Several youngsters, caps and Sharpie pens in hand, waited patiently for an interview to end so that they could ask the golfer for his autograph at the Hawai'i State Open at Turtle Bay Resort last Saturday.

Tadd Fujikawa? Dean Wilson? David Ishii? Jesse Mueller, who was running away with the tournament?

No, Kelly Slater, the record nine-time world surfing champion. The junior golfers all knew he was not only the world's greatest surfer but, more important, one of them — someone who loved the game they played.

More than love says Slater. "Addicted, I got the bug."

He first played a municipal par-3 course growing up in Cocoa Beach, Fla., a couple of times with his teenage buddies. "I was no good," he remembered. Then in his early 20s, after establishing his fame in surfing, Slater was asked to play a round of golf and discuss some business ventures.

"I hit a couple of nice shots, felt good and I was hooked. I bought a set of clubs that week and I was in, signed up," Slater said. "I got to a point where I had to hit balls at least once a day, if not play. That went on for a couple of years. Gradually, it became a lifestyle for me."

Lifestyle of the rich and famous, that is. He's a welcome addition to any pro-am and has played the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for the last three years.

"I play everywhere I go around the world — Tahiti, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, France, Spain, Portugal — and if I'm not on a wave, I'm on a golf course," says Slater. He went to Scotland, not exactly known for surfing, in order to play St. Andrews and Carnoustie. "My home is where my heart is and I have a lot of homes. It's on a wave of a golf course."

His winter home, from late November to February, is Oahu's North Shore, where else? It's the ideal place, he says, to enjoy his two passions — surfing and golf.

"Here, it's perfect. If the waves are no good, blowing out or there are no swells, it's 10 minutes away from the golf course. I love these two courses (Palmer and Fazio at Turtle Bay). They're really fun and real different," said Slater, who's also a member at Kūki'o Golf & Beach Club on the Kona Coast.

And Slater's got game to play anywhere.

"I'm probably a high-2 handicap right now. After today, I'm like a 10," he said with a laugh after missing the cut, golf's equivalent of a wipeout. "I scored horribly, three-putting four times on the front nine. But I shot even par on the back and eagled the last hole (the par 5 at the Palmer Course). He also took 20 bucks from local pro John Lynch, who with Tony Finau were Slater's playing partners the first two rounds.

"He's got a really good game. Nice swing, good mechanics. And a massive competitor," said Lynch, who pushed and lost a side bet with Slater.

"He's an awesome guy, funny. We had a good time out there," added Finau, who represents Turtle Bay along with his brother, Gipper.

"Best surfer I've ever played with," says Matt Hall, Turtle Bay's director of golf. "He's very serious about the game. Every time he goes out, he wants to learn different shots in different situations."

Slater is basically a self-taught player. He has had only one formal golf lesson, trying to add a high slice to his game from his usual low hook shots, from Jerry King at the Kapalua Golf Academy. And that was years after he seriously took up the game in 1995 at the age of 23. (Want to know how old Slater is? Do the math.).

"I kind of like the challenge of teaching myself and learning little tips from pros because then you don't have to rely on somebody too much. Especially with me because I travel so much. I don't want to call someone up from halfway around the world and ask, 'What am I doing wrong?' "

Every surfer wants to be like Kelly Slater. What golfer does Kelly Slater want to be? He is intrigued by the late Canadian golfer, Moe Norman, who used a baseball, 10-fingered grip and acclaimed as golf's most accurate player.

"One of the first golf magazines I ever bought was 'Golf Digest' with Moe Norman on the cover," Slater recalled. "I was intrigued by his game and his accuracy and I try to do what he does. He's sort of bent over a little too much for me. But you can't argue with a straight ball." Even today, Slater watches Norman's videos on YouTube.

Surf and turf seems like an odd combination, but Slater sees some similarities between surfing and golf.

"There's something deeper that seems attached to golf and surfing. You learn things about yourself."

There's also technical similarity in the mechanics of both, according to Slater. "When you twist your body, you create tension and power. You have to do the same thing in surfing. In order to create power in surfing or pull the power from the wave, you sort of have to coil your body up and use that tension and force against that water."

There's another similarity, Slater said. "With golf, two guys can hit the same exact drive and one guy ends up in a divot or gets a bad bounce on the green. With surfing, you're paddling right next to a guy and a wave comes through and cleans him up and you make it through or vice versa."

Golf is known for its camaraderie. It's mostly an individual sport but isn't much fun playing alone. True in surfing, too, says Slater.

"If you're surfing some big or intense waves, there can be more camaraderie at Waimea than anywhere in the world. You never know if a 50-foot wave is going to come through and clean you out. For some reason you seem to be a little bit nicer when the waves get bigger. You never know when a guy has to help you out."

Bill Kwon can be reached at billkwonrhs@aol.com.