5
Chapter 5. When I Opened My Eyes (5)
It was only natural that the man reacted that way, unaware that the caddie had given him advice.
The man happily handed over the iron he had been holding.
“Taesu! Thanks!”
His voice suddenly became friendly.
He was in a good mood.
If he had not listened to the caddie’s advice, he would have simply swung away without thinking, and there was no way the result would have been good.
More than anything, he was grateful that I had quietly spoken to him while considering his situation.
He had also gained confidence after safely escaping from the rough he had thought would be difficult.
So there was no choice but for friendliness to seep into his voice.
Still, I had to give him credit for actually following the caddie’s advice.
Most golfers refused to bend their stubbornness no matter how much they were advised.
Anyway.
We had to continue the game.
Looking over the green, I saw that the group ahead of us still had not cleared it.
Someone had taken four putts.
In the meantime, I brought a 3-wood and a utility club for the other two men.
Depending on their experience, this was a distance that could easily be attacked with a 4- or 5-iron, but with these customers’ skill levels, I thought that would be too much for them.
The two men silently accepted the utility clubs.
They themselves did not have the confidence to hit an iron 185 meters.
“Oh, our Taesu is good at choosing clubs even without us saying anything.”
“Yeah, you must have been a caddie for a long time?”
“I’m practically part of the furniture at this golf course.”
“Oh, really? As expected. Looks like we can trust you today.”
Of course you can. Go ahead and trust me. Who do you think I am?
But no matter how well a caddie did his job, the golfers themselves needed to have enough skill for good results to come out. You customers!
I wanted to shout that, but I held myself back. Tsk!
“Once the group ahead clears the green, the two of you can hit from the OB tee.”
“Okay!”
The two men stood at the OB tee and took practice swings with their utility clubs.
“There are 185 meters left. The green is clear, so whoever is ready can hit.”
The first player swung his utility club with all his strength.
The fact that it was powerful was fine, but it was excessive.
Too much of anything was a bad thing!
Tsk. Even strength had to be used properly...
Thud!
A fistful of expensive turf flew into the air.
He had struck the ground hard before the ball.
Seriously, why not just start a landscaping business?
The ball rolled about ten meters before coming to a stop.
The other men smiled as though they were pleased.
They had money on the line, after all, so of course they were smiling.
The next player made decent contact with the ball and sent it near the green.
I quickly brought over the 5-, 6-, and 7-irons.
Then I said to the customer who had just torn up a chunk of turf.
“There are 165 meters left. Would a 5-iron be okay?”
He slightly shook his head.
“Ah, damn it. The 5-iron is difficult.”
As expected, he was not confident with long irons.
“Then you could use the 7-iron to get it near the green and approach from there. That would be the safest option.”
“Come on, but isn’t a man supposed to go for it even if he might fail? Just give me the 5-iron.”
Building up your pride on a golf course was practically the same as giving up on the round...
But the choice was his.
“Sure. If that’s what you want.”
Apparently, he wanted to experience the bitter taste of a double-par from the very first hole. Nothing I could do about it.
He took the 5-iron and approached the ball.
Meanwhile, the customer who had escaped the rough was also getting ready to hit with his utility club.
The man with the 5-iron hit first.
Tick!
He caught the top of the ball.
At least that was better than hitting the ground first.
It would at least roll farther.
Next, the man who had escaped the rough safely sent his ball near the green, while the customer who had sent his tee shot straight down the fairway managed to reach the green in three strokes.
He seemed to be the best of the group.
He was also the one who had shown friendliness while riding in the cart.
As expected, he had more experience than his companions, so he had more composure.
Now, the final hurdle remained: the approach shots around the green.
If these customers could barely hit their irons properly, did they really think their approaches would be easy?
No. Approaches were never easy.
Especially not for beginners like these.
As expected, their clubfaces repeatedly dug into the grass or caught the tops of the balls, sending them back and forth between disaster and disaster.
“Hey, I want to putt too.”
The man who had reached the green in three strokes looked at his companions with an amused yet bored and pitiful expression.
The groups behind them also seemed to be gossiping about what the hell these guys were doing.
But who wanted to play badly?
Their hearts wanted to be Tiger Woods, but their skills simply could not keep up.
Anyway, after all sorts of twists and turns, everyone eventually got their balls onto the green.
Two of them were guaranteed a double-par.
There was no need to bother carefully reading their putting lines.
The man who had escaped the rough could make a double bogey if he made his putt, while the man who had reached the green in two strokes had a chance at par.
But neither of them was close enough to finish with a single putt.
The rough player had twelve meters left, while the player who had reached the green in three strokes had nine meters.
I first wiped the rough player’s ball and examined the putting line.
I could see the line at a glance.
I placed the ball with its arrow aligned with the line.
If he simply hit it this way, there was more than a ninety percent chance it would be sucked into the hole.
“It’s a right-breaking line. Considering the downhill slope, just think of it as putting it eight meters and give it a gentle push.”
The man tilted his head.
It was different from the line he had imagined.
“You sure you read it right?”
“Yes. Give it a try.”
This guy!
Why not just hit it the way I had placed it?
Who did he think he was, questioning me?
But putting also required skill.
No matter how well the caddie positioned the ball, whether it went into the hole ultimately depended on the golfer’s ability.
The customer hesitated but eventually putted as I had instructed.
He trusted me because I had already helped him escape the rough.
Tap!
Hmm, that sound wasn't very promising.
He had struck a putt that should have been gently pushed, so naturally the result was not great.
The ball missed the hole by about one cup to the right.
Still, everyone shouted, “OK!”
It was a somewhat questionable distance to give an OK, but perhaps because they were friends, they seemed quite generous.
“Ah, I hit it a little too hard.”
“It’s still better than leaving it short. You hit it well.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Hahaha! Thanks.”
After receiving some praise from the caddie, he looked like he had suddenly gained a tremendous amount of energy.
What a simple guy...
The last player was the ace of the group.
I placed his ball according to the putting line.
To my eyes, the putting line was perfectly clear.
It was like a narrow path winding through a forest.
Wasn't Yun Choseong known as a master of putting?
The kind of genius putting that allowed him to finish with a single putt no matter how difficult the line was.
That was one of the driving forces that had pushed Yun Choseong to number one on the PGA Tour.
And there had been a hidden secret behind it.
A secret that no one in the world knew about Yun Choseong...
I had not known it back then, but looking back now, it had not simply been the result of technique or something learned through practice.
Yun Choseong possessed a unique sixth sense that could not be described in words.
And one aspect of that ability was...
Being able to see putting lines clearly.
As long as I did not fail to control the strength, that sixth sense was the reason I could make putts even under the most difficult conditions.
Well, it seemed useless now.
Ah, was that really the case?
I could use it for my customers, at least.
As long as they simply hit the ball the way I placed it, it would definitely go into the hole.
But even that was not easy for beginners.
They still needed to control their strength properly, and they needed the ability to strike the ball accurately with the putter’s center line and the ball’s correct contact point to get a good result.
Anyway, putting that aside.
There was a slight uphill slope, and near the hole the right side was slightly lower, creating a hook lie.
If he got the distance right, he had a chance to make par without much difficulty.
“Considering the uphill slope, just think of it as ten meters.”
The man nodded.
He still seemed uncertain, but it meant he was willing to trust the caddie’s advice.
I slightly tilted my head.
The man’s putting stance looked a little awkward.
Thwack!
Oh, but he struck it better than expected.
This was the kind of putt where you actually had to give the ball a good hit.
Rumble...
The ball rolled toward the hole at an appropriate speed along the putting line.
Oh, not bad.
Clink!
As expected, the ball disappeared into the hole with a pleasant metallic sound.
“Nice par!”
Cheers erupted from around us.
“Wow! That actually went in? Hahaha!”
The man leaned backward and laughed happily.
“Holy crap, what happened to the guy who’s terrible at putting? What’s with you today?”
“What do you mean, what happened? It’s because the caddie placed the ball properly.”
Ah, so this guy was weak at putting?
No wonder his putting stance had looked awkward. There was a reason for it.
“Exactly. I just hit it the way the caddie lady placed it. Hahahaha!”
“Hey! Shouldn’t you thank the caddie?”
“Taesu! Thanks!”
Come on, saying thanks was enough. Why the hell was he winking at me too?
Ugh, goosebumps.
Could he possibly be into that kind of thing?
Well, I could understand it.
He was simply that happy.
Once the putting was over and everyone climbed into the cart, one of them spoke.
“Just like always, everyone gets a par on the first hole, right?”
“Of course!”
No wonder they had been so generous with the OKs...
“Come on, I really made par!”
“So who told you to go and make par on the first hole?”
“Hahahahaha!”
Everyone burst into loud laughter.
The atmosphere seemed quite friendly.
“We start drawing lots from the next hole. Okay?”
“Damn it, nothing we can do. Okay!”
Ah, I had to go through all eighteen holes with these guys.
Today was going to be a long day. Tsk!
“Okay, check whether you have the right number of clubs.”
After repeatedly tearing up patches of fairway with their fat shots and competing with each other to see who could make more double-par scores, they somehow managed to complete all eighteen holes safely.
Including the caddie fee and tip, I received 170,000 won.
One of them had even made a birdie, so he had happily given me a tip.
If I had been the old Na Taesu, I would have been delighted to have earned a day’s wages.
But to Yun Choseong, an amount like this was pocket change...
Still, I had to stay grounded in reality.
Just because I had some money stashed away didn't mean I could completely disregard Na Taesu’s life. Absolutely not.
Of course, even from Na Taesu’s point of view, the safe in the hideout was packed with gold bars and cash, so would 170,000 won earned as a caddie really mean anything?
He would probably want to quit being a caddie immediately.
But suddenly, I became curious.
What would Na Taesu have done with this money?
Then I shook my head.
I needed to focus on the contents rather than the shell.
No matter how much my exterior belonged to Na Taesu, wasn't Yun Choseong inside this body?
So I should spend it however I wanted.
...
I thought about it for a while, but no clear idea came to mind about how I should use the money.
So I decided to take my time and think about it.
It wasn't urgent, after all.
I would slowly decide whether to invest it, start a business, or do something else...