TGL Just Might Be What Golf Needs Right Now

View From The Fairway by Derek Clements

If somebody gave you a load of money and asked you to come up with something that would get the juices of golf fans flowing, what would you come up with?

A fifth major? An investment in women’s golf? Maybe you would direct it towards the grass roots of the sport.

The one thing I can guarantee is that it wouldn’t have been Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL), the new made-for-TV golf format supported by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. 

And, in case you have missed the pre-publicity, it is taking place in a giant purpose-built simulator in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. This is like no simulator you have ever played - the "mats" are real grass for starters.

The first match pitted a team of Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark and Ludvig Aberg against Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele. Or The Bay Golf Club v New York Golf Club. If that sounds familiar it is because that’s what LIV Golf does.

Full shots are played from a proper grass tee to an on-screen target and wayward drives are played from a mat with proper rough. Bunker shots are played for real from the fringe of an extraordinary putting green that rotates and changes shape on every hole, providing some very interesting slopes.

Every hole won is worth a point and teams can throw down something called a Hammer, which is basically a challenge to the opposing team. If accepted and the hole is won then it is worth an additional point.

One thing I can absolutely guarantee you is that had it not been for the advent of LIV Golf then we would never have heard of TGL.

I am not going to lie to you - I wanted to hate it, I really did. I have been brought up on a diet of 72-hole strokeplay events and watching players coming down the stretch has always been the thing that gets me on the edge of my seat.

On the eve of the event, McIlroy had said it was "golf reimagined" with the intention of moving golf into the 21st century. I was cynical in the extreme.

But once I started watching I could not switch it off. 

There are many things to like. 

For starters, there is a 40-second shot clock and players must play within that time. All players wear microphones and are interviewed live. We also get to listen in as the players talk to one another - and it was clear that they were all having an absolute blast.

This being Florida the crowd got properly involved. If any golfer thought there was going to be silence as they stood over the ball then they were in for a rude awakening. Each player was announced like a heavyweight boxer getting ready for a world title fight - and before hitting his opening drive Lowry admitted that he had seldom been more nervous. 

There was thumping music throughout and the crowd was spattered with stars from all walks of life.

If there was a mistake it was in failing to have McIlroy and Woods taking part in the opening night. As proven by the fact that he has just picked up the Player Impact Program award, Woods remain box office. But the great man did grab the chance to get a microphone in his hands. Saying that TGL was taking golf into the next stratosphere would be stretching the point but he has definitely started something that I believe is going to catch on.

We all know that one of the biggest challenges facing golf today is attracting a new young audience. Many youngsters simply see it as an old man’s sport. 

But TGL is different. And the very fact that it is being played on a simulator just might turn some kids onto the idea that golf really can be fun. I would be extremely surprised if we don’t see numbers at driving ranges increase dramatically - especially those that have Trackman technology.

Another big plus is that this is indoor golf so there are never going to be any weather delays. And they can play any golf course on earth - it simply has to be programmed into the technology. In saying that, you won’t see any of these holes on any course - a team of architects have created a total of 30 holes specifically for TGL. And they include lava fields!

The format is beautifully simple.

We all know that slow play is the bane of golf at all levels and the shot clock ensured that things moved along at a cracking pace. They each had 40 seconds to play but nobody came close to taking that time. Is it too much to hope that they may take this out onto the course? Maybe.

The opening nine holes of the 15-hole match featured all three players on each team hitting alternate shots. Tee shots are battered into a giant screen from a distance of 35 yards with the action switching to the short-game complex once the ball is within 50 yards of the hole. After each hole, the short-game area is rotated and a new green created by the 600 motors below its surface. It is truly something to behold.

The final six holes were played as head-to-head singles, with each pairing contesting two holes. For the record, Lowry’s Bay team strolled to victory.

Every good shot was cheered wildly, while poor shots were greeted with a chorus of boos.

The final scoreline was 9-2, which saw The Bay picking up two points for the win. In the event of a tie, a nearest-the-pin play-off will determine the winner, with the loser picking up a point.

And every point counts, with an astonishing $21m purse up for grabs. The winners take home $9m. 

There are six teams in the league which will run every week until March with the top four reaching the semi-finals and a best-of-three final to follow. 

If I do have a criticism it is that there are no women involved - there is no doubt in my mind that the likes of Charley Hull and Nelly Korda could have sprinkled some stardust on proceedings. But TGL got off to a cracking start - and I will be tuning in for more.

My concern is that all the razzamatazz just might wear a bit thin after a while but you can be sure that Woods and McIlroy will be doing their best to whip the fans into a frenzy. Time alone will tell.

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