Brigman (33) once toyed with the idea of joining the Air Force and this week has offered the perfect opportunity to indulge in his love of the skies.
While others were playing in the New Zealand Open pro-am on Wednesday, Brigman was soaring over Queenstown.
"I went hang-gliding so maybe that's freed me up and got the fear out of me," he said after his excellent first round of 6-under 66.
"I actually went bungy jumping last year, so I toned it down a little bit. I did three bungy jumps last year.
"Hopefully, I won't be here next year, but maybe skydiving might be a possibility."
Brigman, a native of New Mexico, lists Queenstown as his favourite place to visit.
He said he had been loading scenic photos on to his Facebook page and getting plenty of feedback from his friends.
He missed the cut by a stroke at last year's Open and a poor finish to the year saw him finish 53rd on the Nationwide Tour money list, missing the chance to play on the PGA Tour for a fourth time.
Brigman enjoyed playing with New Zealander David Smail and fellow American Jay Delsing yesterday.
"We had a really good group and we got some momentum going.
"I rolled it really well and made a lot of putts. The greens were rolling really well.
"On 18, I chipped it up to 15 feet behind the hole and made that. That was a huge momentum putt and I was able to birdie the next three holes."
Also looking for momentum was Australia's Andrew Bonhomme, who matched Brigman's 66.
Bonhomme finished tied for fourth at The Hills last year and again looked comfortable on the course.
"I like this place, yeah. It's good," Bonhomme said.
"I like the course. You can switch off between shots quite easily because there's so much scenery to look at."
Bonhomme is a classic journeyman, having taking his clubs to all corners of the planet in search of success.
He has had a "strange" couple of years, having hurt his wrist falling off a tee in Mexico and then picking up a case of tennis elbow.
"I think it's from walking around holding my kids up. They're at that age, 7 and 4, where they want to be picked up but they are too heavy."
Bonhomme is looking at playing on the OneAsia Tour this year so he can spend more time at home.
He had two 10-week stints away from his wife and children while on the Nationwide Tour and found that tough.
Bonhomme was already in form going into the New Zealand Open, having finished sixth at the PGA at Clearwater.
He scored 33 on each of the nines, looking particularly good during a stretch of three consecutive birdies from the 13th to the 15th holes.
