■ [Park Golf Inside] Oh Tae-heon, Park Golf Professional
From golf teaching pro to park golf pro
Runs 'Park Golf Family' YouTube channel with 50,000 subscribers
"A sport the whole family can enjoy for a lifetime — I want to help people play safely throughout their lives"
"In some ways, park golf can be seen as more precise and delicate than golf. I started out of curiosity, but the more I played, the more fun it became. I want to help park golf establish itself as a national sport through YouTube, lessons and various other methods."
Oh Tae-heon (33), a professional with the Korea Professional Park Golf Association (KPPGA), met with the Seoul Economic Daily at his "Park Golf Family Lesson Studio" in Yeongdeungpo on the 24th and said, "Park golf is highly addictive because there are far more variables from natural terrain compared to golf."
Oh is a KPPGA professional who previously worked as a lesson pro certified by the United States Golf Teachers Federation Korea (USGTF-KOREA). He competed as a junior golfer from middle school and majored in golf in college. His first encounter with park golf came during a university course in 2022. "It all started when I visited a park golf course on a whim and saw huge crowds of people laughing and having fun, which sparked my curiosity," Oh said. "When I actually tried it, it was much harder than I expected. If it had been easy, I probably would have lost interest quickly."
Since diving into park golf, Oh has served as a pioneer, bringing fresh energy to a sport long considered the exclusive domain of seniors. Through his YouTube channel "Park Golf Family," which has nearly 50,000 subscribers, he produces a wide range of content for self-taught players and also offers offline lessons at his studio. In January this year, he passed the inaugural professional park golf certification test. "Unlike regular golf, park golf is a delicate discipline where you must finely control swing size and power with a single club," he said. "As an instructor, my top priority is helping people understand the principles of the swing so they can enjoy the sport for a long time without injury."
