I have read this discussion fully, and while I understand both sides, here is a fact. In the ongoing current ski showdown the top 6 leaders on the board in the rookie section are tour legends, with one legend thrown in. My own play cannot begin to touch their scores, and that is fine as I never spent a dime at wgt, Never have, never will. Money buys top end gear, money buys top end balls, etc. So without spending money I don't have a chance right? Wrong.... I still beat them every day one or three hole coin games.
BUT, and herein lies the real issue for me, My credit acct rolls around 6/700 on avg from video's That won't even buy a box of medium balls let alone upgrades on clubs. I am not sure why I am even a TM (something with coin games), but experience tells me that if I just keep plugging, I will hit a decent streak and get in the money for a tourney eventually. The frustration is I hit a good streak and and shoot 5 or 6 under only to find those who can spend money for decent equipment (and skilled/lucky) are 10 to 15 under. As above legend and above usually.
Ego? no I don't think so. With their gear and exp. they SHOULD shoot better than me. Taking advantage of lower players simply to up their gear or whatever, absolutely. Other reasons for which I have no clue? Truth is I really don't care as this is a game to waste time or an outlet for those who may not be able to play in real life for whatever reason. Still if wgt chooses to breakdown the SD by rookie vet etc. for how many credits it takes to enter, should there not then be a distinction for who can play in each level? There is. It's called how much money do I want to provide to a company for digital gear/level. However are their credits worth less than my own? No.
Having said all of that why not simply combine all the pot for all three categories for 10 cred and throw the tourney open to all with a larger say top 100 or so usably decent prize pool. For me I might stand a chance of a good run into some kind of return, will use my precious creds for a chance at a return on investment. As it is the return is not worth even 10 creds as there is no chance of being into any real money when having to compete at a level that I may never reach. Of course wgt wouldn't do that as there would be no one spending 1k credits, every few weeks.
Complaining is silly, wgt simply doesn't care about anything except the bottom line. Fair doesn't even enter into the results. I still play when I can win/lose and no TL TC or any other can play me without the chance of getting beaten by me on any given day. The only difference I see is that I did it with my earned (through play or time watching vids) lesser gear/exp, and never spent a dime. My free game beats your paid one hands down. My cc only has one player, me. I have a few friends that I visit with and play a round from time to time and that is worth more than all the creds/coins/gear in the game. It does have value even if the people who run it are simply greedy/stupid. My opinion and entitled to it.