For decades, professional golf has been known for its slow pace, sprawling courses, and muted fans following players around a pampered green for hours. Big 18-hole tournaments can take all day even with staggered tee times. Though still fiercely popular among core fans, the genteel sport has lost some momentum and viewer engagement.
But January brought a new take on pro golf, and this time, it happens indoors! The TMRW Golf League, or TGL, features six teams of four players. They compete in a tech-infused arena on a course nearly the size of a football field.
Players tee off from real grass or sand toward an enormous simulator screen. They hit into the 64-by-53-foot screen for their first shots. After that, a player may hit again into the screen or set his or her ball at a designated mark around the in-stadium green. Each hole is different, and the green is adjustable. The 30 programmed holes easily meet the challenge of a traditional golf course.
Shots inside 50 yards hit to the real green that rotates 360° and has variable undulation, creating rising and falling slopes and angles.
The TGL includes stars like Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and 13 major champions, playing fast-paced, two-hour televised matches. “It’s different from what [fans] see from a conventional standpoint,” golfer Xander Schauffele says.
Woods and McIlroy’s TMRW Sports created the league. It aims to attract both new and traditional audiences to an arena seating about 1,500 fans. No more tromping miles to witness your favorite golfer’s birdie, par, or bogey! The league also features a 40-second shot clock to keep things moving. The players wear microphones, so fans can hear their in-game commentary.
The league’s high-tech creation blends simulator golf with real play, affected by physical elements. Billy Horschel, who plays for the TGL team Atlanta Drive, emphasized the authenticity that maintains: “We’re hitting off real grass. This is supposed to be fast, engaging, and different.”
McIlroy predicts TGL will appeal to younger fans with its combo of a tie-in to esports and its more manageable two-hour format.
TGL was delayed from launching for a year after a power outage damaged its original venue. The new arena includes locker rooms, dazzling lights, and vast screens displaying scores, shot clocks, and yardages. Patrick Cantlay (Atlanta Drive) calls it “an impressive feat of engineering” that will provide a more personal, action-packed view of players.
Are you willing to tune in for the new high-tech golf league? Or work on your own skills and give it a swing one day?
Why? Engaging new fans and testing innovative ideas helps keep sports and communities that result from sport growing. Exploration and creativity are innate in God’s design of humans.
