Slater, 54, is one of the ambassadors playing in this year’s golf tournament at Millbrook, which officially tees off tomorrow.
He told the Otago Daily Times he was "super-tired" after arriving at the resort and fell asleep in one of the two bedrooms of his accommodation, while his girlfriend put their 19-month-old to bed.
"I woke up and basically sleepwalked to the other room — I didn’t know where I was, eyes closed, feeling the wall, and then I fell down the stairs."
Less than ideal considering he had a hip replacement almost four months ago.
Thankfully, he only fell down two of the 15 steps in his accommodation before he woke up.
"You know when you jolt awake with adrenaline?
"I was like, ‘oh, I almost died’.
"I’m so lucky."
Despite some back pain, Slater tested out Millbrook’s greens for the first time yesterday, although he went through two-thirds of his round on borrowed clubs.
In the South Island for the first time, he planned to play a couple of holes at neighbouring The Hills course today.
Slater is both the youngest, aged 20, and oldest, aged 39, world surfing champion — two of the 11 times he has picked up the title
Depending on how he fares at the NZ Open, where he is partnered with German pro Dominic Foos, who plays on the Asian Tour, Slater may head back to The Hills for another round on Saturday before jetting out of Queenstown for some time in the North Island.
However, based on his pedigree, there is an excellent chance The Hills may have to wait.
Slater, a regular at the exclusive Te Arai Links course on the Northland coast, has been known to play about 150 rounds a year, and is playing off a 2.0-handicap.
Other ambassadors in this year’s tournament include Australian tennis great Ash Barty and Hollywood actor Michael Pena, while double All Black Jeff Wilson will this year caddie for Steven Alker, who scored a hole-in-one on the fourth hole of Millbrook’s Remarkables course yesterday.
