Doubts were aplenty but more than halfway through TGL’s debut season, the innovative simulator golf league is proving to be a hit.
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The presence of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars namely Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, whose company TMRW reportedly spent US$50 million in creating TGL’s arena in Florida, was always going to attract the interest of golf fans, but beyond the initial intrigue in how all the technological bells and whistles would look and feel, viewers have kept tuning in.
Competitive matches, plus seeing some of the world’s best in a new light as they banter with one another and remove the intense masks of regular tournament golf, have made the first season of TGL a success so far.
The Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter reported that ESPN said it would have been happy with an average viewership in the United States of 500,000 per night, and that number has comfortably been exceeded.
TGL’s current ratings average is above 800,000, and includes more than one million viewers tuning to watch Woods and McIlroy face off for the first time last month.
Its ambitious triple-header earlier in the week also attracted more than a million viewers across the three matches played on the Presidents Day holiday in the US.
TGL seized on the day being clear of NBA or NFL and put on a showcase, with all three matches coming down to the final hole.
The thrilling line-up of matches prompted prominent golf journalist Dan Rapaport to say on Skratch that the league’s opening stanza has to be marked down as a successful one.
“We’ve seen enough to make this declaration: TGL, at least season one, is a success,” Rapaport said.
“Look, you might not like it. You might think it’s corny. It’s not real golf.
“You might think the tech stinks. That’s fine. That’s your prerogative.
“But at the end of the day, this is an entertainment product designed for television, and the ultimate measure of its success will be TV ratings, and more than a month in, the TV ratings have been pretty damn good.”
Competitiveness is key and after several one-sided affairs early on, TGL laid down a marker to prove that this was not simply a group of friends bashing away into a screen like you might see on a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon at your local simulator golf facility.
For all the showiness of the five-story high mega screen, the Augusta National sand in bunkers and the rotating green, the essence remains that this is several of golf’s best players trying to beat one another.
Although, they are doing it indoors in two hours rather than coming down the stretch on a Sunday.
“It was pretty sick. In fact it was perfect television,” Barstool Sports’ Bobby Reagan wrote.
“A triple-header where every match was close, had the viral moments and showed every single guy here bought into this is what this league needed. It’s what it was designed to be. Fun, easy to watch, throw it on the TV and give us something different.
“But it’s the fact we’re seeing the players show some personality and have fun with it. It’s not serious, it’s not supposed to be, but it’s competitive.”
Things really clicked into gear when Woods’ Jupiter Links prevailed against McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf in an overtime thriller.
It was the first time the penalty shootout style closest to the pin competition decided a match.
The two teams ripped into one another, there was an abundance of great shots and 22-year-old Tom Kim showed why he is one of golf’s hottest young talents with a fired up display.
The team format has been a winner with players purely playing for their team, rather than having the team component and the individual component blended together like in LIV Golf.
With the six teams named for various US cities, they are beginning to strike a chord with sports fans across the States enjoying watching the big names band together like they do at the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup.
The passion generated by the players being part of something greater than themselves, their insane skills and feisty competitiveness has created an abundance of highlights.
Woods became the first person to hear the dreaded hooter of the 40-second shot clock going off before he had hit a putt, Kim replicated some of his Presidents Cup celebrations when draining clutch putts and Woods and McIlroy threw down the gauntlet to one another with the use of the ‘Hammer’ to put more pressure on one another’s putts.
The ‘Hammer’ has been a big talking point with TGL showing a willingness to adapt on the run, by changing the rule on the wager to double the points value for a given hole, before this week’s triple-header.
Previously, the ‘Hammer’ traded hands between the teams but this allowed a team in front to hold onto it, and limit their opponents ability to mount an entertaining comeback.
Now, both teams gets three ‘Hammers’ each, and it can be used while a hole is being played to add more jeopardy.
Essentially, it makes for greater theatre, and that is exactly what TGL is after, and the resulting clips that are very digestible on social media boost the overall product.
Tommy Fleetwood making the first hole-in-one, and it being an albatross as his ball bounced off a rock in front of the green and trickled into the cup on a drivable par 4, was the perfect example.
The fact Fleetwood’s ace came in the warm up, so it did not technically count, arguably made it even better.
It was an organic moment, you could not predict like Woods being told the wrong yardage and coming up way short as he hit the wrong club was.
Not all the moments that attract attention are necessarily positive, with issues with the ball tracking taking place at times, but reports suggest they are working hard to improve the technology.
Fleetwood aces first TGL hole-in-one | 00:38
There were always going to be teething issues, but on a whole, season one as soon far gone off fairly seamlessly.
The willingness to change the ‘Hammer’ rule was a good example of not letting something become a big problem, and next on their list of changes should be the closest to the pin competition.
Fleetwood chipped-in but because his Los Angeles teammates were beaten in their two chips, Atlanta Drive claimed victory.
A hole-out should be automatic victory.
But for the overall positivity to continue, TGL is going to rely on the next generation of stars.
As mentioned earlier, Kim is box office with his eye-catching talent matched with a fierce competitiveness and a cheeky sense of humour makes for the perfect TGL player.
Australian Min Woo Lee made his debut this week, dazzling viewers with his insane ball speed and a trademark chip-in, as well as the personality that has made his a social media sensation.
His The Bay Golf Club teammate Ludvig Aberg is another who is central to sustained success.
The Swede rocked up bleary eyed for the triple-header and hit bombs, his 360-yard drive was the longest in TGL history, less than 24 hours after claiming a PGA Tour victory.
Every team has two matches remaining before the playoffs and tight contests will be essential to viewers continually tuning in.
For what it is worth, The Bay is undefeated on top, while Woods’ Jupiter Links and McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf are currently the bottom two teams, out of the playoff places.
The likely absence of the two figureheads in the playoffs means it will lean even more heavily on the likes of Lee and Aberg.
Who knows what will play out, but so far, it appears that TGL is here to stay.
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