3 years ago, TGL (TMRW Golf League) was just a vision. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy wanted to bring a true stadium experience to the world of golf. Today, it’s a pretty cool watching experience.
The inaugural season just teed off (yes, pun intended) and is broadcasted live on Tuesday nights on ESPN. It features six, city-based teams, with some of the biggest names on the PGA Tour on respective teams. Woods and McIlroy each headline their own team, along with names such as Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry.
Players hit into a massive 64 x 53 ft simulator for their tee and approach shots. There is real grass, rough and sand for applicable shots to be taken from. Once they are 50 yards out, they transition to the rotating green. The green is a giant turntable and uses 600 actuators to change approach and putting angles.
Walk out music, crowds booing, shot clocks, mic’d up players and “The Hammer” are some of the things that give TGL a completely new and refreshing take on the game of golf.
The Format
Each week, teams will have 3 out of their 4 players playing a total of 15 holes. They will compete in two sessions during the two-hour match.
The first nine hole session is played as a scramble, where the players must rotate each shot. Traditional rules apply, the lowest score on the hole wins. Each hole is worth one point, EXCEPT when “The Hammer” is thrown. The Hammer makes the hole worth two points. It’ll be interesting to see how the Hammer strategy evolves as the league progresses.
The second session is a head to head versus play. Same scoring rules apply. If the match ends in a tie, it will go to a 3 vs 3, closest to the pin contest as overtime.
Our Contests
EatWatchPlay will begin featuring TGL contests weekly, beginning with the January 21 match between New York Golf Club and Atlanta Drive Golf Club. Some familiar names in this matchup include Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele (NY); and Justin Thomas and Billy Horschel (ATL). We will be doing a Pick the Winner for each hole, both Scramble and vs Play. We may throw a Hammer of our own in there too once and a while.
The contests most likely won’t be released until Monday, as the participation in PGA Tour events will dictate which players play that Tuesday. I won’t be making any picks, because I’m still figuring this out too, but I’ll be in there playing with you guys.
So be sure to check out the app on Monday and tune in Tuesday at 7PM ET on ESPN and ESPN+ to watch the future of golf
