TomHarris77:
Well Jim, it has pretty much stuffed a game I was really enjoying. I'm down from about 12+ rounds per day to 3 practice holes.
The change seems to be related to ready go's. Do well and you get arbitrarily accelerated into the next tier. The issue as I see it is that there will always be some players that do well in an RG (someone wins) so all players will get flushed through. Then you end up in a tier without access to the necessary equipment so you stop playing competition rounds.
For the life of me I don't see any sense in it. Playing hard and going in comps makes WGT money. So rushing players into tiers they can't compete in is counter productive for WGT and the players enjoyment. I've worked out I have 119 days of "not playing" until I can earn the right to pay WGT more money and start playing hard again......about 3 times as many days as it took to get where I am now.
The balance is certainly out. It also explains to me why the lower tier RG's took days to fill. The players that would play them had been booted out of the tier.
Keep playing. Whether you want to risk losing some of your bankroll or not is your choice - some people don't mind losing part of their stake (and you're good enough so that you don't have to worry about losing all of it, even with inferior equipment). I can't presume to know how you feel about that, so for now, enter RGs only if you enjoy them enough to tolerate some losses.
If you're watching the bottom line, the free tournaments are a good measuring stick and will get you the XP you need to move up to better equipment. You might also consider CC credit tourneys if your club has the right mix of players. I got through my early Legend days that way.
Your XP right now are almost exactly halfway to the big G20s woods and the Rocketbladez irons. Don't worry about the wait for the R11s. You won't need those to compete if you keep improving. Heck, you might not even need a different driver, since your R1 is such a beast for that level. In any event, if you keep at it, you'll have excellent gear in about 5-6 weeks. Not the absolute best, but more than good enough to get below 60 from the tips on any course.
In the meantime, work on your game so that you'll be a strong competitor when you get better gear in a little over a month.
You might even be able to find RGs where you can consistently go top 10 with the gear you have, provided you work on aspects of your game that can give you a competitive advantage. St. Andrew's in high wind, for example. If you're good at gauging wind and roll-out and better at putting, you can beat the dart-throwers. Olympic back 9 is short enough, holds low-spin approaches well, and punishes those with less forgiving gear than yours. Learn the greens on Whistler and Cabo you'll have 18 good birdie opportunities each, even with your gear...and a chance to beat guys like me who turned too many easy birdies into pars by going for eagle. There's a Legend Best of Par 3 running right now where you can go low by learning how your clubs and balls work on every green.
Now for the best part of all this. Legend ain't what it used to be. All of the very best players are TLs now (except for a few who don't play often). A year ago, you would have competed a little longer at the lower tiers (but against better players and, don't forget, restarters and sandbaggers), only to find yourself suddenly playing from the tips against the greatest players in WGT. Legend was a dead end for the huge majority of players. Even for a better player such as yourself, it still would have taken at least a couple of months to be competitive again, so this time-out is perhaps inevitable.
Today, Legend is a perfect place for a player like you. There are a lot of very good (but not great) active players, so the RGs fill fast and can be profitable with reasonable scores. The requirement for TL is no small task (500 RRs averaging under 60, with no shortcuts) so you'll have what feels like an eternity even after you're competitive until you're promoted again - and if you're that good, you'll welcome the move to TL.
Best of luck!