For combat with more than 5 I will pull out minis. Exploration going into towns 99% theater of the mind
Even if we grant, for the sake of argument, that optional DMG rules are on par with 13A's standard rules, that's a pretty big failing when you think about it: the game is supposed to default to TotM, yet the mechanical presentation of the PH isn't conducive to that. Support for TotM - along with the 'tactical' module - is relegated to the DMG.
It's not just that the rule is in the wrong book, but that it's tacked-on. 5e is full of references to distances in feet, geometric areas, relative positions and the like. 13A consistently uses its TotM terminology throughout - 1d3 Close Enemies, 'Engaged' and so forth - as well as providing some measures.I never disagreed with that. Like I said, it's in the wrong book. It should've been in the same sidebar as the basic grid rules in the PHB and Basic rules, titled "Theatre of the Mind and Playing on a Grid".
I've found that as DM if I use a drawn grid or poster map I tend to point to the map rather than describe things, so Ive started to use minis on bare tabletop just as relative distance markers.