I echo the sentiment expressed by calvin_de_beverly above. I joined/paid for this game late, enjoyed it immesely, dabbled with design, and loved that as well, stopped two years ago, entering semi-retirement and working in CF again. I was never here to play competitively, and never worried too much about the avatar, and lived with the compromise on swing mechanics between irons/hybrids/'woods' and chipping pitching and still doesn;t bother me, but then again, I'm not a great player IRL either so the inconsistency in the game from my lack of skill reflects my real world game.
I know I am in the minority here, and never played Links or other golf games for that matter, I just stumbled across this game by chance and I am glad I did. What I spent on this game and 'paid' for assets to use in Unity and CF is but a drop in the bucket compared to what I have spent on a few pints after a round a golf in the 19th. Value for the spend on PG can be viewed differently and I respect everyone's opinions.
I will continue to play solo on my favourite courses and spend countless hours working on my own courses that I create for my own enjoyment. In the past two years some incredible advancements have been introduced by some incredibly talented designers working within CF. I could spend years learning and applying these new techniques and applying them to designs.
Regarding the frustrations over communications from Mike and Andrew - again, I have been on both sides of this type of situation in my working career and can only sympathize with everyone's position - including what we may or may not know about Mike/Andrew's sale/contract and NDA/non-compete that may exist with Trackman.
Ultimately - I will continue to play solo and design/create virtual landscapes with a playable 'game' imbedded within until such time as it is not possible.