Embarrassment... Ran Out of Prepared Balls

Mingyu Kim Withdraws from Korea Open Round 2 After Running Out of Balls
Only Same Manufacturer and Model Allowed for Play
Ha Neul Kim Dramatically Finishes Round with Help from Spectator

To play golf, you need both balls and clubs. If you are missing either one, you cannot play the game.

However, there are times when a player runs out of balls during a round. This does not only happen to amateur players. Even professional golfers sometimes find themselves in an awkward situation after using up all the balls they had prepared.

Recently, Mingyu Kim, who plays on the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour, experienced such an incident. On May 23, during the second round of the 67th Kolon Korea Open held at the Dunes Course of La Vie Est Belle Country Club (par 71) in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, he withdrew from the tournament. After finishing the 9th hole, he had used up all the balls he had brought with him and could not continue the round.

Mingyu Kim withdrew from the second round of the Kolon Korea Open after losing all the balls he had prepared. Photo by Kolon Korea Open Organizing Committee

As the defending champion, Mingyu Kim started his round on the 10th hole and played through to the 18th, losing a total of eight strokes with one triple bogey, two double bogeys, and one bogey over nine holes. During this stretch, he lost a total of six balls to out-of-bounds areas and water hazards. By the time he finished the 9th hole, all the balls he had prepared were gone.

Golf is a sport with strict rules. During an 18-hole round, a player must use balls from the same manufacturer and model. This is known as the "one-ball rule." If a player runs out of balls, they must either borrow one from a fellow competitor or purchase one from the pro shop in order to continue playing.

Even "beauty golfer" Ha Neul Kim once struggled because of her golf balls. Having won eight times on the KLPGA Tour and six times on the JLPGA Tour before retiring in 2021, she faced an unexpected situation during the first round of the Hillstate Seokyung Open on the KLPGA Tour in May 2009, held at the East Course of Lakeside Golf Club in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

As usual, she brought only four balls in her caddie bag, but her shots were off that day. She hit out-of-bounds on the 4th hole, and her tee shots found water on the 12th, 15th, and 16th holes. Eventually, she ran out of balls and was unable to continue the round.

At the time, Ha Neul Kim was using the 2008 Titleist Pro V1x, while her playing partners So Yeon Ryu used the Titleist Pro V1, and Hee Kyung Seo used a Tourstage ball. According to the rules, she could not use a ball unless it was the same model, putting her at risk of disqualification.

Fortunately, a spectator came to her aid. The spectator had brought golf balls used for practice with her daughter, who was a junior golfer, and one of them happened to be the same model Titleist Pro V1x that Ha Neul Kim was using. The spectator took the ball out of a plastic bag and handed it to her, allowing Ha Neul Kim to barely finish the round. After this incident, Ha Neul Kim made sure to carry nine balls with her at every tournament.