On-site safety scores rated 'good' in 4-point range; 67% report fall risk

An infographic on park golf safety conditions [KGIE]
An infographic on park golf safety conditions [KGIE]

The number of park golf players and facilities is growing rapidly, but a new investigation has found that accident statistics and detailed management standards remain inadequate. At one park golf course in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, more than eight in 10 users reported experiencing the danger of being hit by a ball.

The Korea Golf Industry Evaluation Institute (KGIE) on Thursday released results of a pilot quality assessment — conducted under its GQXP framework — of two park golf courses in Chuncheon: the Soyang River course (36 holes) and the Seomyeon course (18 holes). The institute conducted on-site inspections of both facilities and surveyed 79 users — 51 at the Soyang River course and 28 at the Seomyeon course.

Of the 27 respondents who answered safety-related questions about the Seomyeon course, 22, or 81 percent, said they had been hit by a ball or narrowly avoided being struck. Some 67 percent said they had fallen or nearly fallen, and 74 percent reported physical discomfort caused by extreme heat or cold. Notably, 85 percent said they did not know the location of an automated external defibrillator (AED) on the premises.

A gap emerged between on-site evaluations and users' actual experiences. Both facilities scored 4.5 to 4.6 out of 5 in the safety and emergency category — relatively high marks — yet Seomyeon users rated satisfaction with the course surface at just 2.04 out of 5. Users who had experienced a fall risk gave satisfaction scores of 1.65, well below the 2.89 recorded by those who had not.

KGIE President Kim Jae-hwan said the on-site assessment found safety facilities to be in good condition, but that users were in fact repeatedly encountering risks from struck balls and falls. He called for safety evaluation standards that reflect actual risk experiences and operational conditions.

The investigation also found that no separate statistical system exists to track park golf course accidents. When KGIE checked with the National Fire Agency, it found that park golf incidents have no dedicated classification category, making it impossible to compile statistics. The institute also noted that current laws governing sports facilities and the official park golf course regulations contain no specific numerical standards for protective netting height or the required distance between holes.

According to the Korea Park Golf Association, registered members grew roughly fivefold — from 45,478 in 2020 to 229,757 in 2025. The number of park golf courses nearly doubled over the same period, rising from 254 to 490 as of the end of July 2025.

Building on the findings, KGIE plans to refine its assessment criteria and pursue policy proposals aimed at establishing an accident classification system for park golf courses and improving safety management standards.


yjc@heraldcorp.com