As she walks the fairways of the Tour, a scowl of concentration crosses Dottie Pepper’s face. It’s a familiar reminder of the intimidating glare she wore while earning 17 LPGA Tour titles and two major championships. But then a word from a fan or a nod from a caddy brings an easy and inviting smile.

Along the rope line, she signs autographs, though maybe not as many as when she was the Rolex Player of the Year in 1992 with four victories. Dottie Pepper’s life is different now — and more hectic than ever. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who spends more time covering golf than the former three-time All-American at Furman.

Her duties for the Golf Channel and NBC Sports move Dottie from the studios in Orlando to the fairways of men’s and women’s games all over the world. In fact, she says she’s lost track of the number of weeks she spent in hotel rooms last year.

Perhaps no one has covered both Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam as comprehensively as Pepper has over the last couple of years. Her knowledge of the sport is informed by more than two decades at the top of the game. As a competitor, she was fiery. As a broadcaster she is a rare combination of encyclopedic knowledge delivered with candor and spice.

Despite her crazy travel schedule, she managed to fit in a quick nine with us.

1. Let’s start with Annika. Is she the best of all time?
I’ve been asked this many times, and I still believe that you can’t judge anyone’s entire career until they are really done. But at this point I’d have to say that I don’t think so. Kathy Whitworth’s 88 victories [the most by any professional male or female] still stands. Kathy may not have played against competition that was as deep as what Annika is facing, but it was certainly as good.

2. It’s hard to compare eras, especially when a player is still in his or her prime.
Well, sure. We talk a lot about Tiger and Jack. Tiger very well may pass Jack by the time it’s over. But until he does, Jack’s records still stand. It’s like Federer in tennis. He might be the best of all time, but until he’s finished I don’t think that you can make a conclusive argument.

3. Your Solheim Cup record is an amazing 13-5-2 in six appearances. What advice would you give Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger?
Every time we played, we had a really good time. Our best captains did a great job of making the week structured yet leaving time for us to do our normal thing. But to your question, the most important advice would be: Don’t read the press. The players don’t need any of that garbage. [Chuckles.] You have to handle your job on the golf course. All the other stuff just adds drama.

4. What have you learned about the game that you wish you’d known when you played?
That you just don’t have to be perfect. I see a lot of people hitting bad shots and still making great birdies and pars regardless. I think that as players, we have a perfectionist tendency. It makes you better, but it can also drag you down.

5. You made no bones about showing your emotions on the golf course. Do you see yourself in any of the young women on the LPGA today?
A little in Morgan [Pressel]. She and Suzann Pettersen to some degree. I think that you do a disservice to yourself as a player if you’re not yourself. Today players can be very much guided by what sports psychologists tell them. I think they should pay attention to who they are rather than reacting to someone else’s idea of who they should be. Whenever I got that kind of advice, I felt like I was playing in a straitjacket. Trying to fit into someone else’s model is not healthy.

6. Guys on the PGA Tour tend to be unemotional, not only about their games but about most aspects of life. Is the same true on the LPGA Tour?
I think it’s getting to be that way. Early on in my career there were more characters. Kathy Whitworth, Nancy Lopez, and Beth Daniel were players that weren’t cut out of any mold.

7. What does the LPGA Tour need to do to increase its fan base?
It’s starting to grow. And I think the reason is because of players like Natalie Gulbis and Paula Creamer. You have to go back to Nancy Lopez. She was an identifiable face on and off the golf course. She was the first to break away from the sports page. But the players need to keep going in the direction that they’re moving.

8. What’s the biggest difference between the LPGA and PGA Tours?
[Laughs.] Are you trying to get me in trouble? I think the girls tend to be a little more sensitive than the guys. The atmosphere is differenton the PGA Tour because the guys are a lot looser. I don’t know thatthey hang out off the course anymore than the girls do. The men can bust each other’s chops without someone taking it too seriously.

9. What do you miss most about playing competitively?
You were supposed to ask me what I miss least. But I guess what I miss is the butterflies on Sunday. I still get those as an announcer. Having the opportunity to chase someone down, I think I miss that a little bit — the competition. But I really don’t miss practicing or playing in bad weather.

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John Maginnes is a former PGA Tour player. He covers live Tour events for XM Radio.