Grant1724:
I just think they could fine tune the game and yes ultimately its a game so it is impossible to get a 53-58 on a us open qualifier. Just Saying.
a 59 should be the max but realistically it should be closer to par for the course. 5-6 under maybe, Maybe!
The problem is threefold.
1. As others have mentioned in this thread, we can play the same course over and over and over and over. Tiger Woods will probably play Merion no more than three or four times before the U.S. Open, plus a bit of extra practice; we on WGT can do that in two hours' span and come back for more. Naturally we'll get to know the exact shots to hit.
2. Speaking of the exact shots... when Tiger Woods stands on the tee, he does not see a display telling him exactly how far he is aiming and how many miles per hour the wind is blowing. Nor, when he hits it in the rough, does he see a "40%-50%" indicator; he has to guess based on experience. Oh, and the uneven lies that many people hate on WGT? They're not optional in real golf. Real golf is a game of feel, not of math.
3. Finally, there's the equipment. WGT can't do as real golf manufacturers do and sell new equipment every year that really isn't better. Why? Because again, it's a game of math. We can see exactly (or at least a good approximation of) how good the equipment is before we buy it. In real golf, you might buy a new driver because you think it's better when it is actually all in your head; in WGT, if the next driver isn't rated for more distance or better forgiveness, forget about it.
And this happens every year, so the clubs have gotten better and better over the five or so years WGT has been around. Result: the original clubs may have been realistic, but the current ones certainly are not. And it will continue until WGT figures out a better way, or else in 10 years everyone will have a 300-yard driver with five dots in every category.
The bottom line is that WGT is simply not comparable to the real U.S. Open. And I've never yet found a golf game that doesn't have some of these problems, because the ones that don't are just not as fun to play. It happens.