STUDENT SPOTLIGHT – SEO-IN YOON

By Jin-Woo Yoon

When I first encountered golf, I never imagined it would take such an important place in my life. For 23 years, I have taught students at an entrance-exam academy, and I am also a poet, a farmer, and the pastor of a church for people with disabilities. In 2017, I became a USGTF professional and have been teaching ever since. USGTF opened a new chapter in my life — it gave me the chance to help my daughter become a professional golfer.

My daughter, Seo-In Yoon, started golf in sixth grade. Knowing her academic strengths were not outstanding, I looked for a career path I could directly support. Golf seemed like the best option. The first year was full of joy — within six months, she was shooting in the 70s, and in her third tournament, she made a hole-in-one. But once she entered middle school and began playing from the white tees in the finals, we faced a huge wall of competition. I decided she needed guidance from professionals beyond my abilities, so she began taking lessons from well-known pros and moved to the Golfzon Leadbetter Academy. Despite all this, her performance did not improve as hoped, and our relationship grew distant. She felt pressured by me, and I felt the financial strain. After winter training in the U.S. during her third year of middle school, her performance declined sharply. Eventually, she told me she wanted to quit golf — mainly because she felt I was too much of a burden and was making things too hard for her.

Although she continued competing in high school as a golf special admission student, she stopped practicing altogether. Then, in the fall of her first year, after a tournament, she smiled and said, “Dad, I hit it really well today. You know how you told me to hold my axis and kick through with my right foot? I finally got it today.”

That moment changed everything. We started learning club fitting, set up fitting equipment at home, experimented endlessly, and turned golf into a game. We collected training tools from around the world and even began making our own. This brought us closer than ever, and my daughter developed her own swing philosophy and confidence. She went on to take 2nd place at the 2022 JGAK Golf Series, runner-up at the 26th Daejeon Mayor’s Cup, 4th at the 15th Jama Golf Cup in 2023, and finally won the 2023 Warmus Cup. In her first tournament of 2024, she became a KLPGA professional and now competes on the Jump Tour.