Tiger Woods is using his ‘dinghy’ to avoid U.S. Open traffic nightmares

A $20 million yacht is a needless luxury item, but this week Tiger Woods is putting what he’s referring to as “my dinghy” to some practical use. It came out last week that Woods’ yacht, “Privacy,” had pulled into the Hamptons area at the end of Long Island in the vicinity of this year’s host course, Shinnecock Hills.

Tiger confirmed during his U.S. Open press conference that Privacy is indeed docked in nearby Sag Harbor this week.

“Sag Harbor is a cute little town,” he said Tuesday. ”I’ve only been there for a few days now. I haven’t really got a chance to walk about a little bit, but certainly will this week. So far, it’s been nice to kind of get away from the tournament scene and go to my dinghy there and just really enjoy it.”

But beyond the luxury, privacy, and a staff of nine operating the yacht, maybe the biggest advantage this week is location. The far end of Long Island is not exactly overdeveloped with hotels and infrastructure that can accommodate a rush of people attending an in-demand sporting event like the U.S. Open. Media members complaining about travel and/or accommodations on Twitter is yet another insufferable use of that platform. That’s not new and we’re seeing plenty of it this week as commutes that should take 40-some minutes are stalling over three hours. It’s been a mess early in the morning each day so far.

More important than the media hacks, however, are the players who actually have some of the most important professional appointments of their lives this week. On Monday, 17-year-old Noah Goodwin missed his tee time. His drive from the player hotel was supposed to take 16 minutes. It ended up lasting one hour and 40 minutes. It’s less of problem for a Monday practice round, but you’re done if you get hung up in the unpredictable traffic and miss your tee time when the shots start to count on Thursday.

That’s where Tiger’s yacht location comes in handy.

“Staying on the dinghy helps,” he cracked with yet another dinghy drop. “There are a few guys so far this week have said it’s taken them from the hotel, 2.5 to 3 hours, and, you know, there’s a good chance that someone might miss their tee time. You get a little traffic, you get maybe a little fender bender, it’s not inconceivable someone could miss their time.”

Privacy is floating a nice 30- to 40-minute drive away and located on the east side of the course, where traffic is less of a crush and most of the richest players are likely holed up in private Hamptons mansions. And if the roadways on that side of the course start to become a nightmare too? I’d like to think Tiger would take matters to the seas and navigate Peconic Bay on this thing, which is surely docked alongside the big yacht ...