There is one thing that professional golfers find difficult to adjust to, despite all their efforts. It’s jet lag. It”s a long flight and a sudden change in the time of day that can make it difficult for professional golfers to perform at their best.
Some players overcome jet lag and showcase their skills right away. This was the case for Lim Sung-jae, who topped the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour’s Woori Financial Championship, which concluded on the 14th, and Choi Kyung-joo, who tied for 19th at the Korean Tour’s SK Telecom Open, which ended on the 21st.
Lim, who was competing in the US PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship the week before, arrived in Korea at 5pm on the 9th, two days before the tournament was due to start. He immediately played a practice round the next day before heading to the Woori Financial Championship for four days from the 11th. “I feel like I’m floating in the sky because it’s time to sleep in the U.S.,” he said after his practice round on the 10th. “I’m feeling a little tired, but I’ll try to improve my condition by going to sleep today.”
PGA Tour professional Lim Sung-jae uses a jet lag cure when competing in tournaments in Korea and the United Kingdom, and it involves living according to the time of the destination even before departure. “It’s more effective to adjust to the time before you leave and on the plane than to change your lifestyle once you arrive at your destination,” he said. “That doesn’t mean you’ll be jetlagged all at once, but it helps me recover a little faster, so that’s what I’m doing now.”먹튀검증
The most important thing is mental strength. “When you’re tired, you’re more likely to be distracted than usual, so I put more effort into my shots,” says Lim. “Both my bogeys and double bogeys in this tournament came when I wasn’t focused. In golf, one mistake can set the tone, so you have to keep your head on straight.”
Choi, a living legend of Korean men’s golf, agrees. “I’ve been living back and forth between Korea and the U.S. for more than 20 years, and it’s still not easy to adjust to the time difference,” he says. “I’ve tried a lot of things that my colleagues do, but nothing is as effective as staying focused. If I think I’m tired or overwhelmed, I feel worse and worse. I have to tell myself that I’m fine, and that’s how I overcome jet lag.”
Former PGA Tour member and Confederation Tour professional Kim Min-hwi said, “I think it takes about five days to seven days to fully adjust to jet lag,” adding, “Most players, including myself, are most tired the day after arrival. For this reason, athletes try to arrive at the venue on Tuesday at the latest.”
The biggest difference in jet lag is the distance of the shots. In general, the players say they hit about five to 10 yards shorter than usual. Professional Kim Min-hwi said, “After a 10-hour flight, you definitely feel heavy. The day after you arrive, you may feel uncomfortable when you swing,” said Kim. “Inevitably, jet lag isn’t perfect, so when I compete in tournaments, I hold one more club when I hit an iron shot to account for the shorter distance.”
When it comes to flying, most players prefer to fly in business or first class, as their condition can determine their performance. Park Sang-hyun, who plays on both the Korean Tour and Asian Tour, said, “When travelling a short distance within two hours, I don’t pay much attention to the seat. However, if the flight time is longer than two hours, it’s a different story.” “When travelling long distances, I prioritise comfortable seats because I might get stuck on the plane. “When travelling long distances, I prioritise the comfort of the seat because I know I could be bumping into a wall.
PGA Tour players have similar reasons for flying private versus chartered. Many PGA Tour players pay for a private plane for a season because it saves them time on luggage and waiting. As one PGA Tour insider told me, “There’s a definite reason why players prefer to fly privately – it’s more convenient in every way. The cost isn’t as far off as you might think,” said a source familiar with the PGA Tour, “and for those who are sponsored by NetJet and others, they can be the envy of their peers.”
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