Oh dear oh dear - Lets hope WGT have sobered up after the lunacy imposed upon their own innocent clientelle and that they look at the devistation that the "forward thinking" changes have created
The Pros Woes
Lets do some simple math
Assuming on the 31st August you were a pro (old tiers) and now have been forcefully upgraded to the new master tier. (1st Sept) Your new current "level" is 30 You will now require the equipment (because of the extra distance) that was readily available when moving up a tier and wanted to purchase the R9 driver (example) This could have been done when "earning that master status" . - Not any more after the forcing of the new promotion.
So now you have to try and "earn" that driver by raising your "level" experience and you now need to reach level 77 to obtain the driver (that you need to make up for the distance differentials caused by the raise in tier). How long and how much will you have to spend to achieve this?
Lets make this really simple.
Lets say on average you will recieve 100 level points per completed round (this is approx based on 5 test games). In 10 rounds you will have reached level 31, So to get to level 77 you will need to complete 470 rounds ( quite a while, unless you are constantly at the computer) In fact some players over a year ! Now lets look at how much this is going to cost you (assuming you are NOT going to lose any balls!!!)
You decide you need a ball that will travel the furthest distance to make up for the lack of distance your existing clubs perfom from the newly arrived back tees. So you opt for the GI SD @ 112 credits a sleeve. You will get approx 1 and a half rounds completed with these balls. so it is going to take you approx. 352 rounds to get to level 77 = approx 109 sleeves of balls @ 112 credits = $122.08
(opt for tour sd $70.85)
So for $122.08 (above example) you can now purchase the driver that you would have been able to purchase 2 days ago when you reached the master tier (without being forced)
As it stands newly promoted Pros with restricted clubs are at a stage where on many holes they simply cannot reach some fairways with clubs that were "tiered" at or below the pro previous purchasing levels There was NO indication during the "clearance sale" that pros would be
put into a situation wheras they would be penalised because they didn't
achieve master status under their own steam. Even the best clairvoyant
wouldn't have been able to forsee the problem to buy the neccessary
equipment for a "forced" change in tier, simply because the equipment was never an option to buy from that
tier.
Surely it makes practical business sense to allow any newly "forced" pro the opportunity to purchase the required equipment to allow them to compete competitively
You could open up this money spinning revenue offer for a limited period. solely for those that this unfair change has affected. You can lock the remainder of options AFTER they have selected their one-off choice This allows them a chance to be able to purchase One club set within their new "tier" range. .Not only does it bring in instant revenue it also keeps them in the game, rather than leaving it for good.
This new "level" has been ill-thought and requires immediate attention on bringing the "reality" back into virtuality. Give those "improving" virtual golfers the incentive to stick around, rather than lose them because they cannot improve any longer
PS I am not a pro that was promoted to a master, and I already have the required clubs I need to progress. But I can see a major flaw in this ridiculous situation.
You have put the newly promoted pros in a no win scenario for a very long period of time to actually achieve their goal of being able to compete competitively against each other. ( some pros will have better equipment than others (bought before lockout) - whereas the ones that don't have NO option to be on that playing field anymore)