PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — TGL, the indoor golf league featuring technology brought to you by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, has finally teed off. And the verdict: “Good start!”
In the first game of the first TGL season, Bay GC defeated New York GC 9-2 with major-like play from Shane Lowry, Ludwig Oberg, and Windham Clark. Meanwhile, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler played as if they were in a simulator.
But to be honest, the result of the match was secondary. The real question of the night is: Is TGL worth watching? To some extent, the answer is “Yes, it depends.”
Look, if you tend to dislike simulator golf, or believe that the only “real” golf is playing outdoors with nature as your only soundtrack…well, TGL will change your mind. I haven’t done much, and I don’t plan on doing it in the future. Loud, fast, fans booing every bad shot…this isn’t Augusta National, folks.
But despite being a technology-heavy, rapid-fire golf exhibition, TGL’s opening night was a huge success. The night went by quickly, the energy in the crowd was palpable, the players seemed engaged, and the technology spectacle was virtually flawless.
Will TGL be able to bring in new golf fans? Will the old ones be converted? That’s still up in the air, but TGL has taken a solid first step.
Hours before the game, pinpoint spotlights illuminated the sky above SoFi Center on an unusually cold South Florida night. Inside, a well-dressed crowd of people in blazers and quarter-zips lined up, soft jazz and club music blaring from a giant speaker system overhead.
Patrons, or fans alike, strolled past craft cocktail booths, a floor model Genesis SUV, a putting green and a fan shop stocked with merchandise from all six teams. (T-Shirts: Starting at $44.99) They found their seats just before 9pm ET…just in time to sit in for a few extra minutes before the end of the Duke vs. Pitt game on ESPN.
“This is not a golf course or a country club!” host Roger Steele yelled. “This is a real club!” Remixes of everything from the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up” to Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” echoed through the arena, leading to WWE-style entrances for both teams. . Of all the sparkly elements in TGL, the intro was the one that felt the most forced. The main reason is that most golfers can’t muster the love-hate charisma required for one of these elements. Introducing the heavenly rattle.
Shane Lowry had the honor of hitting the first drive in TGL history, hitting it right in the middle of the 480-inch par-4 debut hole titled “The Plank.”
“Everything happens so quickly when you’re outside, it’s noisy and you’re not used to it,” Laurie said later. “But yeah, it was fun. It was a great two hours tonight. It’s a lot of fun out there and sometimes you’re not used to it. But it was fun.”
Bay GC scored the first point and then went on to score five points, creating the largest lead in TGL history. New York GC earned a point on the final hole of the triple, finally breaking out of the Jets-Giants slide. (TGL features 15 holes of match play, including 9 triple holes for everyone to play and 6 single holes for players to play head-to-head.)
Playing golf in front of a noisy crowd is always dangerous. Sometimes it’s a boost for the players, like the home Ryder Cup, and other times it’s an aggressive stumbling block, like the WM Phoenix Open after drinking too many beers. The TGL crowd was encouraged to be loud so the players knew what they were getting into. Still, it was a new experience to hear the crowd actively boo a player’s bad shots.
“This was a terrible outcome for New York Golf Club today,” Schauffele said. “It was disappointing to let my boys down here and it was a tough result. When I duffed the chips there, I heard a few boos from the crowd, so I’m definitely motivated to do a little better next time.” It became.”
Some players, especially Fitzpatrick, struggled against Green. Other companies like Oberg were also successful.
Most holes were completed within about 5 minutes, and the entire run took about 1 hour and 50 minutes, including one or two swings. The shot clock forced players to continue playing at a fast pace, and the hot mic moments gave viewers more insight into the players’ personalities than they usually get on tour.
“It was a lot of fun,” Clark said. “I feel like no one had more fun than us. We were laughing. It’s so much fun talking to each other in the locker room. It’s fun to be here with these guys. We I’m excited to be a part of this. ”
“I’m always so jealous of basketball and football players because they do so much more than we do,” Aberg said. “Playing in a stadium is great. The crowd gets a little more excited. The energy is different than a regular golf tournament.”
Woods and McIlroy were also in attendance, watching the game and providing hole-by-hole commentary on ESPN. Both are scheduled to play in the coming weeks, and both will provide a shot of star power to the golf casual.
“This is something that’s fun for the game of golf and not something that’s trying to compete with what we’re doing on tour,” Fowler said. “This is a supplement to the game. Hopefully it opens some people’s eyes to what’s possible.”
TGL will resume next week and will run weekly until the end of March. Initial gains were positive, and Golf Twitter seemed to be enjoying the opportunity for a little golf interaction on weeknights. The guaranteed two hours of competition, with little to no TV downtime and plenty of statistical detail, seem tailor-made for the analysis-focused, attention-grabbing golf fans of the 2020s. It looks like
The only question that remains: Will anyone be able to stop the mighty Bay GC?
