Two schools of thought play this game, those who set goals and as part of those goals...the tiers.
Other school is those who play for fun and never bother about tiers.
To be honest I had no idea what I was doing when I hit masters tier using the free sticks....I then joined the upgrade club......and set legend as a goal (and like Robert, had scoring goals).
When I hit legend, that was it, the pinnacle of WGT......then they introduced TL, then CH/TC.
To me TL or Champion meant nothing....a worthless title especially when all tiers had been demeaned by red tee specialists. So when TC is open...what will come next?
On a good day, I can give all but the very best a run for their money.....on a bad day, hell a hack would see me as easy pickings!
The problem with all tiers is the "average system" is a system that is not an average or reflection of ability, but of lowest scores misinterpreting ability.
My goals since I made legend are purely to have fun .....I play this game to relax and enjoy myself, not worry about carding a crap score. I play when I feel like playing and I am not a slave to the game.....I have not played for a few days.
For me, the OP's take on TC is flawed, and if that is his goal and his main reason for playing...then IMO, he is playing for all the wrong reasons.