Learning to Play Golf

BY LESLIE ATKINS

few years ago, I watched Tiger Woods play on a gorgeous course at Pebble Beach, and I got hooked on golf. So I began to learn where to play and how to take up the game. I wanted to trade my "tea parties" for "tee parties."

Trials and Tribulations of Learning
A business associate offered to teach me. Unfortunately, his golf game was decent, but his teaching skills were nonexistent. My "lesson" consisted of watching him play - with no explanations, no effort to let me try to hit the ball, nothing.

Then a few friends recommended that I take lessons. But, I worried about what to wear, where to go, and what equipment I would need.

I also thought about what I knew of the game, which was not much. A golf club is something you swing. It's also somewhere you play. PGA stands for, let's see - Professional Golf Association. LPGA is the Ladies Professional Golf Association. So, I'm good with acronyms, but would I be good at swinging a stick called an iron?

A few clubs, like Augusta National, don't even allow women to play at all. But, women are playing golf, and there is, of course, a business angle. While fewer women than men play business golf (i.e., play golf with business associates and negotiate between holes or after a round), many women find that making a deal on the links really benefits their business.

Additionally, golf is considered a great equalizer. On any given day, your game can be off, and everyone knows and accepts that. It's also a game that's rather civilized, with specific rules and traditions. Unless you're playing professionally, you get a personal handicap that helps put everyone on equal footing.

Becoming a (Golf) Swinger
I signed up for a seminar geared toward teaching women the ins and outs of playing golf. As I sat inside all day learning about the terminology and the dress and the etiquette with a group of executive women, the golf course loomed outside. The lectures were useful, but not particularly appealing. We did get a half hour outside on the putting green - that was my favorite part.

Then, I went with a friend to Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa, located in southwestern Pennsylvania south of Pittsburgh. Nemacolin has a full - service spa and two golf courses-one of those courses was the site for a PGA tournament this year.

My friend and I spent an entire morning learning to hit a golf ball with a seven iron under the tutelage of a golf pro. We were videotaped while we practiced. Watching the replays, we could each compare our form with that of an experienced golfer.

Afterward, we were told to go out and play the course. I asked if they give "playing lessons." They said they do, but nobody encouraged us to take one. Since we didn't even know the basics of keeping score, or how to hit with anything but a seven iron, we just practiced hitting the ball at the driving range and driving a golf cart. It was fun, but not very enlightening.

I continued to talk with my friends. The men were unanimously in favor of golf. However, the reactions from my women friends varied:

"I hate it. I don't even want to talk about it."

"I love it. I want to be a golfer some day."

"I'd like to try it. I played miniature golf once."

"I go to the driving range and pretend the ball is my boss. Sometimes, I pretend it's my husband."

The Right Method
I had gathered a lot of input, but I still hadn't found a winning formula for learning the game. Then, I tried Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. Set in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains of Tucson, AZ, Loews is absolutely gorgeous. The desert setting, which includes prickly pear cactus and Tucson's unique saguaro (pronounced suh-WAR-oh) cactus, is spectacular. The golf lessons are equal to the setting, and they are definitely women-friendly. There's a female pro on staff, as well as several male pros who work well with women students.

A woman business associate and I took a three - hour lesson from two male golf pros. They really knew the game of golf and how to teach it-both through demonstration and verbal coaching. (It also didn't hurt that they were both good-looking.)

I relearned how to swing a seven iron properly, and I also learned to use a wood and a putter. Plus, we actually went out on the course for a playing lesson in the late afternoon. That experience finally gave me an idea of what it is like to play golf, to fall in love with the setting, especially late in the afternoon as the light begins to change in the desert, and to gain a real appreciation for the game and the resort.

The next morning, there was a tennis aerobics class, which I happily attended, followed by a Swedish massage at the spa and an appointment to get my hair cut at the salon. Loews Ventana Canyon Resort also has a wonderful 2.5-mile walking course that winds through the beautiful desert landscape around the golf course and the spa.

The Loews resort has excellent restaurants, too. The Flying V Bar & Grill features guacamole that is made-to-order right at your table. Another dining option, the Ventana Room, has superb cuisine and a romantic ambiance with a spectacular view of the Tucson skyline. Chef Philippe Trosch has a sense of humor that becomes apparent when his Red Soup is poured from a French press and the caviar is served dramatically in the top quarter of a hollowed-out egg.

At last, I had found the perfect setting and the right instruction for learning golf and enjoying other amusements, as well. I'm heading back to Loews Ventana Canyon the first chance I get.

LESLIE ATKINS is an award-winning feature writer who specializes in travel, sports, and fitness topics. The owner of LA Communications, LLC, a Washington, DC-based public relations and editorial services firm, she can be contacted at 202-223-1865 (e-mail: LAtkinsCom@aol.com).