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Tier Advancement Question

• joetortoise 1,260 Posts

  Fri, May 30 2014 2:41 PM

  I just started WGT in May, but I have been practicing and trying to play at least one ranked round every day.  I have advanced to Level 40, but I seem to be way over my head against the competition.  For some reason, WGT advanced me after a week or so to Amateur Level, but then made me Pro level about two or three days after that.  I am playing with the Level 10 Starter clubs and am not very good.  I have only one ranked round under 70, and my average score is over 78.  I have found that in recent tournaments, I am totally inadequate against the other Pro players, many of whom have advanced already to higher tiers.  I have three questions, and I would be very grateful if someone could enlighten me.

  (1) Why did WGT advance me to Pro Tier so quickly?  Is there anything I can do about it, and can/should I be returned to Amateur Tier somehow?

  (2) As I said, I can't compete at all in tournaments with other players in the Pro tier.  Aside from constant practice, what can I do?  Would better clubs help me in this situation?  I have the credits (from Surveys) to buy better clubs, but I'm reluctant to do it now out of panic.  It isn't any fun (which is why I joined) to enter a competition and shoot 77, for example, when the Leaderboard is full of scores in the low 60's and I am in 300th or 400th place.

  (3) Finally, my putting seems to be getting worse.  I use the Starter putter, but recently I have been missing many more short putts by an inch or two, even though I was making those putts a few levels ago.  Am I paranoid or imagining things, or does WGT make it more difficult as you advance in Tier?  If so, would a new putter help?

  Thank you for any advice you can give me.  This is becoming so frustrating that I hate to let it spoil my experience after such a short time in WGT.

• Beryman 9,100 Posts

  Fri, May 30 2014 3:36 PM

  conditions get more difficult as you advance and better clubs will eventually be a must if you want to compete...good luck to you!!

• cdefghi 2,872 Posts

  Fri, May 30 2014 3:49 PM

  I wish more than anything that someone would have shown me a couple of things to make the advancement less of a crap shoot, so I just sent you a friend request Joe, and hit me up anytime you see me green .  Practice mode only as without the pressure of producing a good score to keep my avg. intact, I can probably help you a little more with whatever it is that's giving you troubles.

• ISH47 1,963 Posts

  Fri, May 30 2014 4:04 PM

  joetortoise:

   Am I paranoid or imagining things, or does WGT make it more difficult as you advance in Tier?

  You're not paranoid.. it's a trap.

   

  "Just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get you"

• ApexPC 3,164 Posts

  Fri, May 30 2014 8:30 PM

  Winning in some types of multi-player games will lower your scoring average.

  WGT had to implement that because some players deliberately manipulated their score average to stay at a lower tier so they could prey on higher tier players in wagering games.

  WGT – Tiers

  • When you have played at least 5 ranked rounds - and your average score is equal to or lower than 100 you go from Hack to Amateur.
  • When you have played at least 10  ranked rounds - and your average score is equal to or lower than 80 you go from Amateur to Pro.
  • When you have played at least 20 ranked rounds - and your average score is equal to or lower than 72 you go from Pro to Tour Pro
  • When you have played at least 30 ranked rounds - and your average score is equal to or lower than 67 you go from Tour Pro to Master
  • When you have played at least 40  ranked rounds - and your average score is equal to or lower than 63 you go from Master to Tour Master
  • When you have played at least 50 ranked rounds - and your average score is equal to or lower than 61 you go from Tour Master to Legend 
  • When you have played at least 500  ranked rounds - and your average score is equal to or lower than 60 you go from Legend  to Tour Legend

   

  Notice that those minimal number of ranked rounds are also the number of best rounds used to compute your average in that particular tier. So if you are Tour Master for example, your average is computed with your best 50 ranked round (that's why you need at least 50 rounds to move up).

• joetortoise 1,260 Posts

  Fri, May 30 2014 10:15 PM

  Thank you for the information.  I now understand how the Tier process works, so I can see that I am not incorrectly rated.  I'm simply an inexperienced three-week newcomer with Starter clubs facing more experienced players with better equipment.  It looks like my best bet is to practice and learn how to play.

   I have been looking at posts regarding improved equipment, and I almost have enough credits to buy the TaylorMade R11 set and two PING Level 41 wedges.  However, I don't know what to do about upgrading my putter.  I have looked at a number of posts, and there seems to be little agreement about the best putter for my situation.  Right now I think that only the TaylorMade Spider and Ghost Manta are available to my level, but I don't have enough experience to know which one might be better for me.

• KBishop5 922 Posts

  Sat, May 31 2014 11:08 AM

  If you reached your ranked rounds at a tier, me, at TP....if I practice will it compute to my average or do only ranked rounds count?

  Thanks!

  Kevin

• joetortoise 1,260 Posts

  Sat, May 31 2014 1:54 PM

  From my experience, only ranked rounds count toward your tier rating.  You can practice as much as you like without changing your average.  They have to do it this way, because you can take as  many mulligans as you want during practice rounds.

  Joe

• ApexPC 3,164 Posts

  Sat, May 31 2014 6:36 PM

  Practice rounds have no effect on your scoring average.

  Frankly, I found practice rounds to be a waste of time for that reason. I don't remember if Practice rounds pay any XP - or not. If they do it's not much, so Practice rounds don't help you level up.

  Tournament play and multiplayer rank rounds pay the most XP.

• alosso 21,093 Posts

  Sat, May 31 2014 10:17 PM

  @Apex: Practice rounds "pay" as many XPs as ranked rounds (95, 200) plus the option of three holes => 30 XPs. Except for the awards, they are equal. Only tournament rounds pay double shares in the basic rate.

  All give 1 XP per shot.

  joetortoise:

  However, I don't know what to do about upgrading my putter.  I have looked at a number of posts, and there seems to be little agreement about the best putter for my situation.  Right now I think that only the TaylorMade Spider and Ghost Manta are available to my level, but I don't have enough experience to know which one might be better for me.

  Be patient!

  My rule of thumb is "no putter below 500 crs", only to avoid an early buy. The Starter putter is not that bad, except for long putts, and players need practice to see a difference between the putters.

  One reason for the multiple opinions on putters is, there are two techniques to deal with side slopes, each requiring different equipment. Those with higher forgiveness are good for "ding" putting, those haveing lower chiffres may be "off ding" putters.