Have only been playing for a few months now. Love the game. And in spite of all the nastiness and aggravation recent changes have caused, have continued to work my program, trying to improve and be competitive.
I don't expect WGT to turn on a dime to satisfy me. I don't even expect long-time players to agree with me -- in fact, I'd appreciate any constructive corrections they could offer to my potentially naive observations on the game. I'm just trying to offer something constructive, and would be interested in hearing what other players think.
Course Rankings:
Kiawah is not Oakmont, regardless of par. These two should not be rated equally, and should not have an equal effect on a player's average. Even from my perspective, KIA should be a 68 vs OAK's 72. From a different tier, maybe there's a different discrepancy, but the effect of a particular 18-hole score on a player's average should reflect the difficulty of the course on which they carded it. This is a real-life consideration. Is it considered here?
Would it be so difficult to implement an effector on a player's average based on the course on which a score was recorded?
Tournament Rankings:
Even sandbaggers don't sandbag in tournaments. I appreciate there's no way to stop 'baggers from 6-putting the 17th hole of a single ranked round to keep their average high. The average that keeps them in a tier they can exploit makes them killers when loot is on the line.
But what about when they're playing for keeps? It's unlikely they're going to hold back, and everyone will see what they're truly capable of. Weight that result - 4 or 5 to 1. Give it more influence in their average and tier placement than the ranked rounds that include all the 5-putts needed to sandbag.
Levels:
I have no idea what WGT were shooting for here, especially as it relates to equipment. I wasn't at all reluctant to purchase equipment at the Pro level. In fact, I hammered away with starters to get here so that I could buy the clubs I now have.
I would have done the same with Master, but it's now ages away for me. The next club improvements I'd considered are over 50 levels away, and it's not even a linear scale. From where I'm sitting, it may as well be a million points, since I don't even know what the level thresholds are.
And no, I'm not going to buy intermediate clubs as they become available; no, I'm not going to tier up prematurely and get beat senseless by better-equipped players; no, I'm not even going to buy balls unless I can make a few credits at my present tier. Instead, I'll wait until I have a chance to succeed at the next tier when equipped with proper equipment. I figure six months from now. Would've been three (maybe even two), if I'd had my druthers.
Equipment:
The requirement to reach a particular level to purchase equipment seems insane to me. I suppose it would make sense in an RPG, but it's not golf. Golfers upgrade their equipment to REACH the next level, not to SURVIVE at a new level they've reached. I'd fill my bag with i9's RIGHT NOW and work on learning to manage them if I thought they'd make me competitive at a higher level. But I can't. WGT've told me I can't. I realize they'd potentially make me a piranha in the midst of a guppy-like group of less well-equipped players, but that brings me to my next suggestion.
Bag Rankings:
(And stop snickering!!!)
If I go into a match with killer equipment, I'd expect to play from a killer footing. Pro driver? Pro tees. Master driver? Move me back another step. Some dream 320-yd Legend Driver? I'll tee off from the parking lot. Doesn't that level the field?
In the mix-and-match world of golf, players from all levels should be able to play together. There's no way to eliminate differences in skill, but equipment is a big problem in virtual golf. Off-the-tee equipment performance would be, I think, relatively easy to compensate for. Other clubs -- not so sure.
Open/Unlimited Tourneys:
These are a no-brainer, but only partly.
When plane tickets or golf clubs are up for grabs, then if all the stops are pulled out, and conditions are the same for all, then it only makes sense that the best players, with the best game-sense, using the best equipment available, will get the best results.
The part of the WGT brain that's missing the point, though, is that the new level system imposes a significant barrier to entry into competitions for the real goodies. Am I supposed to soldier away for the next six months to garner enough points to purchase equipment to compete against the select few who are now gobbling up all the prizes?
I may be no Lee or Bollox, but then again, I have no way of determining that if I can't take my chances against them on an equal footing. And if it's gonna be a couple of hours a day for the next six months to get my shot, then why would I bother? RL, for the same investment, I can buy those clubs or plane tickets many times over. Even taking time out for regular real rounds.
It's a fun game, and I'll surely continue playing. Would love a shot at playing for some of the brass that's available. A lot of the recent noise, though, seems to be missing the point for newer players that would like a shot, and the changes seem to have made it even harder for newcomers to succeed.
I'd say that's my 2 cents worth, but it seems more like 5.