Q&A With Terry O'Quinn

Terry O'Quinn, 57, has starred as John Locke in the TV series, "Lost," for six seasons. O'Quinn prefers the country to big cities, walking over riding, playing with friends to playing with strangers, but if he happens to get paired with a married couple, he likes to win over the wife. (He's a charmer). A resident of the North Shore of Oahu, O'Quinn passes on some local knowledge, reflects on the state of his career and the success of a hit TV show.

What's your first memory of golf?
My Dad took it up when I was somewhere between 10 and 13. I got a bunch of wooden clubs and I just remember sitting in our yard trying to hit the occasional golf ball. I think they were wooden-shafted clubs, so they were pretty old.

Do you have an official handicap?
About 10. I don't have an official handicap, but my unofficial handicap is probably about a 10 at the moment.

Are you a member of a club?
No, I'm not. I've never played as much as I do since I moved to Hawaii. In the last five years, over the course of shooting "Lost," I've probably averaged a couple days a week.

I read that you live on the North Shore of Oahu, what's your favorite course in Hawaii?
I live 10 minutes from Turtle Bay, so that's almost all I play. I'm a real homer. When I find a golf course or a restaurant or a market that I like, that's pretty much exclusively where I go.

Over the years, I assume you've been paired with strangers on the golf course.
I don't do that too much. If I'm going to a course and I don't have anyone to play with and it's not a course I know, I look for the old guys. Give me a couple of old guys to play with. They know the course, they play fast and they really don't give a s-- if I'm a star. It doesn't matter. They're easy to play with. A lot of times I like to play with a couple too. You can always be nice to the wife and she always appreciates you for it. [Laughs.] You win over the wife. It's not the best situation for the husband and wife relationship so you can be the good cop in that scenario and they appreciate that. But for the most part, maybe the best thing about golf for me, and it's that same in my work, the best thing about acting, is who you do it with. I look to do it with friends and people who I like and people I enjoy playing with. I don't like Type-A actors and I don't like Type-A golfers. I like people who relax into what they do and who enjoy it for the process. That's who I play with when I'm out here in Hawaii. There are a couple of people I play with on a regular basis and that's who I look to play with.

Do you prefer walking or riding?
I like to walk.

Are you an equipment junkie?
No, I'm not. The irons I have are 12 or 14 years old -- Wilson Fat Shaft irons. But I'm ready to change. I bought some used clubs back at my second home in Maryland, some Callaway irons, and I like them a lot. I have a Callaway driver, some TaylorMade fairway woods and rescue clubs. Those I got recently and I can really tell the difference.

Rescue clubs are like cheating, aren't they?
Almost. Although I need the help.

If you fudge a rule of golf on a regular basis, which one is it?
I'll hit a mulligan occasionally, but it depends on whether or not I'm keeping score. I don't fudge rules if I'm keeping score. I play it down for the most part.

If you had a three-foot putt for your life, would you putt it or would you call someone like Tiger to putt it for you?
For my life? I'd call someone like Tiger. Are you kidding me? If I had a three-foot putt for a dollar I'd call someone like Tiger to putt it for me. [Laughs.]

Do you gamble on the golf course?
I always play for money, I just never pay. [Laughs.] We always play for money all the way around. We play for as little as a quarter or as much as five or ten bucks, but we never get carried away. We always act like we're going to settle up, but I always forget.

If I offered you an all-expenses paid trip to Pebble Beach, Pinehurst or Bandon Dunes, which would you choose?
I'd go to Pebble Beach just because I've heard so much about it. And I've had more people tell me I have to play there more than anywhere else.

So you haven't been to any of those?
I haven't. I'm not a course junkie either. If there's one nearby that I like, I can play just as badly on that course than I would at Pebble Beach. Although some friends have talked about a trip to play golf in Scotland or Ireland, so maybe I'll do that this spring.