
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA | Shane Lowry was so nervous Tuesday evening earlier than he hit the ceremonial first tee shot in TGL historical past he took his earpiece out to focus on his drive.
About two hours later, Lowry had a a lot completely different mindset.
“That was essentially the most enjoyable two hours I’ve had on a golf course,” Lowry mentioned.
After all, it wasn’t a golf course. TGL is simulated golf performed contained in the SoFi Heart, a 250,000-square-foot, tech-infused facility at Palm Seaside State Faculty that lots of the world’s best golfers – together with co-founders Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy – will go to the following three months to see if they’ve discovered one other avenue to take the long-traditional sport of golf.
As an alternative of hitting pictures into inexperienced grass, they purpose at a big display that’s concerning the measurement of a five-story constructing. The simulator reveals the ball flight and spits out stats afterward.
For the 1,500 followers within the enviornment, it was an adjustment to look at quick-paced golf performed with loud music blaring, tons of technological knowledge, occasional booing after dangerous pictures and the flexibility to look at each participant’s shot with out leaving their seat.
Too dangerous the competitors was a rout: Lowry’s Bay Golf Membership, which included Ludvig Åberg and Wyndham Clark, streaked to a 6-0 lead and cruised to a 9-2 victory over the New York Golf Membership in TGL’s inaugural match. The Bay Membership clinched the victory after simply 10 holes (they play 15 in TGL).
Not that it mattered.
TGL isn’t about competitors – although the successful group at season’s finish receives $9 million of the $21 million purse – it’s about leisure and introducing new followers to the sport.
“Apart from the truth that we had been on the receiving finish (of a loss) tonight, it’s actually cool strolling into an enviornment,” mentioned Rickie Fowler, who competed for the New York group together with Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick. “That is one thing enjoyable for the sport of golf. It’s not making an attempt to compete with what we do on (the PGA) Tour. It’s a complement to the sport and hopefully opens some individuals’s eyes to what’s attainable.”
It says lots that Woods and McIlroy – who every reside quarter-hour away – had been available, giving a couple of tips to gamers beforehand and showing on the ESPN telecast. Then once more, the co-founders need to guarantee their product is as profitable as the remainder of their Corridor of Fame careers.
“I’ve at all times been jealous of soccer gamers and basketball gamers who get to play in a stadium, the place you possibly can draw off the vitality of the group. I feel that is the way forward for golf.” – Ludvig Åberg
The star of the evening, fittingly, is without doubt one of the world’s rising stars, as effectively: Sweden’s Åberg. He made the primary birdie in TGL historical past, a 9-footer on the movable inexperienced that gave The Bay Membership a lead they might by no means lose. Åberg additionally made a bending 32-foot putt on the fifth gap that amazed even Woods whereas he was within the ESPN sales space.
“We thought that was a one-in-a-thousand putt,” Clark mentioned.
For Åberg, who in 2023 turned the primary to play in a Ryder Cup earlier than taking part in in a significant, the toughest half could have been deciding on his walkout music. As soon as the competitors began, he dominated. The Swede credited his efficiency to the setting.
“I’ve at all times been jealous of soccer gamers and basketball gamers who get to play in a stadium, the place you possibly can draw off the vitality of the group,” Åberg mentioned. “I feel that is the way forward for golf.”
It was not the very best of nights for Schauffele, the world No. 2 who holds half the key championship trophies. He was booed after a number of poor chips, and his lackluster play didn’t enable him to indicate his under-the-radar skill to speak smack.

“It was a bummer to let my boys down,” Schauffele mentioned. “If I used to be (the followers), I might have booed me, too. It’s type of exhausting to speak smack once you’re shedding by 10 factors.”
Let’s face it: TGL is making an attempt to do one thing very troublesome: Make golf entertaining and humorous. You typically see video montages of the funniest moments in soccer, baseball and basketball. When do you ever see that in golf?
The fan expertise within the enviornment is sort of completely different than what’s televised on TV. An enormous downside is the followers at SoFi Heart can’t hear what the gamers are saying to one another (due to the music). They missed Lowry boasting, “I’m going to be the Scottie Scheffler of indoor golf,” solely to “toe-shank” a chip quickly after. Plus, ESPN’s business breaks after each gap take away among the crowd’s enthusiasm.
No one wants to fret about subsequent week’s TV scores. That’s as a result of Woods makes his TGL debut as a member of Jupiter Hyperlinks Golf Membership going towards Los Angeles Golf Membership.
However no one in TGL is complaining about ESPN’s involvement (simply ask LIV Golf about their TV offers). ESPN could also be crucial associate on this league.
“There’s so much that’s been put into it to make this attainable,” Fowler mentioned. “But it surely’s additionally slightly little bit of of venture or an experiment on the identical time. You need the followers to have enjoyable right here and create an excellent expertise, however I feel the largest driver is the way it does on TV and the way individuals view it. And if it does effectively there, it’s type of sky’s the restrict.”
No one wants to fret about subsequent week’s TV scores. That’s as a result of Woods makes his TGL debut as a member of Jupiter Hyperlinks Golf Membership going towards Los Angeles Golf Membership. The marquee matchup is Jan. 27 when Woods’ group faces off towards McIlroy’s Boston Frequent Golf.
“We’ve received Tiger Woods subsequent week, so we’ll do all proper subsequent week, I do know that,” Lowry mentioned.
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