After reading alot of great ideas/comments [and some not so great ;) ] , here's my two-cents-worth:
Tiers:
I like the fact that there'll be better-defined tiers, if only for the chance to advance farther. I suppose they could help to make competition more fair, but only time will tell. Most certainly they'll make it more interesting.
@ Joeyola - "Grand Master" is an excellent alternative to "Legend"!
Experience Levels:
I hope this is what is being considered as an alternative to the "Reputation" idea. And hopefully this level "%", letter grade, or whatever else is chosen to illustrate it, will be displayed along with a player's average. It also would be nice to have clickable links in the game client window when starting a multiplayer round that take you directly to those player's profiles (for expedience during game setup).
If "hitting shots" means shot proficiency - such as fairways hit, GIR, number of recorded H-I-O's, Eagles, long putts made, etc. - starting everyone out at "Zero", it will be awhile before an accurate and worthwhile rating is achieved. But I like that the proficiency/accuracy of one's game will be a factor in this new twist.
As far as the "unlocking new equipment" provision goes - if the new equipment is a slightly "scaled-down" version of the advanced equipment that is available to a "tier-level player", I have no qualms with allowing a lower-tiered player the opportunity to use it. By scaled-down, I mean a club like a driver that normally hits 270yds, would perhaps hit only 265yds, with less forgiveness...
I can see how affording a lower-tiered player the opportunity to use full-blown advanced-tier equipment could cause problems (i.e. tee designation), but some mitigation could come from this "scaling-down" of some of the equipments' features.
Alex, I'm not sure I understand - "After the change, you would still be able to sell back any equipment to the Pro Shop for credits, but not be able to purchase the older equipment in the Pro Shop." Does this mean that some clubs/balls/avatars,etc... will be discontinued?
I agree wholeheartedly with lvietri. All rounds except "money/credit" or "friend invite" rounds should be unranked rounds. Averages should be built only from those types of rounds. All others should be considered practice. It seems this could help to alleviate both the plagues of quitting, and sandbagging... but the unranked rounds could still be used in determining one's "experience level".
@ mefitz - I'd like to see only the best scores from unlimited tourney rounds count towards one's average, just as they are the only scores counted in the competitions currently. I think this would further discourage/eliminate using these rounds as "sandbag rounds". The "checks and balances" that Alex mentioned hopefully will also be implemented as further deterrent.
I know this has been lengthy, but I have one last note for consideration...
...VanHalenLover's comment made me think of this... Why can't there be a "Potential Average" displayed next to a player's "Actual Average" where it is displayed currently in the round setup window? This would seem to be a further help to those who play alot of MPC's. In CTTH's, we are given our "Potential Scores" - would it be possible to compile enough information to formulate a Potential Score for a particular course, or couldn't it be as easy as displaying a player's "Best Score On This Course" (from his STATS, in his profile) along with his Average and Experience Level?
Would this be more screen "clutter", or invaluable info?
Good Luck with the new changes, however they turn out.
- PugsAce