Chungcheongnam-do

Annika Sorenstam (39, Sweden) retired from professional golf in 2008 and transformed herself into a golf course designer. Currently she's working on the 27-hole Golden Bay Golf & Resort project in Taean, Chungnam.
On March 28, 2009, she came to Korea to check the progress of the project. After staying one night in Seoul, she flew to Taean and spent eight hours checking and reviewing the work progress. She was a very talented professional designer.

Her Passion for Golden Bay Golf & Resort
Golden Bay Golf & Resort is currently under construction on about 2,310,000㎡ around Jeongjuk-ri, Geunheung-myeon, Taean-gun, Chungnam, and its construction costs are 400 billion won. Once it'll completed in October, 2009, it will have 10,725 yards, 27 holes, and 56 golftel rooms. Its progress has reached about 40%.
In an interview she said that “It'll such an honor to design and present a golf course to Korean golf lovers. Located in the beautiful west coast of Chungnam, Golden Bay will be a world-class golf course as I work towards taking advantage of its geographic merits such as the ocean, valleys, and mountains. Based on my personal experiences as a professional golfer, I will properly weigh the ease and difficulty of each shot and design the golf course to bring out the most fun.”

What's your impression of the construction site in Taean?
▲ I was tired from walking around the site for eight hours yesterday morning. But it was very satisfying to see the beautiful scenery and the smooth progress of the construction. It felt rather strange and different to visit Korea for a purpose other than competing in a tournament. It was great to see that the construction going in my direction.

I understand that you designed a golf course in another country as well. What is your concept when designing a golf course?
▲ I finished designing and building two golf courses. Currently my focus is Golden Bay. As far as I am concerned, a golf course should inspire players. I try to reflect on all the good things from the golf courses where I competed as a professional golf player. It is my objective to design a golf course where everyone regardless of gender and age can play a fair game and one which everyone wants to visit again.

What did you feel when competing against Korean players? What do you think is the style of Korean golfers?
▲ Seri Pak is the closest to me among the Korean players. She formed a three-way rivalry with Karrie Webb and me until the middle 1990s. She and I thus share many memories. When I retired from the LPGA, the Korean players accounted for 33% of the total. There are so many Korean players that it is hard to analyze each of them. But I think Korean players in general have three major strengths; persistence, great techniques, and hard practice. In addition, they are good at play strategies.

It was Seri Pak that stood out among female Korean golfers, and today it's Ji-ae Shin. What is your opinion of her?
▲ I can't predict her future accurately, but every time I see her, I think she's one great player. She won 11 tournaments last year, and three of them were in the LPGA. And that was without even being an official member. Isn't that ridiculous? This year, she's made a good start by winning the HSBC Women's Championship and taking the second place at J Golf Phoenix International. Even though her driver distance is not the best, she has quite a strong mentality. If she continues this pace, she will be one of the top 3 and will be able to aim towards being the No. 1 player in the LPGA.

Annika Sorenstam (left) signed an agreement to join the design of Golden Bay golf course with Hong Won-gi, head of Hanhwa Resort in Singapore in November, 2007.