Catching Up With Aree and Naree Song

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In the late 1990s and early 2000s junior phenoms and twins Aree and Naree Song (then Wongluekiet before changing to the last name of their Korean father) had few peers. Aree, at 13 years, 2 months, became the youngest champion in U.S. Girls’ Junior history – a mark she still owns – and later finished fifth as an amateur in the 2003 U.S. Women’s Open. She also became the youngest semifinalist in U.S. Women’s Amateur history at the 2000 event at Pumpkin Ridge, the same year Naree was the low amateur in the U.S. Women’s Open. USGA staff writer David Shefter caught up with both women, now 38, to discuss their junior/amateur/professional careers and what they are currently doing. The original short piece was published in the Fall issue of Golf Journal magazine. This Q and A is an expanded version of what appeared in the USGA’s quarterly publication.

Question: Aree, can you give me the name of the golf academy you started in your native Thailand, and what prompted you to get into the teaching part of the game after playing professionally?

Aree Song: 54 Degrees Golf Performance. I played my last season on [the LPGA] Tour in 2011. After that, I went back to school at the University of Florida and studied sports management. I also began to explore the other sides of golf around that time. After trying a few administrative roles with the LPGA and Golf Channel Thailand, I began to miss the performance aspects of the game. I also became curious about human development, so I continued my graduate studies in the area of gifted education at Arizona State University. After graduating in 2014, I opened a golf school at All Star, which was the largest golf driving range in Bangkok at the time. In 2021, we relocated to another driving range in the middle of Bangkok after All Star was converted into a housing project.

Question: How many students do you get on an annual basis?

Aree Song: We have about 40 students enrolled currently. I try to keep the enrollment at this number to make sure I can keep up with everyone.

Queston: How many of those students are pros or top-flight amateurs?

Aree Song: I started teaching in 2015 … and the students include pros, juniors, competitive amateurs and celebrities. I also coached the Thai National Team for a couple of years, from 2021-22. My professional students play on the Thai PGA and Thai LPGA tours. A couple of my students have qualified for the LPGA Tour and won on the Epson Tour. My oldest student is 84 years old, and my youngest student is 6. To me, helping someone pass the national team trials or break 100 for the first time offers the same amount of satisfaction. I enjoy the challenge of working with students with different goals and experiences.

Question: Any notable graduates or current players?

Aree Song: Amarin Ray Kraivixien is a standout player on the All Thailand Golf Tour and the Thailand PGA Tour. He’s won a couple of times on those tours. Wassawan Sangkapong is the longest hitter on the Thai LPGA Tour and has won once on the Thai LPGA Tour.

Question: Did you even envision yourself in this role?

Aree Song: I always thought I would transition from being a player to a coach at some point, since it seems like a natural progression for professional athletes and one of the best ways to maximize our utility. It also allows me to give back to the game that has taught me so much. Being able to pass along what I’ve learned during these past 30 years and making a positive impact on others fills me with joy. While playing may have been my first love, teaching fulfills me in an entirely different way and offers me a perspective that I never had while I was playing.

Question: What have you taken from your days as an elite player to coaching?

Aree Song: My strength as a coach is being able to take in someone’s game holistically and offer advice in the area that will make the biggest impact on their performance. Golf is such a wonderful game to coach because there are so many areas to study. To help someone improve performance, you need to look at their technique, course management, equipment, fitness level, scoring skills and the mental game. I get to employ the same skills that I used to apply to my own game. Helping others is easy now that I’m fully retired – I don’t mind giving away my secrets to game improvement.

Question: Let’s go back to the late 1990s and early 2000s. What are your memories of winning the 1999 U.S. Girls’ Junior at age 13? Advancing to the semifinals of the 2000 U.S. Women’s Amateur at age 14?

Aree Song: I have fond memories of winning the 1999 U.S. Girls’ Junior in Maryland (Green Valley Hunt Club). I remember how relieved I was to hole the last putt on the tiny 18th green [to beat Nancy Abiecunas] and how satisfying it was to hoist the [Glenna Collett Vare] Trophy. I remember how much of a marathon it was to play that week. Advancing to the semis of the U.S. Women’s Amateur [at Waverley Country Club in Portland, Ore.] after becoming the stroke-play medalist in 2000 was also a thrill, as it should anytime a person gets to vie for a USGA championship.

It is a little surprising that my [26]-year-old record [of being the youngest USGA winner in history] still holds, with the number of today’s talented youngsters. I am very proud of my achievement in this game on all the different levels and don’t have any regrets. And although I had higher aspirations for my professional career, not achieving all my goals in golf doesn’t necessarily make me less happy or disappointed. On the contrary, it makes appreciate what I did accomplish, and it enabled me to explore other avenues in our sport. That being said, I do miss playing tournament golf, USGA events especially, since it provides us with the biggest stages to showcase our golf games.

Question: How about competing against your twin in all those junior/amateur competitions?

Aree Song: Competing against Naree was always exciting. However, we seemed to do well on different courses and events. I always thought she played better on longer and newer courses (2000 U.S. Women’s Open was at The Merit Club outside of Chicago, a newer venue), and I seemed to do better on narrower, older golf courses. As long as one of us took home the trophy, that was all I hoped for each time we teed it up.

Question: Talk about your family’s decision to move to Florida while you were still young?

Aree Song: We moved to the U.S. in 1997 from Thailand. Our [late] dad (In-jong) sold his hotel business and moved our whole family (also older brother, Chan, who played at Georgia Tech) abroad to attend the David Leadbetter Golf Academy [in Bradenton, Fla.], which became the IMG Golf Academy. He was quite adamant about giving us the best opportunities to receive a strong education and develop our golf games. His gamble paid off as I became the youngest member of the LPGA Tour at the time, at age 17 [in 2004], and my brother Chan and Naree received full athletic scholarships to renowned Division I schools, Georgia Tech and the University of Florida, respectively.

Talk about your professional career and why you think you and Naree weren’t as successful on that level and you were as juniors/amateurs?

Aree Song: Looking back, I feel like we accomplished very special things, both as individuals and collectively. While our personalities are quite different from each other, Naree and I always shared a desire for game mastery. What looked like raw talent to others is very much a byproduct of two people who put lots of energy and effort into their craft. We both enjoyed working hard to develop our golf skills, always curious to see where it would take us. I attribute us breaking a number of playing records in our teenage years due to this kind of focus and attention.

There tends to be a transition process when a young player joins the professional ranks full-time. We both did fine in the first years of turning professional. Had we stayed injury free and continued to compete, I believe we would have accomplished more of our professional goals on the [LPGA] Tour. We both retired due to physical injuries, and I think because of how dominant we were, it was rough for us to internalize the reality of our physical state as it became apparent, and probably harder still for those who were close to us to initially accept it, which was understandable. But the game of golf has undergone significant changes in the last 20 years. Retiring younger is becoming more common. In the past few years, we have seen players retire from playing at a younger age, and transitioning to other careers like us.

Question: What were the injuries you sustained that ultimately forced you to retire?

Aree Song: It’s unfortunate that a freak accident at an LPGA tournament resulted in my long-term injury that ultimately ended my playing career and still impacts my day-to-day life today. The incident happened at an LPGA event in Toledo, Ohio. I swing, and the head of my 7-wood got caught on a tree branch in my backswing, and it badly injured the brachial plexus in my left shoulder. I lost feeling in my left arm for six months after the accident. I went through rehab from 2008-09 to try to regain function and strength. After seeing some improvements in rehab, I went back to Q-School in 2010, won it, and regained my card for 2011. My left arm was never quite the same, though. Resuming a close-to-full-time playing schedule in 2010 caused the injury to flare up again. I played for another season but was still playing through pain. I consulted with specialists and surgeons during this time and considered experimental surgery to repair the nerve damage in my shoulder. There was no guarantee that it would get better. None of the shoulder specialists and surgeons that I saw could say with certainty that the procedure wouldn’t make the issue worse. As I was living in constant pain, I decided I would take a longer break to assess the best course of action. That is when I decided to resume my studies at the University of Florida, which was the school I was supposed to attend with my sister before turning pro and joining the LPGA Tour.

Question: Back in the day, you and Naree always wore the same outfits, and the only way to distinguish the two of you, one had to look at your golf shoes because they were different?

Aree Song: Thinking back to that time, dressing alike was a memorable part of our childhood. Even our close friends had trouble telling us apart, and our high school teachers would get us confused quite often. Coordinating outfits is a common practice for young identical twins. Looking back at photos, our coordinating golf outfits were quite memorable for sure.

Question: Is there any coincidence that both you and Naree wound up on the teaching/mentoring side of the game; you with your academy and Naree as the head women’s golf at Harvard University?

Aree Song: There aren’t many traditional post-playing roles for professional athletes, but I did explore different things before opening up my school here in Thailand. After completing my studies and graduating with a sports management degree from UF, I interned with the LPGA [Tour] for a few months. After that, I began working for Golf Channel Thailand in the international affairs division. I held a position there for about a year but missed the performance aspects of golf. That’s when I started to consider opening up a golf school. The school continues to grow. While it started with just me, there are now five of us teaching here: myself, my brother (Chan), and three of my former students.

Question: As for Naree, how did you transition from pro golfer to college golf coach?

Naree Song: My college coaching career began at [NCAA Division II] Rollins College [in Winter Park, Fla.], which is an academically rigorous school in its own right. There, I met head women’s coach and director of golf Julie Garner, and she quickly became a mentor and friend. Julie had followed my playing career, and I was fortunate that she had a grasp on where I was in life at the time. I probably had a slightly tougher time transitioning from professional golf than Aree, likely because I felt I had more to prove at the professional level. An accident in the gym in high school left me with a tear in my left shoulder, and despite multiple rounds of physical therapy and cortisone shots in high school, college (she spent one semester at Florida), and while playing professionally, the shoulder never resolved to a degree that would have allowed for competing full-time.

At Rollins, I spent time coaching the women’s golf team in the afternoons and resumed my undergraduate studies in English in the evenings. I enjoyed my academic and coaching experience so much that upon graduation, I enrolled in a graduate program so that I could continue to study and coach there. Rollins’ strong emphasis in academics and its decorated golf program exposed me to highly curious student-athletes which career goals and aspirations that are often beyond competitive golf. With my background being so centered around golf up until that point, being exposed to people who were driven to succeed in other areas enriched my life in unexpected ways. Eventually, I no longer felt the pangs of a shortened playing career and embraced my role as a coach and advisor.

Question: What were the circumstances that led you to Harvard?

Naree Song: One year when the Rollins team played a match with Harvard over spring break, I met Coach Kevin Rhoads, who also quickly became a friend and mentor. When the opportunity to coach at Harvard [as an assistant] came up, I knew I had found my next adventure.

Question: What is unique about coaching at an Ivy League school where academics trump athletics?

Naree Song: The coaching experience at academically rigorous schools is different. Academics will always be first at Ivy [League] schools, so it’s normal and expected for student-athletes to prioritize academics. To help team members succeed in the classroom and perform their best in their sport, coaches have to do a good job of balancing the training schedule with academic demands. There are no athletic scholarships, which means student-athletes participate in sports because they have a passion for being both a student and an athlete. The student-athletes that I work with see value in the experiences gained from being on a team and the character development that team sports participation offers.

As team members move towards junior and senior year, their focus shifts towards preparing for their impending professional careers, which often involve taking on internships and job recruitment. But at the same time, people would likely be surprised at the skill level that exists on our team and within the Ivy League. Our team members are highly competitive and skilled at golf and are willing to put in the work to keep their games sharp, even if it means they need to be more intentional with the way they schedule their days. Coaching at Harvard (she became the head coach in 2023) is so special because I get to be around highly aspirational individuals who have big dreams and goals in diverse areas, in golf and beyond.

Question: How is recruiting different for a coach in the Ivy League?

Naree Song: I’m fortunate that our Director of Golf, Fred Schernecker, is a former Harvard student-athlete, and he leads the way on our recruiting efforts. Fred has been with the golf program for over 25 years, and he understands the profiles of individuals who tend to thrive in this environment. I think people would be surprised to learn that the student-athletes that we recruit today are extremely accomplished, highly ranked players that are fully capable of being recruited by other really strong Division I programs, but chose an Ivy [League] school because academics are their priority.

Question: Do you have aspirations of coaching at a Division I powerhouse? Or do you prefer the atmosphere an Ivy League provides?

Naree Song: Pursuiing competitive golf from a young age required me to narrow my focus for an extended period of time. It was a no-brainer to operate that way because I had serious performance goals and truly enjoyed the pursuit of competitive excellence. Some might view it as a sacrifice, but it was one that I gladly made at the time.

At this point in my career, getting to work with individuals with diverse aspirations who are simultaneously great at golf expands my life in many ways. I can’t imagine doing something more meaningful than working with this particular group of student-athletes. With that said, the game of golf has taken me to unexpected places over the years, and I’m always open to new challenges, in golf and beyond. I keep telling my family that if my shoulder miraculously heals one day, I’m going back to Q-School.

Question: Aree, did you think about following Naree into college coaching?

Aree Song: Seeing Naree’s successful transition gave me ideas about my own path, which led me to eventually open a golf academy. I always joke that she always has a job here whenever she visits. It’s been inspiring to see her become the head coach of an Ivy League university. Naree’s career path in coaching is purely a result of her passion for helping students and her dedication to the game. Chan, Naree and I are lucky to be able to do what we love while helping shape the next generation of young talent.

Question: What is your ultimate goal with the academy?

Aree Song: We are in our 10th year now and making an impact on the lives of my students never gets old. There are aspects of coaching that are more challenging than playing, as you’re not the one holding the club. One of my daily challenges is figuring out how to bring out the best in someone’s game. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my students succeed, whether that that means winning tournaments, gaining entry to their dream colleges, or setting a new personal best. My golf academy is the first one that is owned and operated by an LPGA player in Thailand. What differentiates us is the fact that all of our coaches are experienced touring professionals, and we focus intensely on improving the playing skills of our students. I believe that strong players who can also teach have particular insights that often help students improve performance quickly.

David Shefter is a senior staff writer at the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.