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Golf Doctor

Is tech-infused TGL worth watching?

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If you didn’t watch the debut of TGL golf on ESPN a couple of weeks ago, you were missing something special. The hype leading up to the opening of the TGL brief indoor season was major, spurred by stakeholders Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. TGL isn’t “Tiger golf league,” as many surmised. TGL is “Tomorrow’s Golf League,” and was the brainchild of Mike McCarley, former CEO of The Golf Channel.

The specially built indoor arena, named SoFi Center, sits on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida. The format of TGL is for two teams of PGA Tour golfers to compete by hitting golf shots to a giant screen simulator – 65 feet high by 52 feet wide – which displays creatively designed golf holes, and then chipping and putting on a manufactured “grass” turf green which changes contours by means of 600 hydraulic lifters under the surface. Everything is controlled by computer keystrokes.

As Ron Green, Jr. wrote at GlobalGolfPost.com, “After decades of pushing back against change, golf has suddenly gone all in on updating its image and TGL pushes the envelope the way microwave ovens changed kitchens when they arrived.”

The TGL matches feature six teams of four players each. Only three on each of two teams play in each match. A full match is 15 holes, which fills the allotted two hour slot on ESPN on Monday or Tuesday nights through March 4. Nine holes are played and six holes are individual matches, with two against two for two holes.

The best part is the shot clock, up high in big red letters, set at 40 seconds once it is a golfer’s turn to play. No messing around; no caddies; no yardage books; no lengthy referee rulings. None of the six players came close to getting dinged by the clock. Ludvig Aberg took an average of 21 seconds to hit his shots. While watching TGL it was a relief not seeing a snail player taking forever to pick a club for his shot, even though his caddy established the true yardage, then take a half-dozen practice swings, then walk closer to the green, then back to his ball, then switch clubs and do it all over again. No wonder one tour player’s nickname is “All Day.”

Tour veteran Billy Horschel explains, “TGL is supposed to be new, it’s supposed to be fast … you’re going to be able to see every shot. You’re going to be able to see guys more engaging than they would be out on a PGA Tour event.” Referencing the importance of fan enjoyment, Horschel says, “We have to be entertainers. We have to take ourselves away from what we are inside the ropes and have to be different. We have to show more of ourselves in here at TGL.” It strikes me that Tiger Woods – a co-founder of TGL with Rory McIlroy – wouldn’t have signed on 20 years ago due to his disdain for the media.

With the much-anticipated launch of TGL, there are a number of questions that emerge. First, is TGL worth watching? Apparently one million TV viewers thought so. But will it have legs to keep going? SoFi CEO Anthony Noto thinks so: “With cutting edge technology, we’re giving fans a front-row seat to celebrate the sport like never before.” Noto has an agenda to appeal to a younger clientele and TGL is an avenue to do that.

In SoFi Center, fan noise is encouraged, not frowned upon. Take as many photos as you want. There’s almost nonstop music so you can feel the excitement.  The two matches played so far were lopsided and non-competitive. I hope it doesn’t continue that way.

TGL golf, sports, Golf Doctor, Charlie Blanchard

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