Golf is poised to bring the sport to a new generation with TGL, an elaborate indoor simulator golf league with a kick that opens with its first match Tuesday night in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and on ESPN for television consumption.
While Tiger Woods, along with Rory McIlroy, is one of the initial and highest-profile backers to the project, TGL does not mean Tiger Golf League.
It stands for Tomorrow Golf League, and it consists of six four-player teams comprised of some of the game’s biggest stars.
It takes place in the state-of-the-art, 250,000-square-foot SoFi Center at Palm Beach State College. TGL is the creation of TMRW Sports, which was co-founded by Woods, McIlroy and former Golf Channel CEO Mike McCarley and is collaborating with the PGA Tour.
To enhance the fan experience, players will be mic’d up during play, with banter and trash talk part of the entertainment selling point.
All 15 regular-season matches will take place in the custom-built arena that seats some 1,500 spectators, and the league runs from early January to early March.
At the end of the regular season, the top four teams will advance to the semifinals, scheduled for March 17 and March 18. The winners of the semis will then compete for the SoFi Cup in a best-of-three finals, taking place on March 24 and March 25.
The format
Teams will play head-to-head in a 15-hole match, divided into two sessions — a “triples” format that is essentially alternate shot with all three players, and a singles segment in which players compete one-on-one in three two-hole segments.
Scoring consists of a team earning a point for a hole won, though a team has the opportunity to press by throwing the “hammer,” which increases that hole’s value to two points.
If the opposing team declines the hammer, the hole is conceded, but that team then controls the next application of the hammer. There are no points awarded for holes tied and there are no carryovers. If the teams are tied at the end of 15 holes, a closest-to-the-pin competition ensues, and the team with two balls closest to the hole wins the match.
The team with the most points at the end of regulation or overtime earns two points in the league standings in a system that takes its cue from the NHL. The losing team gets one point if it forces overtime but no points for a loss in regulation.
A shot clock set to 40 seconds adds to the pressure, as any shot clock violation incurs a one-stroke penalty.
The teams
New York Golf Club is comprised of Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Cam Young and Matthew Fitzpatrick.
The Bay Golf Club, which plays New York in Tuesday’s inaugural match, has Min Woo Lee, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Aberg and Shane Lowry.
Jupiter Links Golf Club has Tigers Woods, Tom Kim, Max Homa and Kevin Kisner.
Boston Common Golf has Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott.
Atlanta Drive has Lucas Glover, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas and Billy Horschel.
Los Angeles Golf Club has Sahith Theegala, Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa and Justin Rose.
The season
The top four teams at season’s end will advance to the postseason, consisting of single-elimination semifinals and a best-of-three championship. The semifinals are March 17-18, and the finals are March 24-25.
The playing field
The competition is conducted on a field broken into two areas — a “screen zone” and a “green zone,” which account for the simulator and synthetic features.
The screen measures 64 feet high and 53 feet wide. TGL employs 18 Full Swing radar devices combined with eight Top Tracer optical cameras to accurately reflect the quality of each shot.
The green zone, meanwhile, is for shots 50 yards and in, and putts. It sits on a turntable 41 yards in diameter featuring bunkers, seven cup placements and an almost infinite number of contours thanks to the use of 567 hydraulic jacks underneath it.
The stakes
The winning team will gain possession of the SoFi Cup and the champions also earn $9 million from a total purse of $21 million.
