The Furnace-Like Heat Has Sparked 'Revenge Golf'... The September Tee-Time War Has Already Begun

[Financial News] This summer's brutal heat was so suffocating that it turned the fairways into furnaces. Even avid golfers who live and die by their scores had no choice but to keep the zippers on their caddie bags firmly shut and stay off the tee box.
But as slightly cooler breezes have begun to blow in the mornings and evenings, the instincts of golfers who had been lying low are waking up at a frightening pace. It is the opening act of so-called 'revenge golf,' as demand for rounds that had been suppressed by the heat suddenly surges.
Ahead of September, the start of the full-fledged fall golf season, South Korea's golf reservation market has already turned into a silent battlefield.
Recent data released by XGOLF, the country's largest golf reservation platform, clearly quantifies this anomaly. From Aug. 1 to 25, before September had even begun in earnest, early bookings for September rounds jumped 54.8% from the same period last year.
The clearest trend in the golf reservation market lately has been the 'eyes-open booking game'—snatching up remaining tee times or hunting for value five to seven days before a round. But September is different. Massive pent-up demand from golfers who were forced to postpone rounds to escape the intense midsummer heat is colliding head-on with the traditional fall peak season, when course conditions are said to be at their best. The result is a rush to book driven by the fear that "if you don't secure a slot now, it will be too late."

Even amid the booking frenzy, golfers are behaving very differently from the past. The old habit of blindly chasing only famous courses or prime weekend slots is fading.
Instead, more golfers are taking a smarter approach, analyzing their green fee budget, travel distance and companions' schedules to find the best possible overlap. As weekend prime-time reservations have become nearly impossible to secure, quick-footed golfers are turning to weekday annual leave or early-morning first-tee slots, using flexible strategies to lock in tee times.
A close look at XGOLF's data suggests that this early booking rush will intensify even further throughout September.
As the weather cools and the grass begins to turn golden, competition for tee times is likely to escalate into a full-blown "war," not only on weekends but also during preferred weekday slots.
For golfers who endured the brutal summer, autumn fairways are the sweetest reward of the year.
The complacent idea that "there will still be openings if I check the booking page a few days before" could easily become a mistake that wipes out an entire fall golf season. Now is the time to coordinate schedules with playing partners and compare tee times and prices across courses with a hawk's eye. The privilege of stepping onto a clear, crisp September tee box belongs only to those who click their mouse one step ahead of everyone else.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter