How do you feel about golf? I had wandered onto a golf course twice in my life. The first time was while I was in college, and the second was when I was trying to impress my boyfriend. It must have worked because he married me, and now we have a child. Golf itself didn’t inspire me all that much, but the socializing that goes on is great. Did you know that there are carts filled with snacks and drinks that just roam the course to satisfy your 9th hole munchies? My boyfriend and I played a game of “best ball” with another couple. She forgot to put the brake on their golf cart and it rolled down the green of the 14th hole. We still laugh at the thought of the other golfers shooting out in different directions, trying to avoid the runaway cart. They all managed to hang onto their 9th hole drinks.

The reason I bring this up I've learned to love golf. What I do enjoy is the athletic conditioning that goes into the game. In order to impress my hubby while we were dating, I scheduled a few private golf lessons at the Golf Performance Center located at Canyon Ranch in Tucson. I was fascinated with all that went into swinging a club. The body mechanics, speed, flexibility and coordination required for that one act are tremendous. Silly me – I once thought the most athletic thing about golf was the walk from hole to hole.

Some people may think that Canyon Ranch built the Golf Performance Center in Tucson to attract men. That may have been part of the decision, but it was a small part. The center is about conditioning the body for the athletics involved in the game of golf. The equipment and expertise at the Center are outstanding. You can choose individual coaching or learn in a group setting with the amazing PGA pros. You can even design your entire Canyon Ranch experience around golf with the Golf Package. They’ve even teamed up with other Ranch departments – Movement and Exercise Physiology – to offer a Pilates for Golf, Golf Physical Analysis and the popular Boot Camp Golf.

As a Program Advisor, I enjoyed working with guests that would say to me, “my only form of exercise is playing golf.” I would enthusiastically respond with, “then let’s make that exercise the best it can be.” They might remind me that we had no golf course. But hello … this is Canyon Ranch. Who needs a golf course to help a golfer toward peak performance? Next time you are in Tucson, check out all that is possible at the Golf Performance Center. Who knows…in just a few days, you could transform those handicaps into bogies.

p.s. "Fore" is called out as a warning to anyone who might be in the way of a flying golf ball. Some people say it comes from the military expression "beware before," which was shouted when shooting behind the troops.