Have you ever seen anything like this?! TGL reveals radical golf hole designs

If you thought the PGA Tour stars teeing up in the inaugural TGL season would be playing golf courses you recognise – think again!

The indoor league, founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy through their TMRW Sports company, gets underway in January at the purpose-built SoFi Centre in Florida.

Each game night, the 1,500 fans on site and millions watching at home will be treated to two hours of a modified team match play format over nine holes on a huge virtual simulator and tech-infused short game complex.

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As for the holes they will be playing, renowned golf course architects from all over the world have been drafted in to set the challenges, including those from Nicklaus Design and Beau Welling.

Each hole has been inspired by authentic golf landscapes, including links, desert and mountainous settings, and they all have names like Boomerang, Navigator, and The Serpent.

But the most eye-catching of all is Temple, designed by Agustin Piza of Piza Golf.

Labelled as “within the Peruvian Andes”, players will tee off from a distinct pyramid-style set of tee boxes, to a fairway formed of two triangles laid end to end, with a sheer drop off every style – “Machu Picchu style” – and a generous green that rewards aggressive play.

“Temple is a par-4 playing over 500 yards that we found in the mountains of South America,” Piza explains. “This is a very special design because it plays with simplicity.

“With just two forms – two triangles pinched in the centre – it can give us so much excitement and strategy, and we have placed the green in a position to reward the most aggressive shots off the tee. We should be in for a treat with this one.”

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He added: “It’s exciting to be chosen to design a collection of holes for TGL. The opportunity to create thought-provoking and unique golf holes for this innovative league is truly an honour.

“Starting with a blank canvas presented an exhilarating challenge, free from the constraints of surrounding landscapes or natural elements, which allowed pure creativity to drive the design process.”

You can see all the holes designed especially for TGL including Temple – on the league’s website.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor