Imagine golf combined with cutting-edge technology, a lot of sparkle, and a little bit of 2013 Wii golf sprinkled in for good measure. This isn’t meant to be just a sport but an experience, a show. With virtual elements, dynamic gameplay, and a fresh new vibe, Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) is bringing golf to a new generation of players and fans.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a total newbie, this game is all about having fun and making the game approachable, but not all glitters are gold! Audience size, overcompensation, and questionable competition may hinder TGL.
TGL was created by TMRW Sports’ founder and CEO Mike McCarley, who brought on Tiger Woods as a co-owner, along with other big-name investors like Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Durant.
In TGL, 24 Professional Golfer’s Association (PGA) golf players are divided into two teams of three. They play head-to-head matches of 15 holes split between two games. This sounds like any other boring golf league, right? Wrong. The twist is that this golf is played inside a simulator.
Players tee off inside a closed arena and onto a virtual screen that projects their shot in theory to the crowd. The golfers have a 40-second shot clock where they must tee off or risk losing a stroke. Players put on a nonvirtual putting green. Each hole is worth one point, but players can add points if “the hammer” is thrown and accepted by the other team.
The first two matches of TGL were met with large audiences and excitement by many who were stoked to see their favorite PGA golfers goof around and hang out. Tiger Woods’s walk-out song was “Eye of the Tiger” for crying out loud.
The matches were light-hearted and fostered a spirit of friendly competition. The showmanship of the players was front and center as they interacted heavily with the crowd and constantly cracked jokes. This game was made for a live TV audience — unlike golf — which is typically played outside, where an audience may only get to observe one hole.
The debut of the league wasn’t met without criticism. Before the event even started, scandals broke out about the audience being paid actors, which were confirmed by a spokesperson for TGL, Adam Freifeld.
Allegedly, TGL hired actors to sit in the audience and make their audience look more impressive for their TV debut. This overcompensation scandal has been denied by many working on the league, but the Lord Fraquad of it all is too funny not to think about.
Another issue some raised was about the league’s lasting power. Many were concerned that the league wasn’t competitive enough and felt far too casual for some. I had a hard time taking it seriously once I was reminded by my friend how similar the simulator was to Wii golf. This problem is easily fixable. You don’t have to make the league 100% competitive, but I hope the competitive nature will increase as rivalries among teams form how college football rivalries started.
If they really want to bring in viewership, I’d lean more on the virtual tech nature of the game and its similarity to Wii. Wouldn’t it be fun to see Tiger and the gang golfing off of pirate ships or instead of sand traps use lava? If you’re going to use tech as a gimmick, you might as well use it to the fullest. When using virtual reality technology, the possibilities are endless.
The TGL is certainly an interesting, well-executed idea. Mixing high-performing athletes with cutting-edge tech always creates a spectacle, but will they fully embrace this new era of golf? Will it last, or will viewership drop due to lack of competition? Will it fade into obscurity as just another interesting idea? Only time will tell what will happen to the TGL.
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