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Re: Pro Shop - Tiers

• PRStevenson 842 Posts

  Thu, Nov 21 2013 3:39 PM

  It seems completely pointless to have for items in the Pro Shop the tier Hack +.....erm so basically that's everyone, which makes the category redundant.

  The idea of having equipment available only once you reach a tier is a very good idea. One of the huge, gigantic, glaringly obvious problems with the game is the sheer volume of players who level quickly just to buy the equipment with the best stats and drive from the easiest tee.

  I understand sandbaggers probably make up a large % of total players on the game and WGT couldn't care less about exploiting this as long as all these hacks spend money in the Pro Shop but it does ruin the game a bit.

  It would be a massive improvement to see equipment put into bands....at least from Hack+ to Tour Pro+ so that players have to at least reach a level with the equipment available to them in there band before they can buy upgrade to equipment in the next band.

  There would still be a lot of equipment available to everyone.

  This would give players the incentive to try and improve their game and discourage sandbaggers. It would also reward players that reach a tier by improving their game through skill with access to better equipment.

• srellim234 2,077 Posts

  Thu, Nov 21 2013 9:04 PM

  You make valid points but but all it does for WGT is eliminate buyers for the merchandise. Not a sound business move.

  Every tier up that a product is restricted to it eliminates anyone below that tier who doesn't get to that tier from buying the product. How many of the current Legend level balls do you think they're selling compared to all the others? My guess would be not many as they've eliminated Hacks, Amateurs, Pros, Tour Pros, Masters and Tour Masters from buying them.

  The current system provides an incentive for people to play since it's based on quantity of play. That means more green fees, balls sales and gambling % for WGT. The vast majority of people on this site are never going to make it to upper tiers. No matter what they do that fact won't change. Making equipment sales skill-based instead of quantity-based will really damage the company's bottom line.

• alosso 21,094 Posts

  Thu, Nov 21 2013 9:33 PM

  PRStevenson:

  The idea of having equipment available only once you reach a tier is a very good idea. One of the huge, gigantic, glaringly obvious problems with the game is the sheer volume of players who level quickly just to buy the equipment with the best stats and drive from the easiest tee.

  1) They have had this idea in the beginning and dropped it in 2011, changing to level orientation.

  2) A problem only to players with smaller purses as they'd not be competitive. A "volume of players" buying expensive equipment will not be a problem to the company - these guarantee revenue!

• PRStevenson 842 Posts

  Fri, Nov 22 2013 5:43 AM

  srellim234:

  Every tier up that a product is restricted to it eliminates anyone below that tier who doesn't get to that tier from buying the product.

  I thought about this when I was composing the message. I think that it should be very easy to reach these tiers with the equipment available to players in their band. It gives them an incentive to reach that tier.

  The other suggestion I was going to put forward which would lift any restriction and may be preferable is to balance level and tier.

  So any level of player can purchase equipment in the Pro Shop but equipment is available sooner to those who have achieved a higher tier. This would reward players with skill and it just means sandbaggers have to grind harder to get the equipment or improve their game to get it sooner.

  This could be achieved with a drop down menu next to an item in the Pro Shop that allows players to select their tier and gives them the level the item is available at for that tier.

  eg TaylorMade R1 Super TP 8.0 White Driver (OBAN shaft)

  Select tier:

  Hack - (L120+)

  Amateur - (L115+)

  Pro - (L110+)

  Tour Pro - (L105+)

  Master - (L100+)

  Tour Master - (L98+)

   

  You get the idea...it doesn't stop sandbagging but it helps reward those who don't. It also wouldn't effect the WGT business model. If anything those sandbaggers would spend more on level boosts trying to get the gear they prize.

   

• DrSlick 142 Posts

  Fri, Nov 22 2013 7:43 AM

  PR:

  I agree - not quite sure why someone is penalized for reaching legend early. I tried to wait as long as possible to tier up (which meant no RGs) to legend so that I didn't have to be a L77 legend with clubs, that altho they are decent, didnt compare to bladez or the r11 irons.

  Now, I am competing well on the legend level, but do get a bit discouraged that my approaches are often times 15 yds longer and that can make a huge difference on every par 5 - especially against the wind.

  It could be a reason that some legends just disappear from L80 - L92 as they can't compete with the clubs they have. At my pace, L84, I will not hit L92 for six months. In my book, a legend is a legend and should be afforded the same equipment. From a business standpoint, the wgt would make more money and retain more players.

  Doc 

• srellim234 2,077 Posts

  Fri, Nov 22 2013 9:14 AM

  PR- I'm in favor of the proposal that was around before you joined that would reduce the club attributes something like 2 or 5% per tier. In real life anyone can walk into a pro shop and buy any gear but that high performance club is not going to go as far or be as precise in the hands of an amateur as it is a legend.

  Clubs that are set up as designed for a lower tiered player (i.e., game improvement irons that are perimeter weighted and not forged) could reach 100% performance at lower tiers. A balance could be struck so that the clubs designed to hit 100% at a lower tier aren't outshined so drastically by the high end clubs that weren't designed for that tier of player.

  That does address some of the sandbagging issue. People could still buy the gear but to get it to perform better they  have to tier up.

   

• PRStevenson 842 Posts

  Thu, Nov 28 2013 2:10 PM

  srellim234:

  PR- I'm in favor of the proposal that was around before you joined that would reduce the club attributes something like 2 or 5% per tier. In real life anyone can walk into a pro shop and buy any gear but that high performance club is not going to go as far or be as precise in the hands of an amateur as it is a legend.

  Clubs that are set up as designed for a lower tiered player (i.e., game improvement irons that are perimeter weighted and not forged) could reach 100% performance at lower tiers. A balance could be struck so that the clubs designed to hit 100% at a lower tier aren't outshined so drastically by the high end clubs that weren't designed for that tier of player.

  That does address some of the sandbagging issue. People could still buy the gear but to get it to perform better they  have to tier up.

   

  I like the sound of that :)