Volvik President Moon Kyung-ahn emphasizes the virtuous circle in the sports industry where companies invest in athletes with profits made from sales of good products, and the athletes who receive the investment use the products to promote themselves, which leads to stronger sales in return.
Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) winners like Choi Woon-jung, also known as Chella Choi, Lee Ilhee and Lee Mi Hyang all have something in common: they use Volvik colored golf balls. Among them, Chella Choi, who recently won the LPGA Marathon Classic on July 19, is nicknamed “Orange Girl’ as she uses neon orange Volvik golf balls in all her tournaments.
Other LPGA athletes, including Birdie Kim, Pornanong Phatlum from Thailand and Lindsey Wright of Australia, all use Volvik golf balls as they belong to the company’s golf team. They use either white or colored golf balls. Chella Choi uses orange ones. Lee Ilhee and Lee Mi Hyang all use yellow golf balls.
Until the early 2000s, it was not easy to spot golf players who used colored golf balls at the professional level. At the time, it wasn’t an easy decision to use colored balls in the professional world as a slight difference can have great effects on the athletes’ overall performances. Paula Creamer of the U.S., nicknamed the “Pink Panther,” was the only LPGA player who used pink golf balls to promote herself and for her fans.
After providing LPGA winners with colored golf balls, Volvik President Moon Kyung-ahn dreams of becoming the top brand of golf-related products, including clubs.
In 2009 when Moon Kyung-ahn first took over Volvik, he realized that Volvik products don’t suffer in quality when compared to other brands. He then challenged the premium golf products market. Though Volvik has been producing golf balls for nearly 30 years, ever since its establishment in 1980, it was known only for its cheap prices.
Another thing Moon did, apart from penetrating into the premium golf products market, was to launch Volvik’s own golf team. When Volvik athletes showed good performances, it naturally promoted the excellence of Volvik products. At the same time, Moon also focused on producing colored golf balls.
Volvik broke the prejudice that colored golf balls would have weaker performance. From 1993 through to last year, the company has been advancing its technological prowess with more than 40 patents it achieved in the U.S., the U.K., and Japan, as well as in Korea. Volvik has proven its capabilities by producing winners in the LPGA three years in a row.
Photos of LPGA winners who won their competitions using Volvik colored golf balls, and their trophies, are on display at Volvik headquarters in Seoul.
“Golf is a future-oriented industry,” says Moon. “Golf is in the beginning stages in developing countries, and that accounts for two thirds of the world. In the case of China, the golf-related industry is developing quite rapidly.”
“Volvik golf balls satisfy users’ expectations in terms of controlling distance and direction. In terms of technology, it has more advantages than any other brand of golf ball,” said Moon, emphasizing Volvik’s superiority.
“We will continue the virtuous circle in the sports industry by investing in young athletes with the profits we make through our technological developments, which will lead to promote Volvik even further in return,” he added.
In fact, Volvik has been supporting not only Korean players but also golfers from Thailand, the U.S. and Australia, all of whom are active on the LPGA and Professional Golf Association (PGA) circuits.
By Jeon Han, Yoon Sojung
Photos: Jeon Han
Korea.net Staff Writers
hanjeon@korea.kr
Colored golf balls with caricatures of famous golfers can be found in the offices of Volvik President Moon Kyung-ahn.
Some popular Volvik golf balls are branded with Kakao Friends cartoon characters. These balls are particularly popular among female golfers.
Volvik’s branded and colored golf balls are popular among companies and organizations marking special events.
