A few of golf’s main gamers swap the fairways for the digital world because the high-tech, big-money and much-trumpeted TGL lastly launches this week.
Right here, Golf Information appears on the competitors and the way it works.
What’s TGL?
TGL is a brand new fast-paced, indoor workforce competitors fronted by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy wherein the motion is performed out on two extremely refined golf simulators.
Unofficially, it stands for Tomorrow Golf League however in all literature it’s merely known as TGL.
It was as a consequence of launch final yr however issues with the inflatable dome roof at its purpose-built area, the SoFi Middle in Palm Seashore Gardens, Florida, led to a 12-month delay.
Who’s concerned?
In addition to 15-time main winner Woods and McIlroy, because the faces of the enterprise, the competitors options various elite gamers from the PGA Tour, break up into six groups ostensibly representing totally different American cities.
Woods heads up Jupiter Hyperlinks Golf Membership, enjoying alongside Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner. World quantity three McIlroy is the star identify for Boston Frequent Golf along with his team-mates being US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott.
The opposite groups are Atlanta Drive GC, Los Angeles Golf Membership, New York Golf Membership and The Bay Golf Membership. Different notable gamers embody Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg and Shane Lowry.
How does the sport play work?
The SoFi Middle homes a enjoying space roughly the dimensions of a soccer pitch.
Half of the sector is devoted to ‘display play’, the place gamers will hit balls from a pure floor in the direction of a large 64x53ft display. Pictures will likely be performed from a grass tee field, fairway grass, tough or sand as acceptable.
When balls land inside 50ft of the digital pin, motion then strikes to the opposite half of the sector, or ‘inexperienced zone’. This contains a mechanised 22,475 sq ft short-game space of which the size, topography and pin place will be modified for every gap.
A crowd of 1,500 can view the play.
What’s the competitors format?
Every competitors day – Monday or Tuesday – options one match between two groups. Every workforce has a roster of 4 gamers with three that includes in every fixture.
Matches are break up into two periods – triples and singles, each matchplay. Triples is a three-on-three contest over 9 holes with all gamers taking it in turns to play the identical ball. Three singles contests are then performed over six holes.
Every gap is value one level. A nearest-the-pin ‘additional time’ competitors is held within the occasion of a tie.
Groups are awarded two factors for a victory and one for a loss in additional time, with nothing for a defeat in regular time. All groups play one another over the common season with the highest 4 within the desk advancing to the play-offs.
What different improvements can we anticipate?
Unconstrained by real-world limitations comparable to finance, geography, local weather and terrain, the digital course designers have promised some spectacular holes from fictional places together with coastal, tropical and desert landscapes.
Different new options embody a shot clock, timeouts and the usage of the ‘hammer’, with which groups can select to double the worth of a gap.
All gamers will put on microphones and a referee will implement the principles.
What’s the background to this?
TGL is an try and promote the game to a brand new viewers. It’s the brainchild of sports activities media govt Mike McCarley, who teamed up with Woods and McIlroy in 2022 to discovered TMRW Sports activities to get the undertaking up and operating.
The corporate has attracted appreciable personal funding and TGL has a prize pot of £16.75million, with £7.9m for the profitable workforce.
It has been within the making for some years and was not devised as a rival to LIV Golf, though it has come to be seen as such.
