Kelly Slater traveled to Scotland this week to play golf.
Naturally, he went surfing first.
The 54-year-old, 11-time world champion squeezed in an unexpected sunset session at St Andrews East Sands ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, trading golf clubs for a wetsuit and surfboard as a small crowd watched from shore.
“There’s a GOAT in the water,” the tournament joked in the caption accompanying footage of Slater’s session, calling it “the perfect preparation” before teeing off at the Dunhill. In the accompanying video, Slater noted that he’d “finally” managed to surf the wave after years of visiting the area for golf.
And he has visited plenty.
This is Slater’s eighth appearance at the Alfred Dunhill Links, where he’s paired in the team competition with Spanish professional Rafa Cabrera-Bello. After two rounds, the pair sit at 8-under following consecutive team scores of 68.
The tournament rotates through three legendary Scottish links: Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and the Old Course at St Andrews, with Sunday’s final round played at the Old Course.
That last venue is especially significant. St Andrews bills itself as the “Home of Golf,” with the game played there for roughly 600 years. The Old Course is recognized as the oldest golf course in the world.
Slater isn’t merely dabbling, either.
He has played golf since the 1990s and has hovered around scratch or a low-single-digit handicap. In a recent interview, Slater said that when he’s playing well, he’s “around scratch,” while on an off stretch he might play to a three handicap.
He’s also enjoyed success at the Dunhill, finishing third in the 2009 Team Championship alongside Simon Dyson — an experience Slater called “the best week of golf in my life.”
And the event clearly means something to him.
“You feel the soul of golf in this tournament,” Slater has said. “It’s the best pro-am experience on earth.”
Still, even at the Home of Golf, surfing apparently comes first.
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