New golf league backed by Tiger, Rory takes swings in prime time

A new indoor golf league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will have its primetime debut Tuesday, Jan. 7, on ESPN. The tagline for the venture, dubbed TGL Golf, is “golf reimagined,” and it certainly is different.

Six teams of three players will tee up during two-hour matches in a massive indoor arena in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

The league pairs some of the top names on the PGA Tour. Justin Thomas, Ricky Fowler, Colin Morikawa, Billy Horschel, and, of course, McIlroy and Woods, who put their star power behind the idea more than two years ago.

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“The first thing I’d like people to know is that it’s golf reimagined. Sort of trying to take golf into the 21st century,” said McIlroy, “We have teams. Obviously, we have a lot of technology involved, trying to bring [golf] into the digital era. A lot of things we’ve taken from other sports, like a shot clock, a timeout –– which you don’t see in regular golf. Trying to appeal to that bigger sports audience out there.”

Wyndham Clark, another major championship winner, wonders where it can go, saying, “This could be the future of golf. This could be one of the coolest things on Monday nights after football. That’s the hope, and I just wanted to be a part of it. And so, I’m really excited.”

TGL Golf CEO Mike McCarley says the idea is to take golf into the 21st century. He also wants to make the big moments more accessible to everyone.

“It’s going to send a message that if you play golf in bare feet at a ‘Top Golf’ at 8 a.m., you’re a golfer,” McCarley said. “You don’t have to play at 8 a.m. on the first tee in a pair of spikes. You can play the same game these guys are playing, and it doesn’t have to be the game your grandfather played, or your father played.”

To set the scene, picture a major wrestling or boxing arena with a live audience. The players will hit golf balls into a massive five-story screen and play short game shots on a rotating green. According to McCarley, there’s also a shot clock, and the players will wear microphones to keep things moving for an audience with a short attention span.

“So we can have every shot live, so we can put it in prime time, so we can have lights, music player introductions, everything you have in an NBA courtside experience but do it for golf,” he added.

The golf holes are computer-generated by real golf course architectural firms. Some shots will be hit off real grass, while others will be played off synthetic turf.

Clark, who visited TGL’s SoFi Center arena a month ago, believes the players will quickly get a feel for the new rules and layout.

“You can hit a shot perfectly. You turn around, they point to exactly where you are on the green, the green rotates, all that stuff. It’s just amazing where we are with technology,” Clark said.

The 15 matches that make up the “season” will be played on the days that fall between PGA Tour events, Monday or Tuesday nights. The inaugural match will not include Woods or McIlroy –– their teams play during the second week of the schedule.