Burneski spends summer golfing with NCAA All-Stars

Playing 17 rounds of golf during 21 days in three different countries can sound exhausting to some people, adventurous to others and downright insane to even more. But for one IU senior, it was reality.

During the summer, IU women’s golf senior Pamela Burneski was selected for the NCAA All-Star Golf Team. This group of nine women’s college golfers traveled to
Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong for three weeks, playing golf and absorbing the culture of each city.

The team left on June 22 from Los Angeles to Tokyo to kick off its adventure through Asia.

“In Tokyo, golf was probably the least different,” Burneski said. “Everything there is so perfectly manicured and really top-notch. Overall in Asia, the biggest difference is just how special golf is. It’s such a luxury there.”

Several influential people joined the all-stars on the Japanese courses. One day, Burneski found herself playing in the same group as the president of Fujifilm and on the same course as several LPGA players.

From there, the team traveled to Seoul, South Korea, to play on some of the most relished golf courses in the world.

Burneski said the annual membership fee of one of the clubs they played at is $1 million.

“I think there are only about 300 golf courses in all of South Korea,” Burneski said. “Only the upper class elite get to play at all, so it was a real privilege to play there.”

For the final leg of their journey, the team traveled south to Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong was by far my favorite,” Burneski said. “Besides the fact that you can get around there on English, it was just so beautiful to be right on the water and see the lights of Victoria Harbour. The whole cultural experience and the beauty of the land over there is really amazing.”

Burneski said besides meeting some important and powerful people during her trip, she was also exposed to new experiences. She said she tried not to discriminate against trying different foods or doing different activities.

“In Japan we ate a lot of eel, and it was great,” Burneski said. “Korea was a lot of soups. But my most memorable meal was in Hong Kong. I ordered a chicken, and it came with the head attached, and the eyes and feet were still there.”

During their free time, the all-stars visited the Kamakura Buddha in Japan and the Itaewon shopping district in South Korea, among other tourist attractions.

Burneski said one of the best parts of the trip was the friends she made with the other golfers.

“Spending three weeks with eight different girls in a completely different place, we all created bonds and memories that will last forever, Burneski said.