"I drew Namdaemun Gate on a Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, and it turned into such a cute souvenir. It's amazing that this kind of work can be done in just five minutes. Wow."
Connor Shawn, an Australian tourist who was met at the Titleist City Tour Van in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, on Wednesday, repeatedly exclaimed in admiration as he used the custom golf ball service. "I came in by chance, but there are so many things to enjoy that I lost track of time," he said. "There's no place like this in Australia. Are there any plans to open one?"
On the streets of Seongsu-dong, a "hot place" dominated by pop-up stores of popular brands, the City Tour Van of golf brand Titleist is emerging as a "pilgrimage site" for domestic and foreign golf fans. The City Tour Van is a space that brings the various support services Titleist provides to professional players at tour competition venues directly into the city, allowing ordinary people to experience them. It was first established in the world in 2023 in a two-story building in Seongsu-dong with a total floor area of 991 square meters (about 300 pyeong).
Professional fitters are stationed on-site, offering club fitting and repair as well as test-driving of various putters. Customers can also use the golf shoe fitting service provided by FootJoy. Like tour players, they can engrave initials or symbols on wedges using hand-stamping techniques and add color. More than 90% of customers who purchase wedges here create custom wedges and leave with a "one-of-a-kind wedge."
Among these, the most popular service is custom golf ball production, which Connor Shawn experienced. It is particularly popular among foreigners as a souvenir. Using a tablet pen, customers can directly write or draw phrases or pictures to be engraved on Titleist golf balls. Foreigners prefer logo designs that express Korea, such as the Taegeuk pattern, tigers, Namdaemun Gate, Hahoe masks, and Mugunghwa. The logo work is done using inkjet printing, so it can be completed in 5 to 10 minutes.
Recently, a video posted on Instagram by a Japanese tourist, which compressed the entire custom golf ball service experience, drew nearly 300,000 views and became a hot topic. Even though the account had just over 1,000 followers, the view count exploded. Comments included "So cute," "It would be a shame to lose it," and "I want to know the location and price."
"While visitors are increasing significantly every year, foreign visits this year have doubled compared to last year, accounting for 60% of all visitors," said Park Seong-jun, head of the City Tour Van center. "About 80% are from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, 10% are Japanese customers, and 10% are tourists from the United States and Europe." He added, "It's close to the subway station, and the surrounding area is packed with clothing and lifestyle stores popular among young people as well as famous cafes, so please feel free to drop by and try various golf-related experiences."
