SplashLewis:
...DING DING DING!! Now, i dont have a problem with the strategy/model itself, just irks me to call it a "one ball rule" when clearly its not.
and that quote of the USGA rules of golf above is NOT a rule, its a guide on how to implement a one ball rule. I suspect that it is why its in the appendices...
If WGT chooses to use it as a guide and tweak it to match what works for their game and programming that's perfectly allowable. Even if it's an actual rule in golf it doesn't matter. This is a golf themed computer game, not actual golf.
As has been pointed out in other threads and alluded to here, substituting another ball is a scammer's delight. Count down the hits on a last ball and intentionally start a round with a ball that will run out on hole 1 or 2. Substitute your preferred ball that has attributes you're really tuned in to and take advantage of your unsuspecting opponent the remainder of the round.
The proper compromise is for WGT to allow a player to change balls mid-round in practice mode only. Such programming could actually lead to more ball sales as players experiment with different ball/club combinations and the mulligan feature to see how different combinations react in different situations. In practice mode the player gets to use up all those odds and ends and no one gets hurt in the process.
What I do currently with those leftover balls is use them up in free CTTH sweepstakes contests. No entry fees, no credits risked, when the ball finally runs out and the "rock" is substituted it's easy to finish with the rock or end the round and start again with another ball. Since it's sweepstakes the actual score doesn't matter. Not a big deal or a major undertaking.
It's still the player's responsibility to make sure the golf bag is stocked properly according to the rules being applied in each competition. It's extremely easy to do that in this game.