Evnroll's exclusive interview with Beon Lee

Tell me about how you got started in golf? How did you first learn? First teacher? First golf course?
I was born in South Korea and moved to Canada in 2006 as 16 year old. Started playing at 11 years old at a driving range in neighbourhood I grew up in just outside of Seoul, South Korea. I played in a few junior tournaments in South Korea before moving to Montreal when I was 16.

What do you love about golf? What makes you passionate about the game and wanting to get better?
Golf is never ending, everyday you have to go out there grinding to shave one or two strokes off. A lot of bad days, but it’s fun for me that I get to train everyday and try to get better. There's always room to get better. Sometimes you shoot 74 and it's frustrating but the journey to get better is what's fun. Trying to figure it out is the thing I like about golf. Getting better is why I am serious about it.

What has been the most challenging part of the game for you?
285 Average driving distance, 110mph club head speed. Biggest challenge is hitting longer. I have a pretty good short game, but it’s really hard to add 10 yards of distance. Golf is losing its precision and has become all about power, but that’s the way it is so I have to get longer.

On a similar but different note, what is your number one off-season hobby?
I stretch a lot because I am not naturally flexible. Working out in the gym four times a week, even more on off season to hit it longer is basically all I do while not practicing at the course.

You turned pro in 2010 at 21 years old, what was that transition like from amateur to professional?
Turned pro right after qualifying for the Canadian Open in 2010. In the Canadian open on the first day I shot 78, and on the second day I shot 65, and thought “I could do this and this golf course is not really that hard.” I started playing in a lot of Monday Qualifiers for Web.com events. Join PGA Tour Canada from 2013 - 2016. I currently play on PGA Tour China and have for the last two years. But on PGA Tour China everything is different, the golf courses, the travelling, the food. But I’ve got to know some friends that I travel with which made it a lot easier. The golf courses in China are much harder than they are in Canada. They are really long, big bunkers, lots of fescue and hazards. It’s a game where you more have to grind around even than going super low, but that has made me a tougher competitor.

Favourite event that you’ve played in?
The Canadian Open.

Victory you’re most proud of? Could be a tournament win, gym personal best, or non-golf related?
Canada Cup that I won in 2017. Everyone was cheering for me, so many people were following me it was really cool. And I think I was the first professional to win a four day event with an Evnroll putter.

What has been your favourite golf club of all time? Brand? Iron/driver? I.e. the trusty rusty?
My Evnroll ER2 that I won the Canada Cup with.

How far do you hit your stock 7 iron?
170 yards

Flagstick in or flagstick out in 2019?
Long putts leave it in, inside five feet take it out. Leaving it in makes it look like the cup is smaller, unless it’s a steep downhill.

Are you a fan of the knee high drop?
I’m currently practicing it. I am so used to dropping from the shoulder line and am going to forget in the first tournament and I’m worried about getting a penalty so I’m practicing getting used to it.

Best shot you’ve ever hit?
In December of 2018, my second last tournament in China the Xiaman Open, it was at the 158 yards par-3 15th. I hit a perfect choke down 8 iron, it never left the flag. It bounced five yards short of the flag and trickled down the slope and in. It was my first ever hole-in-one.

First shot you’d take back if you had a mulligan?
Too many to count!

What would you say is the strongest part of your game?
My putting and my short game.

What is the part of your game you most want to work on?
Hitting it longer!

What are your career aspirations for golf or otherwise? Where are you in 10 years?
On the PGA Tour

Tell me some of the goals you’ve set for yourself for 2019?
Get my Web.com card is number one. I need to be in the top five on the PGA China Money List to get conditional Web.com status but top 10 on the money list gets you exempt into Web.com finals. I want to add 10 yards to my driving distance average, and on the mental side I want to try to be more even keel in my tournaments. I want to let it flow more, not get bothered my bad shots as much, and make a strategy before a tournament and stick to it.

Do you know your playing schedule for 2019? List some events you're most looking forward to?
14 PGA Tour China events. China Golf Tour 10 events. 2 Euro Tour Challenge Events that are in China too.

Do you have any projects happening off the course? Sponsor events, charities?
Just focusing on golf!

We are here because of Evnroll, so what model of putter do you use right now? Grip type? Specs?
Evnroll 2.2 33 inch length, 2 upright and 3 degree loft. Gravity Grip. It took a while to get used to but then I started making putts and it was very good. Adds more stability throughout the stroke which I love. Guerin knows his stuff.

How did you hear about Evnroll?
My coach in Montreal.

What attracted you to the putters? The technology? The aesthetics? The Guerin Rife name?
The groove technology was very fascinating to me. Even though you miss the sweet spot a little bit here and there, the roll is still the same as hitting it dead centre.

Did you get putter fit for your new Evnroll? What are your specs?
(see above)

Talk about the putter fitting process? What did you learn from it? Do you have any photos/videos of the process?
I was fit before on the same fitting system so I already knew my specs.

Have you seen a noticeable difference in your putting performance after switching to Evnroll? What’s your favourite part about that Evnroll design?
Yes I love the Evnroll, I love the grooves and the shape, the ER 2.2 lines are so clean. I like the two dots for my alignment too.

How important is the look of a putter to your confidence on the greens? How about the feel?
Yes both of them are the most important.

What is the number one quality you look for in a new putter?
The look and feel, when I hold it I want to feel like it’s part of my body. When I hold the putter I like it to feel like an extension of my arm. I can just put it down and without thinking make a good stroke. That’s the Evnroll 2.2 for me.

Give me one putting tip you think would help people from a setup, mechanical and technical approach?
Developing good rhythm. I try to never have any hitting motion in my putting. It’s important for me to have the same tempo going back and through, especially for distance control. Distance control in putting is number one. If you have off speed you have to have perfect alignment for it to go in, but if you have perfect speed, you don’t have to have perfect alignment for it to go in. Speed control is the most important thing in putting and the sweet face design makes that easier for me.

Give me a putting tip you think would help people on the mental approach side?
Don’t take any time when you're set up. Visualize what you're going to do, do your pre-shot routine, but when you set up just hit it!

What would you like to come out of the relationship from yourself and Evnroll?
Want this relationship to go as long as we can. Relationship with my equipment companies are very important to me. I want the Evnroll brand to grow as much as I want my career to grow too.

Anything you want to add regarding yourself, Evnroll, or otherwise?
Not for the moment but I will be in touch if I think of anything.

Beon Lee's Bio

Born and raised in South Korea, Beon Lee started playing golf at age 11 and entered his first official tournament one year later at the age of 12. In just his first tournament, Lee shot an 85 and finished in the top 10 which sparked more interest and a drive to improve. Growing up in South Korea, golf was an expensive sport and therefore very difficult for most to practice on a consistent basis or at a level required to improve through to the professional ranks. He spent most of his time on the range often hitting 2000 balls per day.

In 2006, at the age of 17, Beon moved to Canada to continue to pursue his golfing dreams. Competing on the Mackenzie Tour – Canada, Lee has made a total of 29 appearances since 2013 and has a scoring average of 72.25. In 2015, Beon ranked 149th in the Order of Merit and saw his best performances in 2014 when he had two top 10 finishes (Cape Breton Celtic Classic presented by PC Financial & The Players Cup). Lee gained experience at the RBC Canadian Open in 2010 and again in 2014. Although he failed to make the cut in either appearance, he shot a career low 65 in the second round in 2010.

More recently, Lee competed at the ATB Classic in Calgary where he was the best Canadian player of the week (T-5), and was the winner at the Manac Open in St-Georges, Québec on the Circuit Canadian Pro Tour, Quebec where he had the lowest score total in Québec’s history at 30 under par over the 4-day event. Lee has also had success at the Cornwall Open being named Champion in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

Beon notes that his inspiration and role models for golf are KJ Choi and Sang-moon Bae. He continues to train with his team and is working hard both on and off the course in order to qualify for his next event. The long Canadian winters proves to be a challenge but finds that time spent in the gym and at the indoor golf facility will benefit his game in 2017. Lee feels that he has reached a level that he can now feel his swing and predict what his ball will behave each stroke he makes.