Back in 2014, WGT had a novel idea ... get the best players in the game
together to play LIVE! I recently read the forum post about
it and people were excited about this event ... I remember I was excited for it
too.
The event was cancelled because "There was just not enough interest in
the event to justify it". I personally believe it wasn't due to lack of
interest at all .. just lack of foresight and planning on WGT's behalf. To
quote fmagnets, "the interest from spectators was there. The interest from
potential participants was there. There were just too many questions unanswered
by WGT preventing any kind of commitment at this early stage".
As 2016 is quickly coming to a close I would implore the folks at WGT to put
some serious thought and effort into making this a reality in 2017 or early
2018. With the acquisition of WGT by TopGolf you could even make it a cross
promotional event that is held at a TopGolf facility and broadcasted on TopGolf
TV & Twitch!
Here are a few ideas I have:
1) Use
the Virtual Tour (VT) as the proving ground for who qualifies. Make each event
ONE unlimited round, followed by TWO single play rounds. A
predetermined number of players would then qualify for the event based on final
season long standings (NOT quarterly). WGT would provide those individuals with
airfare and hotel to the event (sounds costly but stay with me). Eligible
Players would need to be a.) Champion tier b.) Verified member.
2) Develop
a special avatar or accessory (hat, stand bag, golf glove, golf shafts,
sunglasses .. whatever!) and then sell the item(s) in the pro shop. The
proceeds would fund the airfare/hotel expenses as well as provide a prize pool
for those participating in the event. You could also create a "rare" avatar or
other item that maybe only pops up for one day a month or quarter and sell it
at a premium. I am just spit balling here but you get the gist.
3) Hold an on-site stroke play qualifier instead of just allowing
folks to attend as spectators only. This will allow players of any
skill level or tier who want to attend, the opportunity to play their way into
the event or just hack it around and have some fun around other fellow WGT'ers.