100 park golf club brands are already competing in the market, estimated to be valued at 30 billion won. New trends like indoor screen park golf and overseas park golf tours are fueling competition further.
\u00a0
Universities are responding, too. Yeungjin University in Daegu opened Korea\u2019s first park golf management department in 2022. Kyungbuk College in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang, will rename its Healing Sports Management Department to Park Golf Studies starting next year to recruit new students. Dongguk University and Gachon University already run park golf executive programs.
\u00a0
Jeon said Korea has an opportunity to surpass Japan, where park golf has stagnated.
\u00a0
\u201cJapan may be the birthplace, but it has stayed a hobby sport and is aging along with its players,\u201d the KPPGA senior vice chairman said.
\u00a0
“By professionalizing, we will bring in younger generations and grow the industry further.”
\u00a0
KPGA secretary general Cho Young-seok noted that demographics are already shifting.
\u00a0
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing more players in their 40s and 50s. Our task is to create university and secondary school teams so the sport can become part of the National Sports Festival and the National Junior Sports Festival,” Cho said. <\/p>\n

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE HAY-JUNE [[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Players play park golf at a course in Daegu on July 31. [YONHAP] \u00a0 Park golf, long regarded…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-109338","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}