The Cubicle Golfer

I have a feeling this is going to be a lively discussion. To play or not to play "The Tips." 

This thought probably never crosses most golfers minds. Whites to the grave. But when you get to the low teens, single digit handicap level, you either already play the tips or are thinking about moving up. In my opinion, given the pace of play on most courses these days, this is a legitimate discussion. 

I'll put my level right out there. I'm a 5. Just up from a 4.7 this week on GHIN. I play with many levels of golfers, because to me, a day on the course is better than in a cube. I vary my tee selection based on the play of my group I am playing in. The course rating and slope allow me to do this with no shame. But there are some other golfers out there who believe differently. I have to admit, I'm on the fence. Do I play the tees I should be playing, or do I play the tees that the MAJORITY of people in my group SHOULD be playing? 

Let's break this down.

Few random thoughts on the Travelers tourney, which I attended on Saturday.

• Got there early to follow some of the guys off the lead. This is when you can get the closest, hear what's going on with club selection, small talk on the tee, and in general get the best view of what a PGA Tour players ball flight looks like.
• David Toms has tiny feet. J.J. Henry hits an enormous hook. Tag Ridings rips butts. Craig Kanada is old. Stuart Appleby could kick my ass. Tim Herron is more than lumpy. 
• Lots of players talking about slow play on the tee, particularly at the par 3's. No different that the local muni I guess. 
• Every player on the range seems to have those reflective driveway markers in their bag to help with alignment on the range. I picked some up at Home Depot today to be cool like they are. 

Lot going on this week with the Open starting on Thursday.

• Will the coverage on Thursday and Friday be delayed so I can watch when I get home from work? There's no way I can sit through an entire work day without taking a look at the live scoring, but the West coast location will definitely make for some optimal viewing times, especially the prime time coverage on the weekend. 
• Has enough been made about Tiger's knee? In the words of Shooter McGavin "excuse me, this is golf." The shots at Tiger this week over the NHL comments were well deserved. What other sport can you take 3 months to recover from minor knee surgery and not take heat for it? He can win when he's hurt, I am sure it's no different than when he's recovering. Same difference.