Tucson, AZ

Recently the associates attended a conference in Tucson, Arizona at the West Paloma Resort and Spa. Upon landing in Tuscan, we look out the window and realize there is a huge air force base in Tuscan where the U.S. fighter jets leave out of. It was really cool to see all the different planes and seeing them in the air later on doing practice manuevers.

Now I had never been to Arizona before but I do have one thing to say. It is HOT!! Probably a tad bit too hot for me. It was a very dry heat while we were there for the conference but as always we made sure to make the best of the time spent there and to enjoy our stay.

One of my co-workers Dave is a really good golfer and he told me we'd go play some golf while out in Arizona especially since they have some nice golf courses. This was my first time playing golf and it was weird because I have pretty much played every other "main" sport at least a few times, from volleyball to horseshoes, to soccer. You get my drift. Granted I stink at a lot of them but I had NEVER played golf before on a course so it was a new situation to me.

My co-worker Victor was kind enough to take me to the practice range where he gave me some pointers on how to hit the ball and what clubs to use when doing different types of shots. He was a good teacher and gave me a good understanding for how to hit a golf ball correctly. The one thing I realized is that its VERY HARD to keep your arms straight as you pull the club back to hit the ball. I wound up hitting a lot of ground balls and wild shots while on the practice range but hitting a few nice drives and chips felt really good!

Now to the golf course. Hole 1. I was kind of nervous. Like I said before, first time playing golf on a real golf course. I started out a little rusty hitting some unplayable shots, mishits, etc but as we progressed through the course I started hitting the ball better and getting a better feel for the game. After we played the 18th hole I was kind of tired but there are some things I took away from my first experience on the course.

1) my co-workers were really helpful and encouraging which made me feel comfortable and enjoy learning to play the game.

2) the views on the course were magnificient and I realized playing golf on a lazy afternoon can be really relaxing and fun.

3) it is really hard to play golf. it takes a lot of talent and the pro's are phenomenal. I now have a new found respect for the shots they are able to make on the course.

All in all my first experience on the golf course was a memorable one and I thank my co-workers in full for that.