I'm going to spell this one out for you, since between this and the other thread which are more than a little annoying, are still going largely because of you.
The game is Beta. Correct. It has some small issues. Correct, thus the beta title.
The game is Free. Correct.
People get to try the game BEFORE they ever spend any money. Correct.
If people want to buy better clubs to improve their game and support the website, they have that choice but they do not need to. Correct.
Will they be competitive with all free clubs if they decide to stick around and play more than 20 games? Some people have, some people are Masters with mostly free clubs like only bought a driver to hit it farther, no doubt they do NOT have the lowest scores and no one feels sorry for them either for being so cheap. This is irrelevant anyway.
Heres the clincher for those that dont get it, and there are more than a few apparently. The game is beta, sure, and some bugs have been troublesome like the meter, but maybe people also need to stop and think about that putting the game together wasn't free, far from it. A new course rumor has it can cost up to $200,000 dollars using all the beautiful HD pictures etc from the actual course, this doesnt even take into account, time, employees, web hosting, etc, etc, etc.
What is your solution, hope that WGT wins the lottery?
Do you know how to solve the bug issues so they can take it out of beta?
(not that this even matters, its beta and its free unless you choose to buy something after you have tried the game, it couldnt be any more fair than it is now)
Do you have half a million dollars or more just sitting around to put together a golf game for everyone to enjoy for free? If you do, please put one together for everyone.
No I'm sure no one does and I dont think they did either, not that many people do and it may have even cost more than that who knows. No what they wisely did was allow those people that like the game after trying it and want better clubs to BUY them and at the same time it supports the site to stay alive, add more courses, etc. If people want to just hang around and enjoy the game for free, they can, will they be the lowest scoring on the site, maybe not, ahhh too bad for them.
No, its not so hard to understand, when one stops to look at the big picture.....and to me, it looks like the overall best solution was chosen, if it was my business, I would do exactly the same thing they have, and so far their success says they indeed on are on the right track.
So anyone who wants to cry foul because they have to spend some money (and its not even that much) to support a beta golf game, wont get any pity in these forums, nor should they. Many other free crappy games around, anyone can go play them if they dont like the business model here, and I wish they would so we can stop seeing these incredibly stupid threads.
So play for free, buy some clubs or move on, the choice is simple for anyone and while complaining is a choice, its not a very wise one as I have pointed out nor are there any here that hold any validity thus far.