Hi JT
You raise some very good and valid points.
I know in the real game we use proper ettiquette, and its easier for those less scrupulous to cheat on a virtual version
The way the comp is set up would highlight "unnatural" improvement. for instance if a player decided to open a second account soley for that purpose they would start off as a hack at an average of 150 . Lets say they scored a round of 80 or even 70 in the first week - that would immediately show as 'suspect' and I would then investigate (a) the length of time the player has been a member.of WGT (b) the amount of ranked rounds played (c) The clubs they are using
I suppose no system is failsafe, however, I also have a security measure built in that would assist my quest to pick out 'suspect' score or a series of scores. to prevent such behaviour. And it could also highlight possible multi-account holders.
In the conditions as set it states that disqualification is assured if cheating is involved. (Sportsmanship is the order of the day) As the weeks progress (20 of them) the averages will tend to remain fairly close to their original (especially pro and master tiers) therefore 'rogue' scores would be reasonably close to their original ranking/average
The reasoning of setting it as a full 18 hole SINGLE WEEKLY play ranked comp was to give a more accurate reading of a players average, rather than a 'lucky' 9 holes)
The averages are set per tier from the start. and the averages will we updated as they change on a regular basis
I have set prizes for each tier, This would mean that anyone promoted from hack to amateur couldn't possibly win the Hack prize. and so on.
IDEAS for debate
Thinking about the point you raised (a very good one) I could introduce MAXIMUM points per round of 15.+ 5 for completing. This would mean the max points in any one round would be 20. So if a player shoots better than 15 shots below their average they would (a) be scrutinised) (b) they would certainly move up a tier. I could also DEDUCT points for promotion to a tier. of say 10 points. This would only affect those that scored heavily. Any player rapidly moving through the tiers would then discover that their points were diminishing nearly as fast as they were accruing.
To score 15 less than your average in a one-off SINGLE PLAY weekly game would be very difficult unless you were 'sandbagging' as you quite rightly have highlighted.
Example:
Player A (Hack at 150) round of 110 scores 15 pts moves up to Amateur (loses 10 points)
Player A (Amateur at 110) round of 85 scores gets 15 points moves to Pro (loses 10 points)
Player A (Pro 85) round of 65 gets 15 points moves to Master (loses 10 pts)
In that scenario Player A scored 45 pointys but lost 30 giving 15 actual points but now a master and would be extremely difficult to sandbag from that tier.
CONSTRUCTIVE Feedback on this or perhaps an idea anyone has to prevent such 'sandbagging' would be appreciated.
Thanks for checking out the comp.
EDIT ( A few hours later......)
I have now added to the registration application form a field entitled "WGT Member since"...this is required for the applicant to select from a drop down date menu. This will also indicate the duration of an entrants application as to his/her time as an WGT.member Any form recieved with a "recent" joining will be highlighted for scrutiny.
Thanks once again JT for pointing these potential flaws before the comp gets under way.