DaddysKat: And what do professionals do for the game of golf? Whether they know it or not, they are selling equipment and promoting the game of golf.
Of course they are, they effectively market the manufacturers equipment, We at WGT do not lol.
As for spending, I spent nothing for a year - I was happy plodding away using starters equipment....then I hit Masters.
The largest revenue derived is from ball sales, they wear out quickly and are expensive in comparison to clubs. The 4000cr clubs will last as long as you want, that is only 6 and 1/2 sleeves of top quality balls. An avid player will rip through those.
So I actually spend more now than even when I first upgraded as I used Tour SD balls exclusively until I made legend.
But I agree this game needs the incoming new players as these are players who will spend whereas many "older" players use credits that are in the bank and will never spend again (I am not one of them).
But I 100% agree that a fairer handicap system should be available, especially to CC Owners without having to spend hours on trying to refine a system. But hey this will not generate income for WGT and are too blind to see that players leave as it is not fair.
The problem is this game has too many flaws in the system - namely the tiers but the tiers do not have equipment restrictions for a start. So any system can be manipulated currently, by sandbaggers but the current system in particular as it revolves around the greed business model.
Sadly enough and partially as a result of our requests, equipment is far too good and makes the game too easy for those who have taken the time and effort to learn the game. Anything that can level that out must be a good thing.