01극적인 올해, 그리고 두 개의 감정
세계 랭킹 2615위 겸 시간 강사인 시몬 자흐는 2026년 한 해 동안 인생에서 가장 강력한 두 감정을 경험했다. 친한 친구의 죽음과 첫 딸 미아의 탄생이었다.
30세의 체코 골퍼는 패트릭 리드, 수비 챔피언 그랜트 포레스트 같은 스타 선수들과 달리, 스코틀랜드의 넥소 챔피언십에 NEXT Golf Tour 우승의 후광으로 초대를 받았다.
02NEXT Golf Tour에서의 성공
NEXT Golf Tour는 전 세계 트랙맨 시뮬레이터에서만 경기하는 독특한 투어다. 자흐는 3개 연속 대회에서 준우승을 기록하며 오더 오브 메릿 타이틀을 차지했고, 이를 통해 DP World Tour와 호텔플래너 투어에 출전할 기회를 얻었다.
그러나 그 성공의 기쁨도 잠시, 비극이 닥쳤다.
03스키 사고와 친구의 죽음
자흐는 스키&골프 월드 챔피언십 국내 예선전 참가 중 친구 막스 타우헤르트와 함께 스핀들레루프 믈린 리조트에서 비경쟁 스키를 타고 있었다. 갑자기 타우헤르트가 스키 슬로프에서 숲으로 떨어졌고, 어린 시절부터 스키 실력이 있던 자흐의 노력에도 불구하고 28세의 친구는 회복하지 못했다.
"세 번째나 네 번째 스키 런에서 그가 경사진 숲 속으로 떨어졌어요. 그에게 외쳤지만 대답이 없었어요. 가서 봤는데 의식을 되찾을 수 없어 구급차를 불렀죠"라고 자흐는 말했다.
구급대는 헬리콥터로 도착했지만, 얼음이 많고 경사가 심해 직접 내려갈 수 없었다. 자흐는 로프를 통해 헬리콥터에서 내려올 수 있도록 방해물을 치우려다가 스키 부츠에서 미끄러져 200미터를 굴러 내려갔다.
그 결과 손가락 뼈가 하나 부러지고 세 개가 탈골했으며 심한 타박상을 입었지만, 상황이 훨씬 더 나쁠 수도 있었다.
04죽음과 탄생, 그 사이의 인생관 변화
비극은 종종 인생관의 변화를 가져온다. 자흐에게도 마찬가지였다. 특히 어린 시절 친구였던 타우헤르트의 죽음은 그에게 다른 관점을 주었다. "그전엔 누구도 잃어본 적이 없었어요. 특히 직접 그런 순간을 목격하고 팔에 안고 있다는 건 처음이었죠"라고 자흐는 회상했다.
친구의 죽음 1개월 후, 그는 새로 태어난 딸 미아를 안았다. "정말 다르지만 모두 강렬한 감정이었어요. 그것은 골프 성적이나 토너먼트를 완전히 다른 관점에서 보게 만들었어요. 이전엔 골프가 삶과 죽음의 문제인 것처럼 느껴졌는데, 이제 진짜 관점을 알게 됐어요. 언덕 아래로 굴러내릴 때, 제 머릿속에는 아내에게 돌아가 딸이 자라는 것을 보고 싶다는 생각뿐이었어요."
05프로 경력과 경제적 어려움
2019년 프로 전환한 자흐는 DP World Tour와 호텔플래너 투어에서 51경기를 펼쳤다. 그 중 DP World Tour 경기는 대부분 모국에서만 진행되었다. 가장 최근에는 2년 전 체코에서 마침내 DP World Tour 커트를 통과했다.
하지만 3부 프로의 경제적 현실은 가혹했다. NEXT Golf Tour에서 기울인 노력은 $70,000을 가져다줬는데, 이것이 얼마나 중요한 자산인지 자흐는 직접 설명했다. "미스컷 됐을 때 그 비용을 직접 내야 할까 봐 걱정하지 않아도 되니까요. 캐디를 고용할 수 있는지 고민하지 않아도 돼요. 이것이 바로 세계 상위 300 밖 프로의 현실입니다."
그래서 자흐는 프라하 시티 골프와 오크스 프라하에서 강사로 일하며 생계를 보조했다. "더 안정적인 수입이고 가족과 함께할 수 있으니까요. 세계를 다니며 골프로만 버는 것보다는요."
06Original (English) — DP World Tour
Mathieu Wood
Šimon Zach, the world number 2,615 and a part-time coach, has experienced two of life's most powerful emotions this year ahead of his appearance at the Nexo Championship; the death of a close friend and the birth of his first child.
Away from the headline stars such as Patrick Reed and defending champion Grant Forrest, the Czech golfer is this week teeing it up in Scotland as an invite after earning a spot through the NEXT Golf Tour.
Exclusively played on Trackman simulators worldwide, Zach won the order of merit title as he finished runner-up across three consecutive events to earn playing opportunities on both the DP World Tour and HotelPlanner Tour this season.
However, soon after that high, the 30-year-old experienced heartbreak.
While competing in a national qualifying event for the Ski&Golf World Championship, where participants test their skills across alpine ski racing and golf, Zach's friend Max Tauchert suffered a life-ending crash while the pair did some out-of-competition skiing at the Špindlerův Mlýn resort.
Despite the efforts of both Zach - a talented skier growing up - and emergency personnel, Tauchert died at the age of 28.
"In the third or fourth skiing [run], he fell off the ski slope into a forest," Zach tells the DP World Tour.
"I tried to call to him but he didn't respond. I went to him but couldn't help him regain consciousness so I called an ambulance.
"They arrived with a helicopter and they [the emergency crew] were trying to get down to the slope, they couldn't because it was really icey and slopey.
"I was trying to move things out of the way so they could come down from the helicopter via a rope.
"But while I was doing this, I slipped in my ski boots, fell and then rolled 200 metres down a cliff."
Zach sustained one broken and three dislocated fingers and heavy bruising as a result, but things could have been far worse.
He added: "It was a really difficult moment. I knew Max since I was a kid and loosing him that day was tragic."
Tragedy often brings with it a change in outlook, and golf is now secondary in life for Zach, especially after becoming a father following the birth of his daughter, Mia, just over a month after the death of his childhood friend.
"In my life, I hadn't experienced losing anyone close before, certainly not first hand witnessing it and holding him in my arms.
"One month later, I was holding my newborn daughter. It was two really different, but strong emotions.
"It puts golf achievements or tournaments into a different perspective. Before, it was as if golf was a matter of life or death, but now I see the real perspective. When I fell and was rolling down the hill, all I was thinking was to be able to get home to my pregnant wife and see my daughter grow up."
Before, it was as if golf was a matter of life or death.
A professional since 2019, Zach has made 51 appearances across the DP World Tour and HotelPlanner Tour.
Of his nine on the DP World Tour, almost all have come on home soil. He made his debut as a 15-year-old amateur at the Czech Open in 2011, missing the cut by two shots.
His most recent appearance came two years, again in his homeland, when he made his first ever cut on the DP World Tour, since when he has tried to earn playing rights through Qualifying School.
Joining the likes of Major Champions Reed and this season's multiple winners Eugenio Chacarra and Casey Jarvis in the field at Trump International Golf Links, Zach will play links golf competitively for the first time since his amateur days.
Such was the impact of his injuries in his own ski fall, he had to withdraw from the first of his three starts on the HotelPlanner Tour that he gained through his success on the NEXT Golf Tour.
Asked whether he thought at the start of the year he'd be competing again on the DP World Tour, Zach replied: "I would have thought it's possible because I always try to dream big and I was hoping to get [back] to the DP World Tour in the last couple of years now.
"I was hoping I was going to get there, but I wasn't sure it was going to be the case. I definitely wasn't thinking that the NEXT Golf Tour would be the way."
Through his performances on the NEXT Golf Tour, Zach earned $70,000. While a modest figure for some in the professional game, it has eased the pressure on him personally on and off the course.
However, away from top echelons of the game, Zach has experienced the loss-making nature that can come with being a professional golfer.
"It's why I am so glad that my practice has paid off on the NEXT Golf Tour. I would have never imagined this would have been the way it happened.
"If I miss the cut [this week] it's fine. I have the money to pay for it. I don't have to worry if I can stay in the official tournament hotel, hire a caddie or not.
"These things are the life of a professional golfer who is outside the top 300 in the world."
As a result, Zach has moved into coaching in recent years and works as an instructor at Prague City Golf and Oaks Prague.
"It's something that I enjoy and it is also a more stable [source of income] to rely on with family than traveling the world and trying to make a living out of golf," he says.
It remains to be seen if Zach can make the most of competing against some of the world's best but after a year that's featured tragedy and euphoria, he's just happy to have this shot.
"I'm down to earth about my chances," he says. "It's more about enjoying the experience, but I am also ready to compete!"
Features
Mathieu Wood Part of the challenge for players is encountering new venues and that is exactly what happened last year when Trump International Golf Links made its debut on the DP World Tour for the Nexo Championship.
