Golf is golf, Carl.  Remember, the pros play early one day and late the next, and sometimes from early morning to late into the evening.  Most of the time, I play in the early morning--latest is around 0830 or so.  Tournaments I play in tend to be afternoon affairs, though, and I do find I play a bit differently at that time of day.  Mainly it's simply the ball going a bit farther in the afternoons, but much of that is because I have a tendency to miss the fairways, so the damp morning grass slows the ball down.  That doesn't bother me, though, because it's no different than the ball flying farther as the temperature rises during the day.  Still got to get up and down to score.

I don't like too early either.  It takes a little longer to warm up, the wet greens affect the ball so much, and usually after a long week of work I don't like to wake at 6am and rush off for an early tee time.  9 or 10 would allow for a more leisurely morning and allow a little extra time for range work to get loosened up.  I lived in Fl for a while and its easier to get loose in the heat than here in ohio so that might not be an issue for you.  I haven't checked my biorhythm yet as it pertains to golf.  

Carl,

I'm an early to work guy, so getting up early for a weekend round isn't much of a stretch for me. I like to use the 3 Hr rule.  Get up 3 hours before my tee time, have coffee & breakfast, get dressed and head to the course to warm-up.  When I get to the first tee, I'm ready to go.  On the other hand, I'm not a slave to early tee times.  If someone makes a tee time in the 10:00am or later time frame, I'm okay with that also.  If you really hate the early tee time and your group won't slide it back a bit, maybe it's time to find another group that starts later in the morning.  

I play golf somewhat competitively, either with my regular partner or with my previous self. That said, I tend to select my tee times earlier than I used to, mainly to avoid certain types of golfers on the course. Earlier tee times will tend to avoid the super casual players who are out to enjoy the nice weather, players who chat over many beers, people who really should really just go hiking through a regional park, and the hung over bros.

My other favorite times are the spots a few tee times right before twilight and super twilight. Ideally this would leave a bit of breathing room between me and the groups in front and behind.

So basically it's not the course conditions that I am concerned about, but rather the other players who are lobbing balls in the general direction.

Should the mood arise to play a casual round, I'll book more in the middle of the day so that I know I have time to chat, snap pics, snack, etc., because the player ahead hasn't even selected their club or found their own ball and is sitting in the cart next to their friend who is waiting for the par 5 green to clear.

(You know what I mean. You know who you are!)

I usually play early because I like to avoid the slow play, but it's like playing two different rounds. The front nine the greens are wet and slow. Two hours later the greens have dried and gotten faster, takes a quick adjustment. That being said, I can't stand the slow play that occurs later in the day.

I like to play as early as possible, I also like to play any other time of day.   I typically play around 7 am during the week and 6 am on weekends.  Living in South Dakota, I find the temps and winds most desirable at those times, having said that ... I also enjoy a round of golf later in the day, as long as I have water or juice to keep hydrated, the winds are not only a challenge, but good practice.  There are not as many people on the course early morning, so I don't get stuck behind a slow group, and if I can't find a ball right away, I don't feel guilty using up my 5 minutes looking for it.

I have learned the last couple of years that a large part of golf is playing the "conditions".  Sometimes the greens are slow, for whatever reason ... you have to learn to adjust.  Yes, when there is dew, the rough is almost like Velcro, but you have to adjust accordingly.

I prefer playing early morning, but if you asked me to join you in the amount of time it would take me to get to the course now, say around 3:05 PM ... I'd be happy to oblige :)