What is TGL? Golf’s new team event explained!

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have announced a new golf league, with teams of three PGA Tour stars going up against each other in purpose-built, indoor venues.

The pair’s new company, TMRW Sports, pronounced “Tomorrow Sports”, includes a new tech-infused golf league in partnership with the PGA Tour.

Woods and McIlroy are the first two players to commit to playing in the venture.

The matches will take place on Monday nights, beginning in January 2024, with 15 regular season matches, followed by semi-finals and finals. There will be six teams of three players, who will compete against each other in a league format.

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Over those two hours, you can expect to see a team of three PGA Tour players up against another team of three PGA Tour players, with stars hitting shots into a cinema sized screen. For shots from close range, the pros’ balls will be placed greenside, where they will play their shots in front of a live audience.

From that audience, you can expect plenty noise, in an environment more akin to a basketball game than a golf event. Despite lasting only two hours, players will play 18-holes in the fast-paced format. 

More details will be announced nearer to the launch of the events.

Speaking at the launch of the event, both Woods and McIlroy were keen to note that the league will blend golf with technology, bringing the game in line with other stadium sports, while appealing to a “new generation of fans.”

“TGL is the next evolution within professional golf and I am committed to helping lead it into the future,” said Woods.

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“As a big sports fan myself, I’m excited about blending golf with technology and team elements common in other sports. We all know what it’s like to be in a football stadium or a basketball arena where you can watch every play, every minute of action unfold right in front of you.”

Mike McCarley, co-founder and CEO of TMRW Sports, added: “This is a tech-infused team competition in front of a live crowd, in front of a live television audience.

“It’s 18 holes in two hours. We’ve been working together on this for nearly two years and every time we talked about it, it was always, ‘This is going to be a complementary project to the PGA Tour.’

“We couldn’t be happier that Jay [Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner] embraced the vision immediately and the tour got on board, and we’re happy to call the PGA Tour our partners on the project.

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“For the fans, think sitting courtside at an NBA game. It’s that type of environment. Music, player introductions. You’re right on top of the action as a fan. You see everything play out in front of you.

“To orient yourself from a golf standpoint, you see the drives and approach shots go into the screen. It’s a commercial-sized screen. Not quite the size of an IMAX screen, but pretty damned close. The ball will be placed in the short game area and the guys play out from there.”

Sound exciting? Get a flavour of the action here…