Hi Molly,
Glad to have you on board. This is a real fun game with lots of honorable members. There are those few that do exactly as you said! The cool thing about this game and the real game is it's personal. While you can play with others, the game is pretty much you doing your best and posting your best scores. It's not a game you can beat. It's just a game to be played. Just enjoy the challenge. Guaranteed, there will be many!
I seldom get into games for credits. I started with the goal of reaching Legend as quickly as I could. I was introduced to the game by a Legend player, who made Legend in the 80's levels. Being extremely competitive, I set my sights on making it to the Legend tier sooner than he did. Now I'm playing to make tour legend in 4 months!
My advice ... play your game and have a good time. Try not to get involved in the credits games as there are lots of sandbaggers who will only play "for credits" games and practice rounds. And come here for advice, or friend higher tiered players and ask them for advice. Most are willing to help you along the way!
Kat