We’re one month out from the TGL beginning its inaugural season.
I’m going to be overlaying the simulator league intently, beginning with 5 the explanation why it may grow to be an enormous hit. Subsequent week, I’ll be writing about 5 the explanation why it might not achieve success.
For many who want a refresher, I recommend studying via this story I wrote again in March.
The essential premise is that TGL (Tomorrow’s Golf League) is a brand new 3-on-3 simulator golf league that may happen in January-March of this yr. Initially slated to come back on-line in 2024, the league needed to postpone play after a storm broken the state-of-the-art South Florida enviornment the place all of competitions can be happening.
There are six groups of 4 gamers (all PGA Tour gamers) though solely three gamers from every crew can be competing on the weeks their crew has a match. Not each crew performs every week. Matches will air Mondays and/or Tuesdays on ESPN till a champion is topped in late March.
The indoor league, backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, has gamers hit from actual grass tee containers, fairway surfaces, tough and sand into a large simulation display greater than 20 occasions the scale of an ordinary golf simulator. All the short-game pictures will happen on and round a synthetic turf inexperienced.
Will TGL achieve success or fall flat? It’s onerous to say for sure however listed here are 5 the explanation why it is going to be successful.
1. That is the place you’ll get to observe Tiger Woods play golf
Earlier this week, Woods shared a pessimistic outlook for his aggressive golf shifting ahead. He isn’t taking part in within the Hero World Problem and has no timetable for a return attributable to lingering well being points (he had what’s believed to be his sixth again surgical procedure earlier this yr).
Even when he does come again, it’s assumed that he can be a principally ceremonial golfer. We’ll see him play the primary couple of rounds of a significant, doubtlessly limping to barely make the reduce. Perhaps he performs the Genesis Invitational, his personal occasion.
That’s about it. Final yr, Woods hoped to play one event per thirty days. He ended up solely taking part in 5 tournaments for all the yr, withdrawing from one in every of them. Now the 48-year-old (he turns 49 in a couple of weeks) seems to be in worse form heading into 2025.
Ultimately, he gained’t be taking part in any aggressive event golf—and I’ll be grateful for that bittersweet second when it comes. It’s powerful to observe him hobble via event golf when he can’t deal with strolling that many holes.
If you wish to watch him play sooner or later, TGL can be the place it occurs. He doesn’t should do a lot strolling on this league. There are not any climate issues. It’s a relaxed atmosphere.
Even at his age, Tiger nonetheless attracts extra of an viewers than every other golfer on the planet. TGL having him (and his partial possession of the league) is a big enhance.
He isn’t taking part in the primary week of matches—that could be a mistake in my view—however his inclusion is greater than the rest on this record.
2. The TV product and timeslot needs to be considerably higher
Higher than what? Mainly the rest in golf that we have now on broadcast TV.
This league goes to be taking part in on ESPN at night time throughout a time when the sports activities calendar for early-week occasions is barren. Monday Night time Soccer is completed. School basketball doesn’t get shifting at full tempo till March and it’s principally confined to Thursday-Sunday motion. The NHL and NBA don’t have their playoffs till April.
Why wouldn’t an off-the-cuff golf fan (and even only a sports activities fan) cease by to test it out?
Golf on TV is usually a horrible viewing expertise, however this needs to be rather a lot completely different. The TV window is just two hours and the motion guarantees to be rather a lot quicker paced than a standard event. No “Enjoying By” or numerous advertisements chopping up the golf into oblivion. No potential for rain delays.
Additionally, the gamers may have mics. That alone can enhance the TV product.
3. The format ought to be completely different than something we have now in professional golf
There will certainly be individuals claiming that TGL is copying LIV by using a four-player crew construction.
These individuals can be lacking the purpose.
LIV had an opportunity to do one thing attention-grabbing by going with a brand new tackle professional golf. As a substitute, it’s only a watered-down model of the PGA Tour (with worse expertise). It’s offered as severe stroke-play golf on regulation programs however everybody with half a mind cell understands that it’s not severe golf. The published mainly appears the identical because the Tour, other than the business load. The groups are imagined to be the differentiator however these teams got here collectively (and alter) arbitrarily. There is no such thing as a apparent cause for anybody to root for a crew.
A greater choice for LIV would have been to steer into the absurd, going head first into maximizing leisure whereas fully eschewing the “severe competitors” vibe. It ought to have been YouTube golf with world-class gamers—matches, challenges and unfettered entry.
Will the TGL be taught from LIV’s errors?
That is simulator golf with guys who’re used to competing in majors. There’s nothing actual at stake. TGL ought to veer onerous into the comedic facet, the foolish facet. It’s not imagined to be taken significantly—there isn’t any must ferociously shield the integrity of the product.
No matter makes the published extra entertaining needs to be applied. The format—every 15-hole match is cut up into three distinct components—has some potential on this class. Get bizarre with it.
4. The unprecedented expertise could be actually cool to observe
We’ll see on this level however I’m optimistic the viewing expertise will draw individuals in with every swing.
First off, it’s a big simulator display. And it’s fairly removed from the place the golfer hits—off actual turf (or sand)—so we’ll see the ball take off with time to register trajectory earlier than hitting the display.
Secondly, the entire short-game components are actual. The slope of the greens goes to vary with every gap. No gimme putts inside a 10-foot circle.
I’m additionally intrigued by the outlet design. It’s not like these guys can be taking part in TPC Sawgrass each week—we’re going to see some Golden Tee structure. To emphasize level No. 3 of this text, these designs ought to be radical moderately than trying like a championship course.
After which you may have a crowd in a stadium that surrounds the taking part in space. The sector is part of the expertise right here and I’m hoping the group is a continuing murmur as a substitute of a staid gallery.
All of this may make for a cool viewing expertise.
5. The potential for elevated playing curiosity is there
Even when it’s not a severe competitors, that doesn’t imply individuals gained’t gamble on TGL.
And, for a couple of causes, the league is about as much as be much more pleasing for gamblers.
Golf has historically been irritating to trace from a playing perspective as a result of TV can’t present all of the gamers. Bettors could decide a participant to win a event and solely get to observe a restricted proportion of their pictures—between an onslaught of commercials.
TGL bypasses most of that. It has a comparatively simple head-to-head format, each shot can be proven and it’s a fast-paced sport being performed in prime time on nationwide TV. It’s fertile floor for playing.
“It’s thrilling that this group of fellows is coming collectively for a two-hour window and we’re simply going to mainly hit balls, speak loads of (trash) and persons are going to be playing on completely every little thing, each shot,” Woods mentioned. “Each shot there’s going to be a wager.”
If that occurs, there can be lots of people tuning in purely to see if their guess hits.
These are my 5 the explanation why TGL might be a smash hit. Subsequent week, I’ll go over a few of the components that would maintain it again.
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