Terry; to cover your points:
Lie factoring
I wasn't going to add it in tbh but I felt as no-one would have a distinct advantage (as it'd only been released that day), I didn't feel that it would distort the scoring in anyone's favour.
I appreciate that for someone like Woodo, it'd be incredibly frustrating to lose the lead in that manner but my belief is that good scores are still possible provided you play sensible shots. If you're in a bad spot, aim to get back into play and then recover rather than going for the pin everytime. I think we've all become too well adjusted to the point and click game that WGT had become and this makes hitting the ball in play a priority.
Ranked rounds (and equipment)
I realised I made a mistake on this one and I'll hold my hands up to say so. Having a ranked round on R2 kept lots of people away for the precise reason you gave. Whilst I wanted this to be a truly challenging week, I forgot that some people wouldn't play if it actually affected their stats.
I don't plan to have anymore equipment restrictions after this week anyway so it shouldn't be an issue going forward. If I use uneven lies, this has to be done in practice format anyway so it won't affect stats. I will be sparing using uneven lies as I know a lot of people won't enjoy format in its current guise. If you do see it, it's likely to be in R3's.
Cheers
James