A rich, cold weather stewed concoction remains a favorite. Later, my culinary training would teach me new names for stews. Fricassees, stews bound with creamy sauces. Blanquettes, white stews enriched with cream or egg yolks. Etouffees, stewy mixtures served over rice whose name is derived from the French word for smothered. They're fancy names for comfort food that uses common slow-cooking processes producing scrumptious tidbits surrounded with sauce.
But you can hit a million shots on the driving range or in front of a mirror. It's possible to replicate conditions and practice your swing over and over and over again. To a certain degree, you can practice golf in a vacuum. In surfing, you cannot. There is a magical, confounding component so elusive and finite that it adds to the sport's seduction.