In a 250,000-square-foot building located in Palm Beach, Florida, the latest chapter in professional golf will unfold tomorrow. Here, golf is played indoors and in prime time.
In the 'tech-infused' setting of the SoFi Center, a new attempt to bring life back to a sport in decline and devastated by civil war will begin its quest. This is the Golf League of tomorrow and it promises to be the future of golf.
A year late, TGL will finally make its debut on Tuesday when Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele take on Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark and Shane Lowry.
But the latest adventure to revolutionize the world of golf presents an unholy spectacle for the traditional and sheltered country clubber. However, that could be the key to its success.
Instead of rolling fairways and manicured greens, 24 of the PGA Tour's best will hit a screen 64 feet wide and 53 feet high.
Spectators will not have to flock to the streets. Instead, they'll get a $160 front-row view at the 1,500-seat venue.
Tomorrow's Golf League (TGL) will make its debut on January 7 in Palm Beach, Florida
The 'tech-infused' company is the brainchild of Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods' company.
TGL is committed to attracting both new audiences and existing fans with its innovation.
A series of devices and screens will illuminate the stadium like Times Square, transforming it into a spectacle that Billy Horschel has compared to the London Stadium, home of his beloved West Ham.
From the first glimpses of TGL, the concept seems so contrary to golf tradition, it's easy to forget that it's the dream of the biggest names in professional golf: Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Devised by Woods and McIlroy's TMRW Sports company, TGL is committed to attracting both a new audience and traditionalists, providing a unique way to watch some of golf's stars.
Backed by a star-studded fleet of investors, including Serena Williams, NBA star Steph Curry and Liverpool bosses Fenway Sports Group, the six teams (Atlanta Drive, New York, Los Angeles, The Bay, Boston Common and Jupiter Links) will fight for it. through fast-paced matches, three against three, lasting two hours.
The professionals, including Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas along with Woods and McIlroy, will be put to the test in a distinctive combination of virtual and reality golf with three of the four-man teams competing over 15 holes.
They will shoot from grass or sand platforms, like those at Augusta National, at the simulator screen that will record their distance and position.
After reaching the green zone, they will go to the short game zone. About the size of four basketball courts, the green rotates like a turntable to alter the slope and angles to ensure no two holes are the same.
Each hole is worth one point and the 15 team matches will culminate in a best-of-three SoFi Cup final, and a $21 million prize pool, on March 24-25.
24 of the PGA Tour's best will come to a 64-foot-wide, 53-foot-tall screen inside SoFi Center
They will shoot from grass or sand platforms, the same as those at Augusta National, at the simulator
Cutting-edge innovation, powerful sponsors, and big champions can dazzle fans at first. But all that doesn't answer the burning question: Will it succeed?
The top managers of TGL have made their objective clear. Woods, who will headline Jupiter Links, revealed at the PNC Championship in December that the intention is to appeal to the younger generation.
Well, according to Horschel, that goal falls to the players.
“If players aren't entertained, engaged and talking, there won't be success,” Atlanta Drive's Horschel said at TGL's Media Day. 'We have to be entertainers. We have to move away from who we are inside the ropes of the PGA Tour and we have to be different. We have to show more of ourselves.”
Each player will wear a microphone, providing insight into the interactions, strategies and emotions that a PGA Tour tournament cannot offer.
Electronic boards on either side of the simulator will display score, yardage and, most revolutionary, a shot clock.
Players will only have 40 seconds to confer with their teammates and make their shot, providing the simplest solution to golf's most infuriating problem: slow play. Patrick Cantlay, take note.
“The world of sports and entertainment is constantly exploring new avenues to attract not only its current audience, but also a new one,” Drew McCarthy, a marketing and partnerships manager with a background in sports, told Mail Sport.
Next, the professionals will go to the short game area to finish the holes.
About the size of four basketball courts, the green rotates to alter slopes and angles.
“With TGL in particular, they're taking a concept that normally requires a significant amount of time and space, and turning it into an accessible show that happens inside an arena.”
Horschel and Clark hope the stadium can rival the atmosphere of an NFL or NBA game.
“If this is a country club here, we're failing,” Horschel insisted. 'I want it to be exciting. I want the fans to participate. I want them to support one team or another. Let's have music.'
Initially, it sounds an awful lot like the LIV Golf roster has been constantly coming out, but TGL may already be succeeding where the Rebel circuit has failed.
TGL launches with a foundation of partnerships under its belt, big names signed and, most importantly, TV deals on both sides of the Atlantic (Sky Sports in the UK and ESPN in the US) closed.
The elimination of slow play combined with unique access to some of the world's fan favorites creates a fast-paced primetime showdown. It's a TV show, not just a round of golf.
Fans no longer have to sit through hours of television coverage. They no longer have to compete with their peers to catch a glimpse of Woods or McIlroy. They'll have uninterrupted, front-row access to their favorite professionals and their insider commentary.
Billy Horschel, who will play for Atlanta Drive, insisted that the players needed to entertain
Wyndham Clark said he hoped SoFi Center could replicate the atmosphere of an NBA arena.
'The challenge with golf is that people are further away, but this is really intimate. People are going to see our personalities,” Clark said.
The most important thing is that it is a completely new concept. LIV may have pushed the boat with its shorts and shotgun starts, but it hasn't dared to stray from the orthodox 18-hole rounds. Reducing the number of four PGA Tour players to three can't exactly be considered revolutionary.
TGL has the potential to bring a new and innovative spin to a game that golf fans already know and love, as well as the opportunity to rebrand it into the 21st century and present it as a high-energy, captivating sport that a new demographic could open to.
With TGL, no one is really sure what to expect. Not even the professionals. But it's the unknown that, for now, makes TGL most promising.