Instead of another lame golf trip to Myrtle Beach this summer, trade your 5-iron for a muleta, a lance, and a funny hat, and head to California to learn how to fight a bull.

Based 30 miles outside of San Diego, the California School of Tauromagia offers a 5-day toreo course. Staffed by seasoned bullfighters, CST trains budding matadors in the bull-perplexing arts of capotazos (cape work), and suertes -- a term that encompasses all matador movements, including the slow, artful veronica (much more masculine than it sounds).

You'll hone your skills with drills like "running the horns": wherein classmates charge you, leaving you wishing for a traditional estoque (steel sword) to stab overeager participants through the heart. Once you've gained some expertise, you'll head to a nearby ranch to unleash your inner Hemingway fighting angry young bulls -- who unlike your annoying but harmless fellow students, have no compunctions about goring you.

Be warned: there's a good chance that a bad day in the ring could see you exiting with more than your pride wounded. But just think how superior you'll feel on Monday when your coworkers are whining about golf blisters and you're chilling with a shattered hip.