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Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s high-tech indoor golf league is officially launched.
TGL played its first match at its dedicated SoFi Center on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida on January 7, with Bay Golf Club ultimately defeating New York Golf Club 9-2. Its live prime-time broadcast on ESPN averaged 919,000 viewers, according to the network.
The team-centric league is a creation of Sports TMRWa company founded by Woods, McIlroy and former NBC Sports executive Mike McCarley. It was developed in partnership with the PGA Tour.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: Rory McIlroy of Boston Common Golf and Tiger Woods of Jupiter Links Golf Club watch before the TGL presented by SoFi match between New York Golf Club and Bay Golf Club at SoFi Center on January 07. (Mike Ehrmann/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images / Getty Images)
During the league’s launch process, TGL signed up a large number of high-profile partners, including luxury automaker Genesis, consulting firm Businessolver and consumer electronics retailer Best Buy, as “partners founders”. It has a total of a dozen official partners, according to a recent press release.
Its matches “feature three players competing against each other on each team in a two-hour shift.” golf competitionoffering a new approach to sports with a focus on technology, innovation and fan engagement,” TGL explained on its website. Two of the league’s six teams face off in a match.
TGL’s regular season includes 15 games, all played indoors at the So-Fi Center, named after the digital finance company that signed a multi-year deal to be its title sponsor.
The venue spans nearly 250,000 square feet. Inside, the competitors – all big names in golf – battle their way through 15 holes in a high-tech space “about the size of a football field” that includes a “ScreenZone” and a “GreenZone”.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: A fan applauds in the stands during play on the ninth hole during the TGL match presented by SoFi between New York Golf Club and Bay Golf Club at SoFi Center on January 07, 2025 in Palm Garden beach (Mike Ehrmann/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images / Getty Images)
A massive 64 x 53 foot simulation screen created by Full Swing plays a key role in the match in the “ScreenZone”.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: Shane Lowry of Bay Golf Club plays a shot on the seventh hole during their TGL match presented by SoFi against New York Golf Club at SoFi Center on January 07, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Ph. (Mike Ehrmann/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the “GreenZone” serves as a dedicated short game space, with a massive turntable green that uses hundreds of actuators to “change the slope of the green, creating variety of play on every hole,” a declared TGL.
The league uses a triple for nine holes and singles for six holes format. About 1,500 people can watch in person at SoFi Center from seats located around the playing area, according to the high-tech golf league.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: A general view of players from New York Golf Club and Bay Golf Club on the green during their TGL match presented by SoFi at SoFi Center on January 07, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawk (Cliff Hawkins/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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TGL’s inaugural season was scheduled to be played in 2024. However, in November 2023, “a failure of the temporary power and backup systems caused the dome to deflate” and result in damage, prompting the league to change earlier this year, according to a TGL press release at the time.
Now, with one game under its belt, TGL will host the remainder of its regular season games over the next two months, followed by two-round playoffs. The team that wins the championship title will receive $9 million of the total $21 million in prize money for the season, according to Golf.com.
The six four-player teams include Atlanta Drive GC from Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank; Avenue Sports Fund and NBA star Stephen Curry’s Bay Golf Club; Fenway Sports Group’s Boston Common Golf; TGR Ventures and businessman David Blitzer’s Jupiter Links Golf Club; Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and the Los Angeles Golf Club of former tennis stars Serena Venus Williams; and hedge fund founder Steven Cohen’s New York Golf Club, per TGL.
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