Sweet Charity

Golf tournaments have become a popular way to raise money for charity. Is that an extra incentive to play?
The celebrity tournaments are a lot of fun. They're usually for very good causes. You come out and see your friends and you're outside for a couple of days. The atmosphere is one where people are playing, but they're giving back, too. It's rewarding. I was just in New Jersey at Joe Pesci's Celebrity Skins Tournament, which benefits pediatric patients in the Saint Barnabas hospitals. I realized that I'm really lucky. I have a great life.

How good do you have to be to play in them?
For the men, it's usually an 18-handicap, and for the women, it's a 24.

Which tournaments do you like the most?
The Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational is the best. There are rock stars; there are athletes; there's a mix of everybody because they all want to play in Michael's tournament. I've played in it twice and I won it once, with John Smoltz, the Atlanta Braves pitcher. That was three years ago, and I played my best golf ever. Getting a trophy from Michael Jordan was one of the high points of my life.

What is your favorite thing about playing in these events?
I love playing with the athletes. I'm 5-feet-10 barefoot, and I was playing with Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and John [Smoltz]. And I was the shrimp. One funny moment was when I won longest drive in the Wayne Gretzky & Friends tournament. I was the only girl and I beat all the guys. I hit my 3-wood, and it went 200-plus yards. Kenny G was so mad. He said, "She didn't hit from the men's tees." Well, that's because I'm not a man.

Do you pick your partner, or do you get paired up?
They put the worst player with the best player, so it's kind of fair. The good part about my golf game is that I have a natural swing from taking lessons as a kid. I see all these people who start later in life and they have ugly-duckling swings. And it's like, where did they learn how to play golf? I feel lucky to have learned early.

I hear you come from a family of golfers…
My grandmother named my father after Bobby Jones. He was the hero of the moment, I guess. My father's name isn't Robert, it's Bobby. My mother, Ginnie, decided that she didn't want to be a golf widow, so she started playing after she married my father. Now I call her a machine because even though she doesn't hit the ball as far as I do, she's so consistent. If she hits a bad shot, I'm shocked. I grew up on the golf course. I'm a country-club baby. We were members at Ohio Prestwick Country Club in Uniontown. I've never played on a public course. It sounds really snobby, I know, but I haven't. I started playing when I was 5; by the time I was 9 or 11, I was the junior club champion.

Were you a sporty girl growing up?
I had four older brothers, so I was always running from the boys. And then I loved getting caught.

You've got a busy life. How have you managed to keep playing over the years?
Because my parents love it so much. Obviously, there have been periods when I've stopped playing on account of my job, but I've always had people in my life who love golf. My parents live on a golf course in Arizona these days, and if I get invited to a good celebrity tournament I'll ask them to come along. They don't get to play, but they do get to hang out. My dad is my caddie; he tells me which club to use and to keep my head down. I just started using a driver again because my timing is better. I used to try to kill the ball. I still try to kill it, but I do it in a more relaxed way.