Life of a Professional Golfer

Hi everyone, my name is Yoonhee Kim and I am a professional golfer. I am going to share my experience from my last tournament and the events leading up to it.

In August I went to stage one of qualifying school and was not successful in qualifying for stage two. It is extremely difficult to handle the pressure of knowing that you have one chance in the whole year that will determine where you will play the following year. I played extremely timid and guarded my game rather than just playing. It was disappointing, but I left feeling extremely determined to elevate my game and work really hard.

So, after Q school I needed to take some time off and just rest my body. After a week I went back on my schedule. My schedule looks like this…

5:30 AM 

- Wake up

- Drink water

- Get ready

* 5:45 AM 

- Meditate (I personally use Meditate 365: A Daily Meditation and Inspiration Podcast by Shannon Smith on Spotify)

6:00 AM 

- Work out and stretch using the program my trainer Joe Rosenthal made me!

7:00 AM 

- Go on a walk

7:45 AM

- Eat breakfast

9:00-11:00 AM

- Hit balls/drills at the range

11:15-1:15 PM

- Practice short game

- Putting drills

1:15-1:45 PM

- Eat lunch

2:00 PM 

- Play 18 holes

6:00 PM 

- Eat dinner

8:00 PM

- Night yoga

9:00 PM

- Go to sleep!

I do this every day pretty much! Obviously sometimes I rearrange things but for the most part this is how my day goes. In doing these things I know that I am doing everything that I can to improve. I am working as hard as I can to be my best. I want to give it my absolute all. I do not want to look back in my life and regret anything.

So, after Q school I signed up for the WAPT (Women’s All Pro Tour) event in Paris, Texas. I am going to dive into how my last tournament went and the schedule of events.

Typically, I get to the tournament 3 days prior to the start.

My mom caddies for me so I have a lot of fun traveling with her. We flew into Dallas on a Sunday and drove to Paris. I immediately went to the course to chip and putt! After that I got dinner with my mom checked into our hotel, watched tv, and went to bed.

The next day Monday, I played my practice round. Luckily, I had played this course before, so it was a great day practicing and preparing for the tournament. I personally like to chip a lot all over the greens. That way I know what parts of the green I need to avoid and where is the best place for me to be in order to score my best. After the round there was a welcome party at the course which was so fun and filled with a lot of great food and company! Yummm.

Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to participate in the ProAm! I had such a great time we played a scramble. It was also another great opportunity to get to know people in the area and have another round of getting to know the course. After the round I went and got dinner! The tour posts pin sheets on Instagram the night before so I studied those, put them in my yardage book and created a game plan for round one. I went to bed super early for my 8:20 AM tee time the next day.

Wednesday was the first day of the tournament. So, my mornings before play look like this:

• Wake up
• Get ready (I am a firm believer in look good feel good teehee)
• Stretch/morning workout created by my trainer Joe Rosenthal
• Eat breakfast
• Warm up: - Hit balls for 20 minutes -- I like to play 9 holes on the range to prepare
• Chip for 20 minutes
• Putt for 20 minutes

After all of that I get ready to go!! Round one I shot one under (-1/69). After the round I got lunch (provided by the tournament woohoo) and went to the range to hit balls for a little. I had another similar night where I relaxed, watched TV, and ate dinner. I studied the pins for the next day again, created a game plan and slept!

Thursday, I stuck with my same warm up, but I felt a little more stressed going into the day. I think because I was in contention I felt like I HAD to play well instead of letting things happen and just trying my best. So, I shot 4 over (+4/74) and did not really play free. After the round I enjoyed lunch with my friends and got to work. I worked on all aspects of my game after the round feeling a lot better going into the next day. I had a great surprise of my dad coming to the tournament! We were able to eat dinner together and he was able to stay and watch my tournament the next day. I stuck with relaxing, eating dinner, studying the pins and went to bed extremely determined to play well the next day.

Friday morning, I was feeling good. I stuck with my routine and was determined to commit to every shot, not get down on myself, and try my best. I played without fear and let things happen. I shot a final round of 6 under (-6/64). It felt so great being in my Teleri outfit, having both my parents there, and being able to play with friends.

This round felt so great especially being my first tournament after stage one of Q school. It is really rewarding knowing that the hard work is starting to pay off. If I could send out any message at all it would be to persevere and try your best to accomplish your dreams. I am on this journey now and appreciate all the support. I feel so blessed that I can pursue my dream. I am so grateful to be a part of the Teleri team.