WGTicon:the problem is, there is not much as interest is UEL.
Of course there is not as much interest in UEL. It's harder, it represents a greater challenge, and should rightly be considered as an advanced stage for experienced players, who have mastered the easier flat-lie form of the game. It's the next step in the evolution of the better player: and as we've seen by the comments here, those that reach this point tend to get bored of the flat-lie game, and have a high level of commitment to UEL.
If WGT is expecting the participation level to match the Even lie version, which is obviously easier to learn, and represents the bottom of the pyramid, then that expectation is a false premise to begin with.
For me, one of the great things about WGT has always been variety. There are now enough courses, and enough variations of competition, that there should be something for everyone. And if more is better, what's to lose by having the extra variety. The amount of effort involved to set-up one 18-hole UEL weekly event must be so negligible that I'm astonished that it's been dropped.
Mags' numbers on the prior page about the participation level required to make even a single event profitable makes it clear that can't be the issue (or that WGT can't do its sums). So, I'm baffled as to why WGT is taking this step.
My take on all this is that WGT developed a great, advanced level facet of the game, but then ran scared of doing the next logical thing, which would have been to support UEL by making it the true test for the top events... or at least, enough of them to get all the top players to commit to learning the format. Instead, they listened to the naysayers (who have shouted loudest about UEL's supposed flaws in order to protect their own standing).
There has never been an equivalent level of prizes offered for UEL tourneys, so it shouldn't be a surprise that participation levels don't match flat-lie levels. Where are the 400,000cr majors or the monthly 200,000cr ones, where is the official WGT year-round Tour, where are the monthly big-prize Opens in each Tier, or the monthly (or weekly) Multi-Round Opens, and where are the big one-off sponsor events involving UEL?
IIRC, the sum total of big-scale UEL events is a couple of unlimited-play midsummer 200k events after the launch of Merion and Pinehurst, plus perhaps one other significant event in UEL's first few months, in a period that has seen at least 50 flat-lie events of comparable or higher prize-money.
When we've organized our own Community-Run UEL Tour (using the single-play weekly 18-holers) the participation level has increased by at least 1/3 (based on TL numbers comparing weeks in the Spring and Fall UEL Tours compared with weeks alongside). This suggests that a bit of incentive, with prizes generously offered by individuals even just the concept of a Tour, brings out more players.
WGTdbloshoe: Participation for the UEL monthly tournament has been trending down. We have lost 1/3 of the players who participated since March.
To drop a particular regular tourney on evidence that's apparently based on playing levels since the Spring (per Shoe's post in the other thread), i.e. comparing pre-Spring months to the summer doldrums, when the Northern Hemisphere plays less anyway, seems particularly foolish.
And, as others have said, if you're going to quote numbers, let's see the comparable stats on normal tournaments. How are they trending? I suspect that the incessant introduction of unnecessary flourishes to the game, along with the introduction of a plethora of bugs, are the main causes of any drop in participation levels, and it's likely that it's across the board.
I sincerely hope WGT reverses this decision and reinstates the weekly 18 holer... and then starts marketing UEL properly, as a challenge for those that want to take the next step with events and prizes that provide a proper incentive.