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New Solution: Tier vs. Level

• oilyrag 875 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2012 12:07 PM

  given the situation that all equipment is open but price is tied to tier......

  if i imagine myself as a hack starting this from the beginning, i know that i would quit this game very soon after joining

  i've already said that the only way i get close in tournaments at the moment (wow my best score of 63 at master is only good enough for equal 45th and it's still open ) is because i have the better irons and wedges - still need the driver.

  under your proposal, the above equipment that i already have would be priced so high that i would never reach a high enough tier to buy the equipment at a reasonable price.....

  so why would i bother trying, just quit and do something else

• oilyrag 875 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2012 12:15 PM

  while the current system has it's flaws, it very understandable why wgt use it.

  suck 'em in, get em hooked, then they'll hand over the cash.

   

  if sandbagging is your main worry, then ask for a real world tournament structure to be put in place

  better prizes should be tied to tier.

  just as the elite of the pga tour and euro tour etc win the top prizes, there is no reason why wgt can't create this sort of structure

   

• Fredddddy 177 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2012 12:24 PM

  And another thought that's been proposed if you purchase the top line of equipment that should determine what tee you play from why should players with R 11's tee off 100 yds in front of a legend and basically have the same skill level?

• oilyrag 875 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2012 12:30 PM

  Fredddddy:

  And another thought that's been proposed if you purchase the top line of equipment that should determine what tee you play from why should players with R 11's tee off 100 yds in front of a legend and basically have the same skill level?

   

  that's in my above point

   

• mantis0014 8,946 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2012 12:31 PM

  hpurey:

  sixkiller:

  Not a bad idea, if it had been implemented 18 months ago.

  I agree

  I agree too...... but it's never too late to start.

• Jerm65 1,413 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2012 12:37 PM

  http://www.wgt.com/forums/t/71856.aspx

  That thread only deals with drivers, but the concept could be easily adapted to include all clubs.

  The main problem I see with the OP's idea is requiring Hacks to spend the most money to buy a particular club.  That's the reverse of the ideal business model. 

  You have to make it relatively inexpensive for your new customers to get started, but then once they're hooked, you raise your prices to whatever amount the market (or your conscience), will bear (ie: $4.50 for 3 balls is obviously still within WGT's acceptable range on both counts).  Successful businesses have been employing this technique for years.

  I still can't see anything changing on this front, but who knows?  If you provide a business model, based on tier-related clubs, that generates more profits for WGT than the current level-related system, I suspect you'll have a very attentive audience.

• Sanco 1,345 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2012 12:49 PM

  oilyrag:

  if i imagine myself as a hack starting this from the beginning, i know that i would quit this game very soon after joining

  You need to also consider this: Most of us that have been here for a long time when we started as hacks we did not have all this equipment etc., and yet we stuck to it and progressed through trials and tribulations (maybe me more than most) and reached a respectable tier and level of game. We did. Most have given up, it is a natural selection that happens in any situation.

  Some became legend overnight too, don't forget.

  I have never scored 63 on any course, and yet I am legend - shouldn't I then be reassessed by wgt in order to be able to compete, just like you?

  I read this somewhere in the forum: Are you able to get the best equipment? Then tee off from the furthest tees. End of story.

• oilyrag 875 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2012 1:07 PM

  but sanco,

  the statement you have quoted was in context of the price of equipment being tied to tier.

   

  i disagree with your last point - tees should be tied to tournament. just like the real world

   

   

• Sanco 1,345 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2012 3:06 PM

  I guess, oilyrag, your statement would make a different sense if taken in the context of price for equipment, but what would your stance be if the equipment would be tied to tier only, and at the same price?  I am asking for your user view here and not your view on the financial viability of WGT. :)

  My point was that when we started that was just the case - tier based equipment, and we stuck to it and had fun in the process. Ah, and we didn't become legends in 2 months (even if "in pectore") back then ... what does that tell you. ;)

  I respect you disagreeing with my last statement, and I would not expect a different opinion at this stage since you have not experienced (yet) the huge yardage difference when playing, and only when playing, a legend in disguise sporting the best equipment. ;))

  I do not play tournament or games where money is at stake, but I still spend a lot, and I mean a lot of money here and would like to be able to either go back in tier or have a solution for this unbalanced system. That's all.

   

• Oldstir 434 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2012 10:23 PM

  godelescher:

  If you use reality as a model, there is a quasi-solution to the equipment vs. tier debate.

  In real life, a regular guy off the street is able to purchase any clubs he wants to, but at retail prices. He can get fitted for custom clubs if he chooses. He can buy the same clubs as TW if he chooses to spend the money.

  The reason most people don't spend the money for such extravagances is because it's cost prohibitive.

  Professional golfers have sponsors who supply them with their equipment; in some cases, even custom-make equipment for them.

  Why not unlock all equipment for all players, but tie the price to tier. Make it cost prohibitive for Amateurs (20,000 credits for a L90 R11 driver, or whatever).

  As you progress through the tiers, the equipment becomes cheaper,as if you were a club pro who might get a 20% discount in the pro shop, or a Nike Tour pro who can purchase his clubs directly from the manufacturer at cost. All the way up to PGA Tour pros who pay only shipping and handling to have the clubs delivered.

  People would mostly buy what they can afford. Some would shell out big bucks at lower tiers for the best equipment, but that would be their prerogative.

  In the end, there would be much more financial incentive to advance.

  Gifting would have to be at the recipient's price.

   

  Driver strength vs Driver strength is the best and fairest solution to revamping the Search and Tournament features IMO.  No-brainer ;)