Here is all you need to know about Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new fast-paced indoor team tournament, TGL, which is finally going to launch.
Some of golf’s top players are trading the greens for the digital realm as the highly-anticipated, technologically advanced and lucrative TGL is set to launch this week.
What exactly is TGL?
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are leading a brand-new, fast-paced indoor team competition. The action takes place on two cutting-edge golf simulators. In all literature, it is simply called TGL, although informally, it stands for Tomorrow’s Golf League.
It was supposed to launch last year, but a 12-month delay occurred due to problems with the inflatable dome ceiling at its specially constructed arena, the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Who is taking part?
The competition includes a number of top PGA Tour players, split into six teams representing various American cities, in addition to the venture’s faces, 15-time major winners Woods and McIlroy.
Woods is the leader of Jupiter Links Golf Club, where he plays with Kevin Kisner, Tom Kim, and Max Homa. Boston Common Golf’s marquee player is world number three McIlroy, who is joined by Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, and US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.
The Bay Golf Club, Los Angeles Golf Club, New York Golf Club, and Atlanta Drive GC are among the other groups. Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Shane Rose are some other noteworthy players.
But how does the gameplay work?
The SoFi Center has a field of play that is about the size of a football field. Players hit balls from a natural surface toward a massive 64×53-foot screen in “screen play,” which takes up half of the arena.
Balls will be played from a grass tee box, fairway grass, rough, or sand, depending on the shot. The action moves to the “green zone,” or opposite side of the arena, when balls land within 50 feet of the virtual pin.
This includes a mechanized short-game area of 22,475 square feet, with adjustable dimensions, terrain, and pin placement for every hole. The play is open to 1,500 spectators.
What’s the competition format?
Each competition day – either Monday or Tuesday – highlights one match between two teams. Each squad has a roster of four players with three competing in each matchup.
Matches are divided into two sessions – triples and singles, both matchplay. Triples is a three-on-three contest over nine holes with all players taking turns to play the same ball.
After that, there are three six-hole singles competitions. One point is awarded for each hole. There’s a nearest-the-pin ‘overtime’ competition if there’s a tie. In overtime, teams receive two points for winning and one for losing; in regular time, they receive nothing. The top four teams in the table advance to the playoffs, and all clubs compete against one another during the regular season.
What other innovations can we expect?
Unrestricted by real-world constraints like geography, climate, finance, and topography, the creators of the virtual course have promised some breathtaking holes from made-up locales including desert, tropical, and coastal vistas. A shot clock, timeouts, and the “hammer,” which allows teams to double the value of a hole, are further new elements.
All players will wear microphones and a referee will enforce the rules. TGL is an attempt to sell the sport to a new audience.
It was created by sports media executive Mike McCarley, who joined forces with Woods and McIlroy to establish TMRW Sports in 2022 in order to launch the initiative. The business has drawn a lot of private investment, and TGL has a £16.75 million prize fund, with £7.9 million going to the winning team.
Although it was not intended to compete with LIV Golf, it has been developing for a few years and is now seen as such.
