Imagine you’re stuck in a storm, and then you see a lifeboat – that’s exactly what it’s like to have supportive parents. And we think LPGA superstar Jenny Shin would agree with the statement. Having a rock-solid support system, like her mother Hyeonok Kang, and her father, has made all the difference in her journey to golf stardom.

While there’s little to no information about her mother, it is believed she had a big part in the golfer’s career. With her mother’s steady influence, Shin has achieved her dream and, stay focused on her goals. Shin won the 2010 International at Concord on the Futures Tour (now Epson Tour) and later secured her first LPGA Tour victory at the 2016 Volunteers of America Texas Shootout. Shin’s parents have been influential in her golf career and she has expressed gratitude for their support through social media posts and interviews. “My parents are amazing. They’ve sacrificed everything to be where I am, but I wasn’t taught how to be a winner,” she wrote on Instagram.

With her father’s name not being public knowledge, one would think that the golfer doesn’t speak much about him however, it’s the opposite. The golfer is always there to tell everyone how much her father impacted her career. Shin has an adorable nickname for her father – ‘Daddio’ and she thanks him for teaching her important life skills, which crafted her into the amazing golfer we know today!

“He taught me discipline, value of money, having responsibilities, being accountable, importance of solitude and means to survive,” she wrote in an Instagram caption in 2023. Her fairly long caption showed how her father made her responsible for making good choices and working hard to achieve her goals. But here’s the fun part: this father-daughter relationship has had its ups and downs.

Jenny Shin’s relationship with her father

In 2023, while interacting with her fans on Instagram, Shin revealed something about her relationship with her father that sent a shockwave in the golf community. Any guesses? Well, when a fan asked who impacted her career the most, the golfer replied, “My dad. A ton of negativity and abuse😂😂 (I love him very much)”. Pretty unusual, right?

Well, that’s the thing. Their relationship was unusual. “He’s completely mental and drives me insane but I love him dearly,” she wrote in a caption.

Shin has said before that her father raised her like a son rather than a daughter, which sometimes caused a strain in their relationship, but the golfer acknowledges the effort her dad put in so that she could reach her dreams and soar even higher. So it is safe to say her parents played a crucial role in nurturing her to become a sensational golfer.