Hackaroon: When I purchase equipment it becomes my property and if it isn't this game ain't free..
I'm afraid that this thinking is flawed, to say the least.
1) The game is free until you buy or earn the first credits. "FTP - PTW" is a well-known business concept - you and me both are in the latter section.
2) Furthermore, you should read the T&Cs below. We don't purchase equipment but software licences. Among others, there are credit licences, equipment licenses and ball licences. They all are temporary, can be taken away by the company at any time (which they usually don't).
3) Ball licenses are of limited validity - limited to a certain number of strokes. After that, they are terminated by the "ball out of play" sign. The license has expired.
IMHO, this continuous flow of credits (or money) are the bread&butter of the company (they wouldn't survive by FTP only). They go a long way to motivate us to some proper grinding, just to keep up the flow by individual and CC levels, unlimited tournaments, VT, VUSO, CC events etc.!
I'm not looking at the individual balls any more. To me, they are but an entry fee to the game which I have to pay for every now and then. The best part of it is that each of us has the opportunity to decide how much it will be, from Zero for Starters to the top balls available.
Remember: It's our choice how much to spend for our recreation and fun!!