Golf has 600 years of history, and if pioneer Old Tom Morris wasn’t shaking his head in the great clubhouse in the sky during the debut of TGL (Tomorrow Golf League) on Wednesday (AEDT), he would have surely needed a stiff whiskey or two.
Rory McIlroy’s and Tiger Woods’ technology-infused, shortened version of golf, played in a state-of-the-art indoor arena in Florida featuring a giant screen and a rotating green, finished its first game with the Bay Club defeating New York Golf Club in a match that was never close.
Among the players involved in the 2025 season are two Australians – 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott and world No.50 Min Woo Lee.
TGL has torn up The Royal and Ancient Golf Club’s rules. There are all-star teams representing six US cities, and they are given two hours to complete a game over 15 holes. There are two sessions, with the first being a three-versus-three contest over nine holes with alternate shots, then singles, with players going head-to-head over six holes. Each hole is worth one point.
Sixteen years ago, the first edition of the Indian Premier League changed cricket with the world’s best players arriving in India to increase not only their bank accounts but also their skill set in front of huge crowds and Bollywood stars and titans of Indian business.
If the IPL is the current gold standard of sporting innovation, within Australia there is a notable failed attempt to change a winning sporting formula to a shorter, more crowd-friendly, version.
AFLX was designed to bring Australian Rules Football to a broader audience with a smaller rectangle field, the game’s best players, a garish silver ball and a 10-point “Zooper goal”. The concept was unceremoniously canned after two awkward attempts at capturing the public’s attention in 2018 and 2019. Some things are best left untouched.
There were some notable similarities between the TGL and the AFLX early on. There was an initially enthusiastic crowd that appeared increasingly bemused by what they were seeing which was replicated by the players on the small course.
New York Golf Club’s trio of Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Xander Schauffele entered the arena to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ 2009 hit Empire State of Mind, while Bay Club’s Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark, and Ludvig Aberg made a brave attempt to match their opponent’s entrance. Unsurprisingly, golfers in pressed white slacks weren’t suited to NBA-style introductions.
Fowler described his team as “guinea pigs” for the game and Lowry was so nervous ahead of the TGL’s first shot in front of the huge screen that he forgot a tee.
Each player was wired for sound, but the chatter was largely limited to staid putting advice, not helping the event MC in urging the crowd to “make some noise” .
The players looked initially bemused at getting both jeered and cheered as they set up their putts before loosening up. Former NBA referee Derrick Stafford was also on hand to police rule infractions.
While there were some impressive chip shots on the rotating green, particularly from Schauffele and Aberg, the drives into a digital screen didn’t have the same appeal with the ball often stopping abruptly. Swirling winds and undulating fairways largely had the day off.
As well as the two teams that played on opening night, Woods and McIlroy have combed their contact books and filled Jupiter Links Golf Club, Boston Common Golf, Los Angeles Golf Club and Atlanta Drive GC with many of the best players from the PGA Tour for the 15-week competition.
New York’s team had appeared last month on US television’s Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Fallon is celebrity co-owner of the team, alongside baseball’s Derek Jeter, tennis legend John McEnroe and two-time NFL Super Bowl winner Eli Manning.
The Bay’s celebrity co-owner is NBA superstar Steph Curry. The man who guided the US to gold at the Paris Olympics has convinced his former Golden State Warrior teammates Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson to join him in investing in the sporting startup.
The game slotted neatly on a busy Tuesday evening of sport in the United States, with seven NBA games taking place on the same night these golfing pioneers went to work.
McIlroy and Woods understand their sport is in a fight for eyeballs. Both have patrolled enough manicured fairways to know innovation is needed. Golf is competing against a lack of urban space, accessibility issues and the ongoing war between its PGA and LIV factions.
TGL makes a brave attempt to showcase the world’s best players to a new audience and the venture has 14 more weeks to show whether it can become a permanent part of the golfing landscape.
