Every Sunday night, the editorial staff of the SI Golf Group conducts an e-mail roundtable. Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors and join the conversation in the comments section below.
THE SCOTTISH PLAY?
Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: What a week on the old sod: a thrilling Scottish Open finish at neo-classic Castle Stuart, and the opening of a new course on the Aberdeen coast, which may actually be as good as its owner, Donald Trump, says. So, what's your favorite course in Scotland and why?
Jim Gorant, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: Embarrassed to say I've never played over there, and while the photos of Donald's new place looked pretty sweet, my first stop would still be the Old Course.
Mick Rouse, Golf.com contributor: Although I've never been, I would love to get on at Cruden Bay, just for the views alone.
Jim Herre, managing editor, SI Golf Group: The Old Course, for the enchanting setting as much as the holes. St. Andrews is a special place.
Shipnuck: You're fired, Gorant. I'll take Cruden Bay, which is quirky and beautiful and outrageously fun.
Mark Godich, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: We editors don't get out like the rest of you. I did see St. Andrews in 1995, and the place is awfully special.
Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Kingsbarns is also a blast and has better ocean views (but no town views) than the Old Course. Can't go wrong on either one. Dunbar is also a beauty on the east coast of Scotland. It has a par 3 named Jackson's Pennies because an old man named Jackson, who sat on a bench there, used to give a penny to any kid who made a birdie.
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Mike Walker, senior editor, Golf Magazine: I believe there's a similar par 3 at the Neverland Ranch.
David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com: Not to be masochistic, but Carnoustie is my favorite course in Scotland. I played it in 2006 after the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, and like everything in the U.K. that year, it was dry, really fast and windswept, and way more than I could handle. Some people like it because of the Ben Hogan angle, but for me, its stoutness is its charm. As the captain of the club told me after we played, "St. Andrews may have the Auld Gray Toon, but at Carnoustie, we...WE have the golf course."
Walker: My favorite place in golf is the democratic Old Course, where anyone can play and people walk their dogs on Sundays. The course is the heart of St. Andrews the way Central Park is the heart of New York.
Stephanie Wei, contributor, SI Golf+: I'm going to be super-boring and say the Old Course at St. Andrews. I'll never forget walking out to the first tee/18th green for the first time in '10.
Rick Lipsey, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: Old Course. Is there another choice?
Tell us what you think in the comments section below: What is your favorite course in Scotland?
JOHN DEERE VS. U.S. SENIOR OPEN
Shipnuck: OK, which tourney would you rather win, the Deere or Senior Open?
Herre: The Deere -- you get one of those swell tractors. Perfect for my yard.
Godich: I'll take any PGA Tour victory over any of the dozen senior major championships.
Gorant: The Senior Open is the cream of the old guy crop but, I think any official Tour win carries more weight.
Wei: Depends how old I am. I guess at the end of the day, you'd rather have a PGA Tour victory under your belt.
Dusek: A PGA Tour win like the John Deere gets you a check for about a million dollars, a ticket to Augusta, and entry into other events filled with cash. Winning the Senior Open makes you the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question.
Walker: When in doubt, take the cash. John Deere's $828,000 first-place check > U.S. Senior Open's $500,000.
Rouse: I'd take the PGA Tour win, but it would be a great feeling to collect one last big win in my old age at a Senior Open (or a great redemption story for an oldie who was never able to notch one on Tour).
Van Sickle: The Deere gets you in the Masters; the Senior Open gets you in the U.S. Open. I'll take the Deere.
Shipnuck: I don't know, a national championship is pretty sweet.
Lipsey: A national championship sounds much sweeter than a Midwestern minor title.
Morfit: I'd take a Senior U.S. Open. It means you beat everyone in your age division, and you wouldn't have to explain anything about that.
Tell us what you think in the comments section below: Would you rather win the John Deere or the U.S. Senior Open?
DO SENIOR TOUR WINS MATTER?
Shipnuck: Roger Chapman made a great living on the European Tour but never won much. Now in 2012 he's won the Senior PGA Championship and the Senior Open. Does anything a guy does on the senior tour change your opinion of him?
Dusek: In a way, yes, because it means that a guy like Chapman still has talent and staying power. It's so easy to lose your game at some point and never really get it back. If you can win and contend consistently on the Champions Tour it means that you've still got it, while many of your contemporaries don't.
Rouse: That's like asking whether Antoine Walker's 10 ppg in the D-League redeems the end of his career. No.
Gorant: Yes, but it has to be massive. I think Trevino winning 29 times on the senior tour burnishes his resume. Hale Irwin's dominance changes the view of him as a player. Not much beyond that though.
Godich: There are a slew of guys who can't wait to turn 50. No cut, shorter courses, smaller fields. What's not to like about that? I think you will see a lot of guys cashing in. Next up: Jeff Maggert.
Lipsey: Sure. Nobody knows what Chi Chi did until he hit 50, and now he's one of the most beloved players in history.
Godich: Nobody knew about Chi Chi?
Herre: I was impressed with Mike Hill back in the early '90s. He did nothing on the regular Tour and was completely overshadowed by his brother Dave. But he was a tiger on the senior tour, a fighter and overachiever who appreciated his success. There were/are a lot of characters out there who are interesting.
Lipsey: Anybody who wins back-to-back majors is AWESOME. Even if he never did or will do anything else in his career.
Tell us what you think in the comments section below: Do senior tour wins change your opinion of a player?
