Copy/paste from the shoutbox...
So the dynamic cutlines are live for the Challenge circuit - what do people think? Currently exemptions set at CC-AZ 10%, CC-BCDE 15% - demotions strikes for all at 40% (from bottom of field) - clear strikes at 22.5% - all %'s are from total field#
They will appear each week during the R3 reveal (due to late registration closing and the fields being locked then)
moving month (Feb) will see all events have exemption % double per flight - earning cards while on exemption will have easier rules (within 15 shots instead of within 10)- demotion strikes will bump to 50% - who's ready for February on the CC?!?!
Web.com guys - we'll get your exemption cutline added shortly - it's set at 10% too
Scott, let me first say, you're doing an amazing job keeping this all running so smoothly. It is really appreciated.
Secondly, I hope you get your computer situation straightened out real soon. I would love to be able to donate to the cause but I don't even have the money to get a new video card so that I can play this game without having to restart it every round. Have an AMD card that I've been told doesn't play well with the Unity engine. But that's neither here nor there.
Finally, in regard to the changes, I'm nowhere near smart enough to know whether or not these are going to be better or worse for me personally, but this is what I suspect and how it will affect me.
With the new percentages, more people will be exempt after each tournament. That means more people to have to go up against in order to retain your exemption and not drop back down to the class you were in the week before. Currently, because of one person having an off the charts week, I have no chance of remaining in D Class and will be going back to E Class next week. This becomes even more difficult with more exempt players to go up against. Conversely, when I'm back down in E Class, I have a greater chance of getting an exemption than previously. So there is a very good chance I'll be back in D Class the week after on exemption. And this roller coaster will just continue week after week, bouncing from class to class. Only the very best in my class will actually be able to keep their exemption and earn their card. I am not the very best in my class but good enough to keep earning exemptions. This kind of puts me in no man's land.
I'm not complaining. I'm just stating a fact as far as how this new system will affect me. At least with the older system it would have been more difficult for me to earn an exemption in the first place and, if I did, less people to have to go up against to earn my card. Now, for a lot of people in my skill area (good, but just not the best) it's going to be yo-yo's ville. After a while, I think that's going to become tedious and frustrating for a lot of people.
And on another note, and yes, I know I've brought this up before and don't really want to beat this horse again, but this is so glaring this week that I can't just let it slide.
The player who is essentially going to knock me back down to E Class (on exemption with me) has played in 4 events and has won 3 of them. He's consistently shooting in the low 60s and yet he's in E Class?
How did this person do so horribly to be placed so low and yet be shooting like a pro in his first few tournaments and winning almost all of them?
If this doesn't scream sandbagging to you then I don't know what does.
On the QT, other players have admitted to me that sandbagging does happen even though, for whatever reason, TGC Tours doesn't want to acknowledge this. My only consolation this week is that this person will finally be gone from my classes (he's currently 2nd in the current event) and I won't have to contend with his level of play anymore. But, in the meantime, I'll be back in E Class next week and I don't feel that's fair. I'm currently 57th out of 91 players in D Class and well above the cut line. And I know that with my level of play right now, good but not great, I could stay in D Class and probably finish in the upper 40s to mid 50s each week. But it's not going to happen because it's going to be E to D to E to D for like forever as long as there is that one person who didn't belong in E Class to begin with OR that one person who finally puts it altogether that week and blows away the rest of the field.
Say what you want about me, but when it comes to seeing stuff like that, I'm usually right. I have a very good sense for how things will play out, at least in my own personal space. And, if you watch my progress throughout this year, you will see that this is most likely exactly what's going to happen. I will be the token yo-yo of TGC Tours.
Because of this, I'd just assume you'd left well enough alone. I'd maybe get my occasional exemption every 8 to 12 tournaments and maybe, with a little luck, eventually earn my D card. I predicted, under the old formula, sometime in June. This way, I may get more exemptions, but my chances of staying in D Class are slim to none. I just don't see it happening at all.
Having said all that, I totally support the changes. Why? Because I want to be a team player. Plain and simple. But I felt it was important to make my feelings about the new system known if for no other reason than for feedback purposes assuming that if 99% of the people felt as I do, you might consider going back to the old system. But my gut tells me that most people will actually like the change because it gives them more of a chance of earning an exemption. But just like with the lottery, people never look at the downside of things. I do. So yeah, I guess I'm a glass half empty kind of person. It keeps me from being disappointed when things don't work out. And in this case, I know exactly how this is going to play out for me.
Knowing that in advance, I won't be disappointed when it happens.
Good luck with the new system. I hope it works out well for most.
