Firstly, the game looks superb. The courses are great. And the gameplay is quite good too. There isn't a game online which looks better in my opinion.
I've had some great fun playing against new friends, and total strangers inthe multiplayer mode.
However, the US Open qualifiers are, in my opinion, unreasonable for a couple of reasons which have already been outlined. Firstly, it can only be a money making effort to have a player buy "Virtual" clubs, in order to compete. There are plenty of people in the world on low incomes who can't afford to buy something they don't physically hold. Secondly, to have fairways so far away from the tee that you can't drive to at least the back edge is a complete joke. How on earth you can have a par 4 in which you can't even drive to the fairway is ridiculous. I really don't see the motivation in making this the case, apart from to get people to "Buy" clubs. But even then, it seems clubs people buy don't make the distance. This is truly bizarre.
I don't intend to pay money out for something in which I'm not going to benefit so whilst I appreciate that the game is free technically to play, its a shame that the game developers chose profit over skill.
The final thing is that, as a hack, I was really enjoying the game, but since entering the US Open qualifiers, I've suddenly become a Pro!! I've done absolutely nothing to deserve this, and my average wasn't even that good. All it now means is that even if I play multiplayer against a friend, I start from way back.
Do you get re tiered if your average goes up?