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No Fun, No Golf King

Posted March. 27, 2007 07:29,   

한국어

“Nobody believed it, but when I saw him for the first time, I thought he could become a huge player like Jack Nicklaus.”

Rudy Duran (58, picture) taught the golf king, Tiger Woods (32), how to play golf when he was four years old to ten years old.

He came to Korea for the first time to publicize the Accu-Length golf club and promote a junior academy. He started to talk, recalling when he met Woods for the first time, at a press conference held at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on March 26.

“A little boy came to me, so I told him to hit a ball. And he did really well.”

Mr. Duran taught him basic skills as his first coach at the Heartwell Golf Course in Long Beach, California.

“When he was five, his mental age was about twenty five. He has great power of concentration and strong mental power.”

He was just an innocent boy, playing with toys outside of the course, but he concentrated only on his game at the course without glancing at the turtles and birds in the lake. While other junior players’ parents chose their clubs and read putting greens, Woods did everything on his own even though he was young. When he was five, he shot an even eight-under par. Even when Woods failed, he didn’t get discouraged and challenged again.

Duran who was a professional player on the PGA tour in the 1970s and taught children golf for 30 years , advised Korean parents who want to teach their young children golf.

“It is important for them to just have fun when they play golf. They will get tired easily if they are forced to practice. So did Woods.”



kjs0123@donga.com