oneeyedjohn:
'Tis an oft repeated lament
And one I (for once) support.
I don't agree with granting access to equipment based on level rather than tier and the reasons are simple.
The original idea of this game was everyone would gain in tier as their average went down at about the same speed they gained in level, however, a lot of sandbaggers spoiled that.
To reduce the ability to sandbag, WGT introduced the present system whereby your average will go down and hence you can tier up quickly by beating higher level players in match-play. This has lead to the current system whereby some short-sighted individuals see gaining tier or lowering their average as the main mark of progress and do so regardless of gaining experience or ability. I know of SEVERAL players who actively seek higher level players who will deliberately lose to them just so they can gain tier, indeed in one of my clubs we had a member complain because we wouldn't do that very thing.
Therefore the current system exists, if you stick to ranked stroke play you will level at about the same time you tier, there may be a need for a small adjustment to when certain items are available but I see no need for anything more than a minor adjustment. Those who have sought higher tiers through sleight of hand methods can suffer. Those who are prodigiously talented will be the most adversely affected but such talents will still prosper anyway.