By Susan
Reed | Golf for Women
Thanks
Jules for the transcript
When America's funniest
leading lady isn't juggling
roles as a mother, wife,
actress, producer, activist
and author, she can be found
enjoying a few moments of
peace and quiet on the golf
course.
Like many women in
Hollywood, you've taken up
golf. How did you get
started?
Most
women want their husbands
around more, but about three
years ago, I really wanted
to get my husband David Hunt
(an actor and producer), out
of the house more. My
former co-stars in
Everybody loves Raymond,
Ray Romano and Brad Garrett,
were always totally into
golf. I said to David one
day, "You should try it." I
gave him golf lessons with
Ray's pro, Steve DeMarco,
here in Los Angeles. He
really took to it, and he
enjoyed it, so he encouraged
me to take lessons too.
What was
your first lesson like?
I'm a
rules and regulations kind
of gal. If you ask any
director I've ever worked
with, they'll tell you I
take direction really well.
Steve told me I had to stand
this way and hold the club
that way and keep my head
down. It was this whole set
of rules, but if I followed
them, the ball just went. I
whacked it on the first go,
and the second, then the
third, and I thought, "Well,
this is easy." Of course,
Steve told me it isn't easy
at all, and since then I've
learnt he's right.
Isn't Ray
Romano obsessed with the
game?
Completely. In fact, one of
the biggest upsets we had on
the set was after he played
in the ATT&T Pebble Beach
National Pro-Am one year and
hit a ball into the water. A
dog chased it and there was
funny TV coverage of the
whole thing, but a sports
magazine criticized him
later for joking it up on
the course and distracting
Tiger Woods. He was
mortified because he loves
Tiger; we, his castmates,
had to hear about it for
days, which was great for
us. We would do anything not
to rehearse.
Were you
sad when Everybody Loves
Raymond came to an end?
I cried
and cried on the last day,
but since then, I haven't
looked back. As a cast, we
did everything we could do,
but it was time to go. The
show was a great gift in my
life; very few actors get
roles in shows that are as
well written and as good.
How
hooked have you become on
golf?
I was on
the driving range almost
every day last summer. But I
tend not to be obsessive
about it. I always joke that
I look forward to the end of
a round so I can go into the
club-house and shop for
shoes and cute clothes and
have a cocktail. Sometimes I
suggest that we should just
buy the outfits and the
drinks and skip the golf.
Did you
grow up playing sports?
My
father, Chuck Heaton, was a
sportswriter at the
Cleveland Plain Dealer,
so there was lots of sports
talk in our house. My
parents played tennis, so
did the kids in our family.
In high school I ran
cross-country for a day,
until I decided that it
would be more beneficial for
me to work in a department
store and get 10 percent off
all my purchases. Later,
when I moved to New York, I
picked up running and did
that for a long time.
What's been your biggest
challenge with golf?
Time. We
have four boys, ages 6 to
12, so time is the
challenge. I think that's
the difficulty for most
women; when the kids are at
school you're running around
doing errands. What are the
options? There should be a
way to play this game so
that a couple of moms can go
out in the mornings and just
play a few holes.
Do your kids play?
My 6-year
old loves it. We were in
England last summer and we
all went out to play nine
holes. But there were people
behind us and we worried
about holding them up, so it
wasn't all it should have
been. If courses would
designate time for families
and kids, then no one would
get in the other's way. Has
anybody ever thought of
that?
Do you
watch golf on television?
Oh, yes!
And I buy all the golf
magazines. It's like gong to
the opera. The experience is
always much better when you
know the score and can
appreciate what's going on.
I love the young girls
coming up who are so good.
What's
your game like?
My shots
are straight and true, but
I'm petite, so I don't hit
it more than about 125
yards. I'm playing with Titleist clubs that I love,
and I'm going to get
stronger.
What
projects are you involved in
now?
I had a
movie called The
Engagement Ring come out
on TNT in November. David
and I are producing a movie
called Amazing Grace,
about William Wilberforce, a
leader in the 18th century
abolitionist movement in
England. Aside from work,
I'm involved with a group
called Feminist for Life of
America that works on
women's health and economic
empowerment.
Is golf a
respite for you?
I love
playing. It's quiet and
beautiful on golf courses.
There's something very
meditative about the game,
which is what I like about
it.
