One of the most prominent complaints that I see in the forums is sandbagging.
WGT has been tweaking the criteria for tier advancement but there are still big holes in the system.
Here is my idea, it's still a little rough and the numbers would need to be worked out but here goes.
As opposed to advancement being tied to average and number of rounds played I believe it should be tied to a number. Again these numbers are for example only.
Points needed to advance to next tier.
Hack to Amateur 100pts
Amateur to Pro 300pts
...... you get the idea.
Each stat would have a value attached to it.
Average
80 average - 10 pts
70 average - 40 pts
Ranked games
10 ranked games - 15 pts ( this category is a tricky one as number of rounds does not dictate skill)
Match play
Beat lesser tier - 0 pts
Beat own tier - 1 pt
Beat one tier up - 2 pt
Beat two tiers up - 4 pt
MPC
Beat lesser tier - 0 pts
Beat own tier - 2 pts
Beat one tier up - 10 pts
Beat two tiers up 40 pts
MPC would be weighted more because this is where the 'baggers' live.
I don't think Alt- shot should be included at this time...
As I have said the numbers would have to be worked out but I think it would work.
Happy hitting
*edited for clarity