When did you start playing golf?
When I was 22. I was on vacation in Hawaii, and I started hitting golf balls. I loved it. Then I met a guy who was into golf, and I got bitten by the bug.
What's the best part of your game?
My chipping is great. I have a beautiful swing, and I'm good off the tee. My 3-wood is my best club. But I top the ball too often; I had a golfer tell me once that I was way too afraid of hurting the grass. So I need to get over that. But I'm pretty consistent. Even when I was just beginning and I could only hit it a hundred yards, it was a hundred yards straight down the middle.
And the worst part?
My putting isn't so good, because by the time I reach the putting green, I've lost interest, and I'm ready to move on to the next hole. Besides, there's chatting to be done on the putting green. When I'm by myself on the fairway, I can concentrate. When I'm on the green with my girlfriends, it's all over.
What appeals to you about the game?
I love both the challenge of the sport and the social aspect. When I first started, I'd play with my girlfriends every week at Studio City Golf Course, a par-3 course near Los Angeles. But then all my friends started having babies. It really got in the way of my golf game.
Why do you like playing with women?
It's a lot about chatting. You get to catch up with your friends while you play. With men, it's really all about the golf. The chatting is secondary.
How much do you play?
I don't play as much right now. But I want to get back to it. My dad belongs to Palo Alto Hills [Golf & Country Club]. My stepmother plays twice a week with a group of women at their club. She loves it. Maybe I need to join a club. If I could have a combination book club and golf club, I would be beside myself. You could golf and talk about books.
What's your favorite place to play?
I play a lot on Maui, some on Kauai. It's difficult to find an unattractive course in Hawaii. It's so lush. We don't have that in southern California.
How do you rate your game?
Fun. The more I play, the better I am.
You're engaged to a doctor. Does he play?
Rob [Andrews] doesn't play ... yet. He and a group of doctors go cycling at 5 a.m. three days a week. But it's just a matter of getting him out on the golf course. I'm going to kidnap him and take him up to Ojai [Valley Inn & Spa, north of Los Angeles]. I love golf resorts. They usually have a spa, and you spend four hours talking and playing in a beautiful place. What's not to like? Once I get him out there, he'll get it. He does know that he's going to play golf soon. That was our agreement: that I would start to cycle and he would learn to play golf.
What do you like most about your new show?
I love the close-knit family relationship in According to Jim. I love that my character is really happy in her life. She accepts her husband, she accepts what she does in life. There's not a lot of dissatisfaction. I mean, there's momentary frustration with stuff he does, but she's really happy. I admire that.
You were on Melrose Place for five years and Ally McBeal for three. You've
talked about the pressure to be thin on those shows....
There was a lot of pressure on Melrose Place to look a certain way, because it was very much a show about "a look." I wanted to fit in with the show; at the same time, I was conflicted about presenting an unattainable image. By the time I got onto Ally, I was working so hard to keep my body a certain way; it took a huge amount of time and energy. I was overexercising and undereating, making myself crazy.
What changed?
My picture appeared with a magazine article about actresses who were too thin and their impact on young women. I went "uh-oh." I started to get support, to talk about it. I wanted to land in a body that was comfotable. I wanted energy. I wanted to go out and play golf and get something at the snack bar. I wanted to be able to have fun. The way I look at it is that I changed my tribe. I changed from the successful dieter's tribe to the women-struggling-to-have-a-happy-life tribe. It's a better tribe, a happier tribe. We're not as hungry.•
