Trtr30:
Based on this, it seems close to impossible to reach the last 3 or 4 tiers without joining a CC. It seems that CCs often have courses/tournaments designed for easier scoring.
It depends on whether or not you want to reach those higher levels as a good player or a mediocre player. If you just want the tier, then yeah, joining a CC that runs easy games specifically to tier up is the way to go. You'll be a paper Champion and you'll lose most of your games to lower ranked players. There are a TON of paper champs out there for this reason, and they're all not very good.
It's much better to play regular rounds from the back tees, learn to adjust for high winds, and figure out putting on all green speeds so that when you reach the higher ranks you deserve to be there.
Up to you. Personally I don't mind paper champs. They make the brackets and ready-go Tournaments a lot easier to win.