The folks I see from my lawn chair on the porch don't appear to be playing anything. They actually look more serious than some of the guys playing for cash. I'm also seeing a part of the game the TV cameras don't catch.
Foul balls are another surprise.
I knew about them in baseball, but I didn't understand they were a part of golf. The pros whack at the ball and it seems to go generally in the direction they're trying to hit it. They make it look so easy I thought it was automatic, but that's not the case at all. One weekend a young man stood just outside my back door sizing up a shot through the trees. After several practice swings, he carefully positioned himself over the ball and whoosh, whack.