Last year sometime, during one of our editorial meetings, the staff at The Inertia were throwing around ideas for projects we’d like to do. I’ve been playing golf semi-frequently for the last three or so years — a practice that I think comes frequently with age — and I had an idea to go play 18 with Kelly Slater. Basically, just do a long interview while playing a round of golf. We never did it, which bums me out, but at least someone did. That someone is Iona Stephen, a former professional golfer and now host and broadcaster working with many of golf’s key networks including GolfTV, Sky Sports Golf, the BBC, and NBC Golf Channel.
I like these longer interviews that take place while doing something other than just sitting in front of a camera. They generally make for a far more engaging chat. A little more free-ranging, a little looser. I’m sure there’s a backbone of questions to ask, but, as is the case with any good interview, the good stuff comes from the off-the-cuff moments; the parts of the conversation that aren’t scripted. A little less Q&A and a little more fireside chat, if you know what I mean.
Kelly and Iona played a round at Kingsbarns during the Dunhill Links Tournament in Scotland. It’s an interesting look into Kelly’s mindset, most notably the way he sees the game of golf. It’s strikingly similar to how he likely looks at surfing.
“I think the spiritual aspect of golf comes in when you just feel the shot,” Slater says in the opening scene. “Then you hit it… that’s the essence of golf. It’s almost like when you’re putting you see a line on the ground. Even sometimes when it doesn’t make sense, you just feel this shot. You see this line… I think when you feel the game, that’s the spiritual side for me.”
In surfing, of course, it’s all about moving without thinking. I think you’d have a hard time finding someone who can consciously think about the next movement they’re going to do on a wave. You need to simply feel the wave and do what feels instinctually right. Sure, you might have a general idea of what you want to do — maybe a certain maneuver or something — but surfing, much like golf, requires a basic framework of how you want to get from point A to point B, then moving with what’s presented to you. Golf, however, allows for much more forethought, but you get the idea.
“I find it to be a challenge against yourself,” Slater continues. “What you’ve done before; if you can match it and repeat it; if you can better it and learn more.”
It’s a wide-ranging interview, where they talk golf, surfing, and just about everything in between, and it’s a great look inside the brain of one of the greatest athletes of all time.
