Hana Kim Interview

Making Progress
SS: Do you feel like you're making progress, or…?
HK: I do. You know, it's tough to evaluate, because I'm out here every day, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding. And golf is really… you know, you hear it all the time, that it's a marathon, it's not a sprint. And it's a career, over a lifetime, it's not two or three years of your life. And so, it's tough to evaluate what's going on, but… every few weeks or so, I have to say to myself, am I a better player now than I was six months ago? Or last year, at this tournament… am I a better player now than I was then, at Portland last year? And I think to myself, yeah, I am! And the fact that I can say that without hesitating, and there's no doubt in my mind and my heart that I am, that makes me feel so much more motivated. Like what I've been doing, and the hours I've been putting in, and the little things that I feel like I have to do that really don't count for anything, actually do count for something. It's really very gratifying. And it's a personal battle that everybody fights, I think. Everybody's got their own little notches, and it's nice to have my own little notches now, where I can look back and say, yeah, I'm better now than I was last year. And I'm at a whole different level now than I was in college. And to quantify where I've been and where I'm going. Never doubt my talent, and to always believe that if I try I can do it. And you know, it's tough out here, because week in and week out, with all the travel, and all that, it gets tough to really stay positive.
SS: Is that the thing you find the hardest? Traveling around?
HK: Traveling is definitely the hardest. Just physically it's exhausting, and it wears on your muscles. But you know, there's no easy way to make a great living. Right? That's what my parents tell me. So if I got to fly across country every week to do it, to be able to play golf, then I'm going to do it.
SS: Yeah, you'll manage (laughs)!
HK: You know what I mean? I'm certainly not going to complain about the life I have. Especially with the kind of support I have, with the companies that I endorse, and with my family, and with my friends. So, I'm very aware that I'm very fortunate.

SS: Do you ever have your family or friends watch you play in a tournament?
HK: Yeah, my parents come out to all the West Coast events.
SS: Are they here?
HK: No, they're going to come up for the weekend. My parents came out to all the West Coast events last year. My friends… no, none of my friends have actually seen me play in a particular event. Actually, you know what? That's not true! Last year in LA (at the Office Depot), I had a few friends, three or four, come out and watch me play, which was great. And that really pumped me up.
SS: And that doesn't make you feel nervous at all?
HK: No, I love it! I love having people that I know are there wholly to support me come out and watch me. They want nothing from it except to see me do well. I feel like I have really great quality friends, not just people who are just there for the ride, (but) people who are just really really there to see me do my best. And so, when we were out there in LA, it was just awesome. It was towards the end of the season, and I was really, really feeling the grind. It was the second to last tournament, actually. And when they came out, it was like a breath of fresh air. And I'm sad that we're not going to have a stop in LA this year. Forces greater than me, what can I say?

Practice Regimen
SS: I have one more question for you. What is your work regimen like generally? Do you change it during the year? During the off season, do you do different types of work? Like, do you work out? How much time do you spend on the range? Stuff you're working on? Just trying to get an idea what you do.
HK: One of the commitments that I've made, because it's tough to be your own back and kind of kick yourself in the butt… When I'm at home, I work out Monday, Wednesday, Friday… I mean, I go to yoga Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and I work out Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Sunday's a rest day (from working out). And I go to the golf course every day. That's my basic schedule, and the yoga and the working out is nonnegotiable, because I have classes and everything with my trainer. So that's an appointment. The golf, it's one of those things where, every couple weeks or once a month, if I want one day off, and I decide Sunday, you know, I want to go to Farmer's Market or hang out with my family, then I'm not going to play golf on that Sunday. You know what I mean? And other than that, I'm there every day. I try to make sure that, different weeks, I will work on different things that I feel I need to get better (at) at that particular point. But, I really try to divide my game into the range, the chipping range, putting and playing, those four aspects. I really try to spend time on each one, and make sure that I pay attention to each part. And I've kind of learned over time, over the last two years, what my tolerance is; how long I can go doing something before it's not quality practice anymore. Before I'm just out there because I feel I have to be out there. And so, I've developed I think a good rhythm of, OK, I'm going to putt, and I have a bunch of different drills that I do, and I'll start doing them. And some days, it could be what I ate or the kind of workout that I had, I feel like I could putt for six hours and not lose concentration, and I've had those days where I'm practicing, practicing, practicing putting, and then I look at my watch, and all of a sudden it's four o'clock in the afternoon; I've spent the whole day there, putting! And I'm like, 'Ahhh! Time really passed! And I go play a quick nine holes or something, and that's the day. Or some days I'll putt for an hour and a half, and I'm just thinking, "I don't know what it is today, I can't focus!" So then I'll go try and hit balls, and a lot of times, the days when I'm antsy when I'm on the putting green are the days I'm great on the driving range. It's more of a swing, it's more dynamic. So that's something I've been able to monitor, and kind of be my own policeman about. I'm able to refocus my energies a little bit. So it's definitely a learning curve, and I feel like I'm definitely still learning how to be a professional. So hopefully I'm doing the right things, and sooner or later, sooner hopefully, it'll all come together for me.
SS: That's great. I hope so!
HK: Yeah!
SS: Good luck to you this week, and thank you for talking to me!
HK: Thanks a lot!