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Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s indoor golf league is officially up and running.
TGL debuted at its dedicated SoFi facility on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida on Jan. 7, and Bay Golf Club eventually defeated New York Golf Club 9-2. Its prime-time live broadcast on ESPN reached 919,000 viewers, according to the network.
The team-oriented league was created by TMRW Sports, a company founded by Woods, McIlroy and former NBC Sports executive Mike McCarley. 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 look on before the TGL match presented by SoFi between New York Golf Club and The 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 secured a number of big-name partners, including luxury car manufacturer Genesis, consulting firm Businessolver and consumer electronics retailer Best Buy as “founding partners.” It has a total of twelve legal partners, according to a recent press release.
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Its games “feature three players competing on each team in a two-hour team golf tournament, offering a new approach to the sport that focuses on technology, innovation, and fan engagement,” TGL explains on its website. Two of the six teams in this league will face each other in one game.
The TGL regular season consists of 15 games, all played indoors at the So-Fi Center, named after the digital finance company that entered a multi-year deal as its presenting sponsor.
The area covers about 250,000 square meters. Inside there, competitors — all the big names in golf — play their way through 15 holes in a high-tech area “about the size of a football field” that includes a “ScreenZone” and a “GreenZone.”
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: A fan cheers in the stands during the ninth hole during the TGL presented by SoFi match between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club at the SoFi Center on January 07, 2025 in Palm . Beach Garden (Mike Ehrmann/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images/Getty Images)
A large 64-by-53-foot simulation screen created by Full Swing plays an important role in the “ScreenZone.”
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: Bay Golf Club’s Shane Lowry tees off on the seventh hole during their TGL presented by SoFi match against New York Golf Club at the SoFi Center on January 07, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens , in Florida. . (Ph (Mike Ehrmann/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the “GreenZone” serves as a dedicated area for the short game, with a variable turning green that uses hundreds of actuators to “change the slope of the green, creating a varied game on every hole,” TGL said.
The league uses a triple format of nine holes and singles of six holes. About 1,500 people can watch in person at the SoFi Center from seating around the playing area, according to the high-tech golf league.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: A general view of New York Golf Club and Bay Golf Club players on the green during their TGL presented by SoFi at the 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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The first season of TGL was scheduled to be played in 2024. However, in November 2023 “a temporary power system failure and backup systems caused the dome to collapse” and led to some damage, prompting the league to move the start to this year, according to the report. TGL’s press release since then.
Now, with one game under its belt, the TGL will host all of its regular season games over the next few months, followed by two postseason rounds. The team that wins the championship will receive $9 million of the season’s $21 million prize pool, according to Golf.com.
The six four-player teams include Home Depot founder Arthur Blank’s Atlanta Drive GC; Avenue Sports Fund and NBA star Stephen Curry’s The Bay Golf Club; Fenway Sports Group of Boston Common Golf; TGR Ventures and entrepreneur David Blitzer’s Jupiter Links Golf Club; Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian and former tennis stars Serena Venus Williams’ Los Angeles Golf Club; and hedge fund founder Steven Cohen’s New York Golf Club, per TGL.
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