I would imagine as with most internet start ups there are initial setup and maintenance cost that have to be generated to justify the development and hosting of the site. The amount of bandwidth this site consumes each day is ungodly to put it mildly, someone has to cover all these related cost. I read folks complain about spending 10 or 20 bucks at the pro-shop and wonder where they could buy a game of this caliber for that cheap, nowhere is the answer to that question in short.
I am trusting that as this site continues to grow and prosper that you will all begin to see some pay back incentives outside of cyber credits being offered, perhaps the opportunity to buy actual gear with your credits or a way to purchase a weekend at on of the courses on this site. You can bet that the folks who have invested in the creation and development of this game want to see it's membership remain and grow and they know that they will have to provide greater incentives to achieve this over time.
Don't think I haven't though how cool it would be, if I could ever really excel at this game, to have a chance to play as a cyber pro golfer for real funds. Become the next Tiger Woods in cyber space, and you never know that may become something more possible given time and interest. I for one can't play real golf much anymore due to physical problems that have made it painful and difficult. This place allows me to enjoy something almost as much as I did the real play, even the cussing, tossing my clubs, saying the holes move, lol, and the satisfaction of playing against others and once in awhile turning in a good score.
I for one will continue to spend a buck or two here and there to help insure this place remains on the world wide web and do what I can to encourage my family and friends to come and enjoy some time here as well. I have a daughter who works full time at a top notch west coast golf course and I've got her playing now and she has mentioned it to several members of the club here and for those cold rainy days of winter out here more and more of them are finding this site to be a cure for the golfing jones. I'm sure there are many others out there who once they experience this site will become regular contributors as well. Patients is a virtue more people need to learn it appears.