44 NCGA Golf SPRING 2009
what is your mentality right before you
catch a wave? Try to have a clear mind.
If you're thinking about anything else in
your life, if you have personal issues, if
you're stressed out about the result, all of
those things are going to distract you from
being present in the moment and being
able to react to what the wave dictates.
As I'm taking off I try to not think but
only react to what the wave does.
have you surfed much in northern
california? I haven't surfed Ghost Trees
which is the big break you might see
off a point near the 18th hole at Pebble
Beach. Guys have caught 70-foot waves
out there. It's really dangerous; a friend of
mine died there last year. I haven't done a
ton of surfing in Northern California, but
I've surfed Santa Cruz a number of times
and Mavericks a couple times and I surfed
a couple of inside waves off the 18th hole
at Pebble last year. I've played more golf in
Monterey than surfed.
what is your favorite surfing spot
in the world? It's so hard to pick one.
The Pipeline in Hawaii overall probably
has the best selection of what I like. It's
dangerous, exciting, scary and challenging
but also doable. You can handle it if you
know what you're doing out there. You can
go either way, right or left and basically
hit a big barrel which is what everyone is
looking for.
what's the biggest wave you have ever
caught? Probably 45 feet if you were
to measure the face of the wave. I have
friends who have ridden 70-80 footers.
Once you get over 40-50 feet, it almost
doesn't matter. . .if you wipe out on a wave
that big it's just dangerous. You're going
to be holding your breath for a long time.
You have to go to your happy place and
pretend you're sleeping in your bed for the
next 30 seconds.
where have you lost the most skin or
had the biggest wipe out? The biggest
was in Fiji at a place called Tavarua with
a really shallow, sharp, very alive reef.
Most people who go there end up losing
some skin.
any tips for beginning surfers? The
biggest tip is to just get in the water.
There's so much you have to learn and get
accustomed to. The first thing is to get a
big, wide stable board, one that you can
stand up on very easily so that you can
build your confidence. You can learn how
to time waves right and stand up in the
right place and judge them. As you get
better you can quickly move down in size
and volume of your board.
what enabled you to come out of
semi-retirement and return to winning
so quickly? I guess it comes down to
the belief I could do it. I didn't feel like
anything was being done that I couldn't
compete with and that in the three years
I wasn't competing I had lost anything.
In fact, when you're not competing,
you can argue you get better because you
have more time to practice, more time to
experiment with not only your surfing but
your equipment. I feel I came back a bet-
ter surfer than when I decided not to surf
the tour those years. It was three years off
but I was still competing multiple times
per year, so I was fresh when I came back.
I was much more excited, but it wasn't as
easy as before.
how have you dealt with your life in
the spotlight and being a celebrity?
Reluctantly; I don't like to think of myself
in that way. In certain places I am very
well known like a beach around an event,
but away from that people might recog-
nize me somewhat. I have a lot of friends
who are more famous than I am and have
to deal with a lot more than I do. I try
to keep it in perspective that way. In the
wrong situations it can be overwhelming
but generally it's a pretty nice life I have.
People are generally interested in what I
do and are very friendly and probably very
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