New Indoor TGL Golf League Tees Off For a Hopeful Future

By Nate Landwehr

The new league is heavily team based with six teams based out of numerous locations all across the United States. The teams have brought along notable owners such as Niall Horan for Boston Common Golf and Serena and Venus Williams for the Los Angeles Golf Club. The magnitude of owners and investments into the new venture shows the amount of resources and efforts being implemented but, will those efforts pay off. 

The format itself for TGL is interesting in itself. The match features 15 holes of simulated golf between two teams of three with the first nine holes being in an alternate shot format and the final six holes being 1v1s. It seems to be a mystery why the league did not have the matches take place across the traditional 18 hole format. It seems by not including a full 18 holes the league may be eliminating chances for increased competitiveness and memorable moments between players. 

A large marketing point for the entire league was that the players would be mic’d up throughout the entire match. Yes, the players were wearing mics the whole time but, the broadcast was more focused on the commentators discussing the match. By not including the dialogue between notable players such as Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry, it seems the league is leaving out what many want to know: how pros function and also how they feel they can banter with each other in a friendly manner. It seems like a major missed opportunity to showcase the comradery between tour pros that is never really seen during the typical PGA tournament. 

The holes that the pros play on are entirely fictional locations designed exclusively for the TGL. The holes all have interesting makeups that include being on a small plateau or having lava surround the hole with a volcano being a hazard. While these designs may be unconventional, it allows for the pros to hit shots or think in ways that they may not on a normal golf course which creates an interesting way to watch how they process the situation. Some fans on Reddit have even come up with the idea to include fan designed holes that could be featured in matches in order to boost engagement with the audience.

As someone who is obsessed with the traditional game of golf, TGL is a new addition that I find myself welcoming with open arms. I feel that TGL gives a fresh perspective on how the complex minds of pros function. The league seems as if it will get better over time as the players get more and more used to this new environment.