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Is this WGT's oldest active player?

• gr8flbob 592 Posts

  Tue, Aug 18 2020 2:36 PM

  Thanks for the WGT geezer trophy! For me it should come with an ' * '; I joined in March 2009, but found the game so difficult to play I stopped for a year, after a few frustrating rounds.

  A year later I gave it another go, determined to learn what worked and what didn't , and (being a retired engineer) began taking data on different spins, carry & roll for all my clubs, wind influence, etc etc..

  I also combed the forums for useful nuggets of info, and contributed my results to the discussion if it seemed that would help. Since then it's been 2 - 4 games a day for the last 10 years, rain or shine. 

   

• AtlantaCoaster 645 Posts

  Sat, Sep 12 2020 11:22 AM

  Thanks for sending the award.  My join date was February 2009...but in fact, I had actually played WGT for some months before that starting in late 2008 - though I did not "sign up" right away......quite frankly, I wasn't sure what I had found.

  There were only TWO CTTH games available when I joined - Kiawah (Front 9) and Bali Hai.  No stroke play and no other courses.  No Pro Shop.  No choice of balls - EVERYONE played with the silly putty starter "free" ball that still exists today.  Everyone played with the same set of starter clubs as well.

  Like I said - I was not sure exactly what WGT was supposed to be - I thought it was a promotion for Kiawah Golf at first.

  Finally...eventually Stroke Play was rolled out.....Front 9 of Kiawah ONLY - the Back 9 of Kiawah got Stroke Play some months later.

  In the meantime, I played.  I got good at it - though it was tough to control the ball because it performed the same as the starter ball still does today.

  At some point Tiers came along - but at first there were only 4 Tiers - Hack, Amateur, Pro, and Master.  Levels did not exist at all - I think those came around 2014? (my best guess).

  We played it in that very basic state for about a year.....and then Bethpage Black landed - a CTTH (Front 9) came first and then Stroke Play on all 18 holes became available.

  There were distinct problems SUCH AS on Bethpage Hole #5, the driver (which I think had a Max distance of 225) could not drive the basic starter ball far enough to reach the fairway!  All of us were raising holy hell about it in the forums....Everyone was fed up with playing WGT because we always knew we would be in the short/right side fairway bunkers on the drive on Bethpage #5.  There were other sorrows, too. On Bethpage #7 the green was not reachable in 2 shots either - the hole was simply longer than anyone's firepower with the basic clubs and ball.
  
  After a week or 2 of this, WGT rolled out the Pro Shop - everyone could now get longer clubs and there were some ball choices as well - a small variety BUT the available items cured the problems I identified above.

  Those early days were some unique times.  LOL

   

  Thanks for the Memories,   AtlantaCoaster 

   

• seniorbruno 797 Posts

  Mon, Sep 14 2020 11:26 AM

  Started Dec 2008. Been a long ride. Joined East Coast  2012.

• seniorbruno 797 Posts

  Tue, Sep 15 2020 9:50 AM

  Hope you don't mind. Here are more veterans from East Coast

  Crispy68                12/08                                                                                                      Smoothswinger      1/09                                                                                                        Trajan227               4/09                                                                                                         Psuds                    5/09                                                                                                         Flip1710                4/09                                                                                                         Bonhoeffe               6/09                                                                                                       Mystery78              6/09                                                                                                       Virgilsuncity            6/09                                                                                                       IamTomWatson       8/09                                                                                                       Mgk110001             8/09                                                                                                       Popeye46               8/09                                                                                                       Charger296              8/09                                                                                                       MMChelli                 12/09                                                                                                                                                                                                             

   

• InterCad 7 Posts

  Wed, Sep 16 2020 7:53 AM

  Thank you, for the recognition, of being one of the few who began this journey some year's ago with tournaments sponoring St Jude Children Hospital. The game has come along way since then, to say the least.