A Former Pro Golfer on Choosing Your Own Path

Featured Interview: Jeehae Lee

Jeehae Lee is rewriting what it means to build a career on your own terms. A former professional golfer turned CEO, her journey moves far beyond the traditional trajectory — from competing at the highest level of sport to building a company that is reshaping how people engage with the game.

Rather than leaving golf behind, Jeehae chose to return to it — this time on her own terms. That decision became the foundation for everything that followed.

Now, as the founder of Sportsbox AI, she is focused on making golf more accessible through technology, while challenging the idea that success needs to follow a single, linear path. Her story is a reminder that passion doesn’t have to stay fixed — it can evolve, expand, and take on entirely new forms.

Follow Jeehae on Instagram @jeehaeda

When do you feel most like yourself?

When I’m immersed in learning a new skill, trying to push through the frustrations to get to the next unlock, like a new language or music, even something in my golf game.

What’s a decision you made that ended up shaping everything?

Deciding to quit golf after freshman year of college allowed me to explore the various other aspects of life and myself outside of golf. And it gave me the distance I needed to come back and choose golf out of my own volition instead of it being a default identity. Coming back to golf made me so much more grateful for the game and to make it a part of my life over and over because I chose it. If I had just kept playing, then I am 100% certain I would have chosen a more “traditional career” after college.

What’s something you’re still figuring out right now?

How to say no to things.

Tell me about a time you took a risk. How did it turn out?

My senior year of college, I reneged on an offer from an investment banking firm in HK to go play golf. On paper, it made zero sense, but I knew I would regret not taking that shot. It worked out—but more importantly, it set a standard for myself: I’d rather choose the path that feels right than the one that just looks right.

How has your definition of success changed over your career?

I define it by how much fun you’re having doing what you do. If you’re not having fun, then what’s the damn point? Fun doesn’t mean the absence of challenges. In fact, it wouldn’t be fun if work/life/relationships/whatever were just a walk in the park. You gotta treat life like a game sometimes…. There’s no right or wrong answer, but you keep moving forward and get to the other side, and the things you learn along the way are what makes life fun.

How did you navigate the transition from playing professionally to now owning a company centered around the sport?

The transition didn’t happen overnight; there were many steps along the way, each of which has been a necessary part of the journey. And I would be lying if I said I knew that these steps were intentionally taken to get me to where I am today. I just tried to do the thing where I can be of/create the greatest value, and that often meant that I transitioned to a space where my skills were rare. A series of these decisions later, I realize I have collected a unique set of experiences that set me up really well for starting and growing Sportsbox AI.

What are you most proud of in your career?

Big Ideas No Chills is an interview series spotlighting real stories of ambition and reinvention—everyday people pivoting careers, taking bold risks, starting new chapters, and chasing big dreams.