Well this goes a long way in explaining things .... and i think it stinks.
Because ... it sometimes penalizes excellent performance. Think of those perfectly struck shots you've made only to see a wild result. One of mine that comes to mind is hitting a shot on beth #8 in a crosswind , 185 yds with full backspin and watching it FLY 193 yds and then spin backwards with all the spin rate of a master 60 degree wedge. Now that my friends is not even in the realm of reality. It is insanity ...
I am of the opinion that poor shots (miss hit shots) are justifiably worthy of having a deviation factor added to them (why reward a poor shot?) , and the further off you are the more penal the result .... this just seems to me to be common sense and accords with reality ...
If there are randomly programmed deviations that act at unknown times and even on perfectly executed shots, then that renders this game nothing more than a crap shoot ... and that is a discouragement as some will say , "why even try when the computerized system is designed to hamper my performance and the better i get at it, the greater the programmed "failure" factor?"
That my friends can only lead to more sandbagging type activity, where poor performance is the rule to keep your deviation factor down until you wish to shoot for a prize ... is anyone following me on this one?
If WGT wishes to increase difficulity, it could be done in a very simple and concise manner and one that mirrors real life golf ...
The solutions are three ...
1. Eliminate the programmed "crap shoot" programming (if indeed it is programmed that way) ... i can only see it leading to frustration and an exodus of people from WGT ...
2. Penalize miss hits,miss judged wind levels and miss judged distances only ... the severity could be increased as the players skill level increases ...
3. Add winds that vary in intensity and duration of intensity (ex. a 5 mph wind that blows for two or three seconds and then suddenly gusts to 7 or 10 and then drops back to 5 or something along those lines) ... this most mirrors the reality of winds in real life i would say ... the duration and intensity could again be increased as the players skill level increases ... and the duration and intensity should be displayed at all times so that a player who's shot is affected by these "random" winds can replay the shot and see what caused the problem ...
This to me is the sanest approach to the situation ...