- The great unknown is whether the fusion of tech and tees can pull in the youth
- The inclusion of Tiger Woods in a week’s time should boost interest
It was with no shortage of enthusiasm that Tiger Woods congratulated himself in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
As his technology-infused vision of golf’s future was unveiled in Palm Beach, Florida, he declared that the sport had been taken ‘into another stratosphere’.
We might choose to put that one down to altitude sickness, then. But as opening nights go, the debut of Tomorrow’s Golf League was not at all bad.
It wasn’t great, either, but TGL will hardly be the desecration of the ancient game that some purists will chunter about. Those people were never the target audience for Woods’ collaboration with Rory McIlroy, culminating in this $50million showpiece, where shots were played into a 64ft tall screen before teams of three elite golfers putted out on an artificial green.
The great unknown is whether such a fusion of technology and tees (and a 2am start for UK audiences) can draw a younger crowd. The star of the production was undoubtedly the impressive gadgetry, especially a green that could contort itself to simulate 30 different putting surfaces.
The pace of play — two hours to complete the 15-hole format, upheld by 40sec shot clocks — was also a balm to the usual tedium, even if the introduction of Patrick Cantlay in a fortnight might challenge that aspect.
Tiger Woods’ TGL debuted in the early hours of Wednesday morning but the jury remains out
The Bay Golf Club of Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, and Shane Lowry were the first winners
The impressive gadgets on display are certainly worthy of attention but this expensive venture will need competitive relevance and intensity to sustain itself
But those components will hardly be seen as game-changers. While a lava-lined fairway is certainly different, this expensive venture will need competitive relevance and intensity to sustain itself.
With 18 more nights of matches between the six teams across the next 11 weeks, novelty will need assistance from fixtures that are far closer than the 9-2 drubbing inflicted by Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark and Shane Lowry (The Bay Golf Club) on Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele (New York Golf Club). At times, their collective vibe was stuck somewhere between Gladiators and It’s a Knockout.
Quite what the LIV brigade made of it is unknown. It wasn’t so long ago that their altered format, silly team names, tee-box music and contrived banter were all derided as horsemen of a sporting apocalypse. TGL is plainly part of the response to that breakaway circuit and yet mimicked a number of its traits.
Where they differ is that this latest idea is a harmless addition to the existing landscape, not adversarial.
The inclusion of Woods will help TGL prove itself. He plays next Wednesday, representing Jupiter Links Golf Club, which in the absence of any meaningful Tour participation makes TGL one of the few access points to one of sport’s most compelling individuals. The number of star names, McIlroy included, is a further plus, but the greatest pay-off will follow only if the cast show a bit of authentic personality.
That might not be enough for TGL to puncture through the stratosphere. But at a time when golf’s image has been hammered by cash grabs, it could yet play a role in improving the look of their sport down here on Earth.
