As my weak mind recalls my first game here was starter clubs and balls only on a few holes of CTTH. Only one course. More courses, stroke play and equipment were in the works but not available yet.
Tiers existed but levels did not. Sales were finally instituted but were based on tiers, a mistake that was rectified when they changed to the level system years later. After all, you don't make much money telling the vast majority of your customers they will not ever be allowed to buy what you have for sale.
I would definitely like to see more real-life stroke play courses and less of these gimmicky compilations but the game still has come a long way from where it was back then.
As you can see from the above screenshot, moving the ball in the stance to create fade and draw was an admirable goal but never panned out. Other games have offered that ability but they also require downloads to your computer. Keeping a complicated game playable without downloads is a remarkable achievement for WGT.
Big difference in the company is the relationship with customers. I think the customer base grew so quickly they didn't know how to handle it so they simply gave up on it. They now seem to operate from the assumption that every customer they drive away will be replaced by someone else so customer retention doesn't matter. Individual employees attempt customer relations from time to time but as a company they've never made any commitment to it. That is probably their weakest link.
I think a big reason I'm still around (WGT probably wishes I wasn't, lol) is because I never put myself in a position to suffer "burn out" from the game play. I don't play a lot, Never buried myself in things like charts, graphs, mapping clubs and greens, etc. I play mostly by feel so each game is new and not boring. When I do play it's a max of one or two rounds and not every day. The downside, which I really don't see as a downside, is that I will probably be a Master forever. Legend/TL status has never been a goal; just playing entertaining games with friends is.