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-Korean player’Zoro phenomenon’
At the age of 61, Inkster is active
35-year-old Ji Eun-hee is the oldest in Korea
Leaving at an early age around 30
Loss of motivation due to long-term mental and physical exhaustion
Decided to retire due to poor performance
Super special culture also encourages’Zoro phenomenon’
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At the LPGA Volunteers of America Classic, which ended not long ago, Se-ri Pak of Korea and Angela Stanford, a 44-year-old golfer of the same age, won the championship. Stanford made his debut four years later than Se-ri Park, but he has continued his active career for 21 years after winning the championship.
In addition to Stanford, there are many golfers who are constantly active in the LPGA despite their age. Currently, the oldest LPGA is Julie Inkster of the United States, 61. Laura Davies of England is 58, Katrina Matthew of Scotland is 52, Carrie Webb of Australia, who was Pak’s rival, is 47, and Christy Kerr, who passed the qualifying (Q) school jointly with Se-ri Pak in 1997, is 44.
On the other hand, the oldest Korean player active in the LPGA is Ji Eun-hee, who was born in 1986 and is 35 years old this year. On domestic tours, Jinjoo Hong is 38 years old, the oldest in active duty. As such, Korean female golf players generally retire at an early age or have a shorter period of active service compared to other countries. Heo Yun-gyeong and Kim Ji-hyun 2, who retired from the tour last year, were also 30 and 29 years old, respectively.
The prevalent Zorro phenomenon among Korean female golf players is the result of continued exposure to intense competition and stress over a long period of time from childhood. If the stress is not properly relieved and prolonged, the so-called burnout syndrome is experienced in which the spring, which is pulled too hard, loses its elasticity and stretches.
In other words, as you feel extreme physical and mental helplessness and fatigue, your concentration decreases, your motivation and motivation are lost, you are not pleasant to do anything, and you become negative and cynical about everything. As his performance declined, he finally decided to retire.
The hyperspecialization of starting golf at a young age and training intensively is also a factor that accelerates the zoro phenomenon.
Under the influence of Tiger Woods, who started golf at the age of two and reached the top in the golf world, the perception that starting golf early and concentrating is the shortcut to success. However, it is not always a good idea to focus on just one sport from childhood.
In the process of human development, there is a so-called’critical period’ in which certain abilities or functions are expressed only when appropriate stimulation and environment are provided at a certain time. For example, in the case of language, you must acquire a specific language before the age of 9-11 to speak at the level of your native language. After this period, the ability disappears or development becomes much more difficult.
Likewise, specializing in a particular sport at an early age can hinder the development of certain muscles or body functions that could never be developed except at critical times. Imbalanced physical development can lead to a’speed stagnation’ phenomenon in which skill improvement is stagnant in the long term. In addition, if you continue to train in only one sport, you will lose interest, and you will suffer injuries due to repeated use of certain body parts. Woods alone had to take off the tour due to 25 large and small injuries during his career.
According to research by sports scientists, Woods’ success is more of an exceptional case. Contrary to popular belief, the best athletes spent between the ages of 0 and 15 on the sport they would play in the future rather less than other athletes. Roger Federer, one of the best players in the history of tennis, played a variety of sports such as skiing, badminton, baseball, and soccer as a child, and then became a tennis player at a much later age than his peers. Golf Empress Anyka Sorenstam, who won 72 wins in total, played in ski, soccer, and tennis as a child before starting golf.
Jack Nicklaus, who won the most wins in the majors, enjoyed various sports such as baseball, basketball, American football, and tennis along with golf until high school or played an active part as a player.
Professor, Graduate School of Golf Science and Industry, Kookmin University
Doctor of Sports Psychology