HackWilson1930: is when I join a random alt shot game and find I am the only one without magic hat. My top line driver always falls 20 yards short of the wizards I'm paired against, Hats off to WGT.
You have the choice in Alt Shot games to have Apparel ON or OFF. Start choosing OFF.
The OP is complaining that he cannot compete against Lower Tier / Higher Level players because they have the advantage of better equipment. This is actually the very reason that having equipment tied to Tier would NOT work and would actually create a bigger disadvantage for weaker players.
If equipment was tied to Tier the weaker players would not be skilled enough to advance in Tiers and would therefore not get access to better equipment thus causing an constant uphill battle to advance. By having the equipment tied to Levels this allows weaker players to continue to advance in the game as Levels are based on XP points, which is based on quantity of play not quality. This means that as long as they continue to play, regardless of thier skill level they will still be able to advance by attaining better equipment creating a bit of a handicap system for the less skilled players to the higher skilled players.