"GOOD ON WOOD, SPASTIC ON PLASTIC" — PHIL EDWARDS' ODE TO BALSA

Phil Edwards, patron saint of power surfing, was the last of the greats to switch from balsa-core boards to polyurethane. He didn't like the smell of foam, didn't like the industrial blank-blowing process, and especially didn't like the way the new boards felt underfoot. "Good on wood, spastic on plastic," as Edwards liked to say. In 1957 or '58, just as foam was taking over as the boardmaker's co...